HENRY DRAPER MEDAL - a medal and a prize of $15,000 awarded every four years for an original investigation in astronomical physics - goes to CHARLES L. BENNETT, professor, department of physics and astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Bennett was chosen "for his contribution to the precise determination of the age, composition, and curvature of the universe through his leadership of NASA's WMAP [Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe] cosmic microwave background mission." The medal was established by a gift from Mary Anna Palmer Draper in honor of her husband and has been presented since 1886.
RICHARD LOUNSBERY AWARD - a medal and a prize of $50,000 awarded annually in recognition of extraordinary scientific achievement in biology and medicine, alternating between young American and French scientists - goes to JOHN KURIYAN, investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Chancellor's Professor, department of molecular and cell biology, University of California, Berkeley. Kuriyan was chosen "for his critical role in revealing the structural mechanisms underlying processivity in DNA replication and the regulation of tyrosine kinases and their interacting target proteins." The award was established by Vera Lounsbery in memory of her husband and has been presented since 1979.
NAS AWARD IN AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING - a prize of $15,000 awarded every
five years for distinguished contributions to aeronautical engineering -
goes to ELBERT L. RUTAN, president and CEO, Scaled Composites LLC,
Mojave, Calif. Rutan was chosen "f
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Contact: Maureen O'Leary or Megan Petty
news@nas.edu
202-334-2138
The National Academies
26-Jan-2005