White House Selects Three Columbia Scientists To Receive Highest Presidential Honor For Early Career Scientists

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 – The White House has announced the recipients of the 2006 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the nation’s highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent scientific research careers. Fifty-six researchers were honored yesterday in a ceremony presided over by John H. Marburger III, Science Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The three Columbia University scientists chosen were: Jeffrey Kysar, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Casey Brown, associate research scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, and Eric C. Greene, assistant professor of biochemistry & molecular biophysics.

The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, established in 1996, honors the most promising researchers in the nation within their fields. Nine federal departments and agencies annually nominate scientists and engineers who are at the start of their independent careers and whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Participating federal agencies award these talented scientists and engineers with up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical government missions.

The following is the entire list of recipients of the 2006 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, along with their nominating federal department or agency:

Department of Agriculture

Douglas D. Bannerman, USDA Agricultural Research Service Sarah D. Brooks, Texas A&M University Samuel A. Cushman, USDA Forest Service

Department of Commerce

Casey Brown, Columbia University Mark Scheuerell, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Kathryn L. Beers, National Institute of Standards and Technology Joshua C. Bienfang, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Department of Defense Odest C. Jenkins, Brown University Kenneth C. Slatton, University of Florida Jonathan E. Spanier, Drexel University Jacob L. Roberts, Colorado State University Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Jelena Vuckovic, Stanford University

Department of Education Carol McDonald Connor, Florida State University

Department of Energy Brian J. Kirby, Cornell University

Jeffrey Kysar, Columbia University Carols Pantano Rubino, University of Illinois Shawn Newsam, University of California, Merced Kyle Cranmer, Brookhaven National Laboratory Julia Laskin, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory Ho Nyung Lee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory Len A. Pennacchio, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health Katrina Akassoglou, University of California, San Diego Jeanmarie Houghton, University of Massachusetts Jay R. Hove, University of Cincinnati Sven-Eric Jordt, Yale University Susan M. Kaech, Yale University Bruce D. McCandliss, Cornell University Alexandra C. McPherron, National Institutes of Health Gus R. Rosania, University of Michigan J. Peter Rubin, University of Pittsburgh Ravindra N. Singh, Iowa State University Michelle P. Winn, Duke University Adam T. Woolley, Brigham Young University

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Olivier Guyon, University of Hawaii, Subaru Telescope Matthew Rodell, Goddard Space Flight Center

National Science Foundation Sonya Bahar, University of Missouri-ST. Louis Bahar Biller, Carnegie-Mellon University Matthew J. Fouch, Arizona State University Eric C. Greene, Columbia University Pradeep R. Guduru, Brown University Jenefer Husman, Arizona State University Dean S. Karlan, Yale University Brian G. Keating, University of California, San Diego Kiran Kedlaya, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Edward Kohler, University of California, Los Angeles J. Nicholas Laneman, University of Notre Dame Chekesha M. Liddell, Cornell University Elliot Moore II, Georgia Institute of Technology Amy J. Pruden-Bagchi, Colorado State University Carlos Rinaldi, University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez James P. Schmiedeler, Ohio State University Ahna Skop, University of Wisconsin Yi Tang, University of California, Los Angeles Joseph W. Thornton, University of Oregon, Eugene Lisa M. Zurk, Portland State University

Department of Veterans Affairs Sterling C. Johnson, William S. Middleton VA Hospital William S. Yancy, Jr., Durham VA Medical Center

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