Two Receive Honors from National Academy of Sciences

January 17, 2007

The National Academy of Sciences will honor 18 individuals with awards recognizing extraordinary scientific achievements in the areas of astronomy, biology, medicine, chemistry, geology, oceanography, physics, and psychology. These outstanding scientists have made fundamental contributions to human knowledge. Two of the recipients are from Caltech.

The Charles Doolittle Walcott Medal--a medal and a prize of $10,000 given every five years to encourage and reward individual achievement in advancing our knowledge of Cambrian or Precambrian life and its history in any part of the world--goes to John P. Grotzinger, Fletcher Jones Professor of Geology, "for the insightful elucidation of ancient carbonates and the stromatolites they contain, and for meticulous field research that has established the timing of early animal evolution." The award was established by a gift of Mrs. Mary Vaux Walcott in memory of her husband and has been presented since 1934.

The James Craig Watson Medal--a medal and a prize of $25,000 plus $25,000 to support the recipient's research, given every three years for contributions to the science of astronomy--goes to Michael F. Skrutskie, professor, department of astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and Roc M. Cutri, deputy executive director of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at Caltech, "for their monumental work in developing and completing the Two Micron All-Sky Survey, thus enabling a thrilling variety of explorations in astronomy and astrophysics." The award was established by the will of James C. Watson and has been presented since 1887.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Since 1863, the National Academy of Sciences has served to "investigate, examine, experiment, and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government.