President Obama to Honor Two Alumni

Sylvester James Gates, Jr. '73, PhD '77 and Robert Langer ScD '74 have been selected to receive the highest honors bestowed by the U.S. Government to scientists, engineers, and inventors.

Gates, the John S. Toll Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland-College Park, will receive the National Medal of Science and Langer, a David H. Koch Institute Professor at MIT, will be awarded the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

President Barack Obama will formally present the awards at a White House ceremony in early 2013.

From the White House Office of the Press Secretary:

"I am proud to honor these inspiring American innovators," President Obama said. "They represent the ingenuity and imagination that has long made this Nation great—and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these creative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial environment."

The National Medal of Science was created in 1959 and is awarded to scientists and researchers who have made outstanding contributions in fields including chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and the biological and physical sciences.

A preeminent researcher on supersymmetry, Gates has published more than 120 articles and his 1977 dissertation was the first on supersymmetry at MIT. He is a frequent contributor to the PBS series NOVA and authored the DVD teaching companion, "Superstring Theory: The DNA of Reality." He returned to MIT in 2010, where he served as the 2010-2011 Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Professor of Physics.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was created in 1980. It recognizes researchers who have made contributions to the U.S.'s competitiveness, quality of life, and technological workforce.

A biomedical engineer who focuses on biomaterials, Langer has written more than 1,175 articles and has approximately 800 issued and pending patents worldwide. A 2006 recipient of the National Medal of Science, Langer has also been awarded the Charles Stark Draper Prize, the 2008 Millennium Prize, and the 2012 Priestley Medal.

A leader in the field of tissue engineering, where he has helped developed new tissues for burn victims, he was selected by Parade Magazine as one of six "heroes whose research may save your life."

In addition to Gates and Langer, Professor of Environmental Studies Sallie (Penny) Chisholm will receive the National Medal of Science and Raytheon BBN Technologies President Ed Campbell, who completed the MIT Sloan Greater Boston Executive Program, will accept Raytheon’s National Medal of Technology and Innovation.