Feb. 1, 2000 January 31, 2000 -- President Clinton today named
12 of the nation's most respected researchers, three of them
Nobel Prize winners, to receive the 1999 National Medal of
Science. Honoring the discoveries and lifetime achievements of
the nation's top scientists, the Medal of Science recipients
named by the president today represent a widely diverse group
that: created wholly new scientific fields, such as conservation
biology and speech sciences; led to discoveries that determined
why the ozone "hole" exists; and legitimized theories about
technological progress on economic growth, among others. "The
contributions of these scientists are so profound, so connected
to our everyday lives and so lasting that these medals go only a
short way to express the gratitude the nation owes them," said
Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The new medalists are the last to be named in the 20th Century.
They will receive their medals along with five awardees of the
National Medal of Te