President Obama honored four Bay Area scientists this year with the country’s highest scientific honor, according to the National Science Foundation.
Armand Paul Alivisatos of the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Albert Bandura of Stanford University, Stanley Falkow of the Stanford University School of Medicine and Chenming Hu of the University of California at Berkeley were each awarded the National Medal of Science.
Bandura is the David Starr Jordan Professor, Emeritus, in the School of Humanities and Sciences, and Falkow is the Robert W. and Vivian K. Cahill Professor in Cancer Research, Emeritus, in the School of Medicine.
“The knowledge produced by these American’s today will carry our country’s legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world,” President Obama said in a statement. “Their work is a testament to American ingenuity.”
Bandura joined the Stanford faculty in 1953, and is being honored for his work in social cognitive theory and self-efficacy. He was the first to prove that “self-efficacy, a belief in one’s capabilities, affects the tasks one chooses, how much effort is put into them and how one feels while doing them,” according to an announcement.
Falkow, who joined the Stanford faculty in 1981, is being recognized for his work in studying how bacteria can cause human disease and how antibiotic resistance spreads.
The four recipients will receive their medals at a White House ceremony in January.
By Palo Alto Weekly staff/Bay City News Service
By Palo Alto Weekly staff/Bay City News Service
By Palo Alto Weekly staff/Bay City News Service
Congratulations to Professor Bandura!
Congratulations to all four of them!
Dr. Falkow is not only an amazing scientist, but has mentored countless others in their research careers. He is an enthusiastic teacher and treats everyone in his life with kindness and respect. The work he has done in the field of microbial pathogenesis (how organisms cause disease) has been ground-breaking. He deserves the Nobel Prize.