Wednesday, June 22, 2005

Assistant Professor John Howell Awarded Presidential PECASE Award June 2005

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is pleased to announce that John Howell, Assistant Professor of Physics, has been named a recipient of a 2004 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This prestigious award, for young faculty at the start of their careers, will provide Prof. Howell with $500,000 support for reasearch, spread out over a 5 year period.

The award was announced on June 13th, 2005, with the citation stating:

[To] John C. Howell of the University of Rochester for outstanding research accomplishments in atomic and optical physics, entangled photons, quantum information theory and experiments, ultra-low light level nonlinear optics, single photon detection, coherent atom-light interactions, quantum measurement theory, cloning, and fundamental tests of quantum mechanics, and for numerous guest lectures to both domestic and international audiences.

The PECASE awards were created to honor and support the extraordinary achievements of young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers in the fields of science and technology. The Presidential Award embodies the high priority placed by the government on maintaining the leadership position of the United States in science by producing outstanding scientists and engineers who will broadly advance science and the missions important to the participating Federal Agencies.

The 2004 Awardees received a private tour of the oval office, followed by a ceremony in the cash room in the Treasury Department. The photo below shows the 2004 receipients in front of the White House with President Bush. Prof. Howell is the 7th from the right in the top row.

The following description of the PECASE program is from the NIH Web Site (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/pecase.htm):

THE PRESIDENTIAL EARLY CAREER AWARDS FOR SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS (PECASE) PROGRAM

Program description:

In February 1996, the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), was commissioned by President Clinton to create an award program that would honor and support the extraordinary achievements of young professionals at the outset of their independent research careers in the fields of science and technology. The Presidential Award embodies the high priority placed by the government on maintaining the leadership position of the United States in science by producing outstanding scientists and engineers who will broadly advance science and the missions important to the participating agencies.

The Presidential Awards are intended to recognize and nurture some of the finest scientists and engineers who, while early in their research careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century. The Awards will first and foremost support the continued development of the awardees, foster innovative and far-reaching developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the nation's future.

The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. The White House following recommendations from participating agencies will confer the awards annually. To be eligible for a Presidential Award, an individual must be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident. Each Presidential Award will be of five years duration. Selection criteria and processes are dependent upon the agency.

The participating agencies are:

National Science Foundation
National Science and Technology Council
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Environmental Protection Agency
Department of Agriculture
Department of Commerce
Department of Defense
Department of Energy
Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health
Department of Transportation
Department of Veterans Affairs

The following is the text of the White House News Release of June 13, 2005
(from http://www.ostp.gov/html/PECASE20046-13-05.pdf.)

White House Announces 2004 Awards for Early Career Scientists and Engineers

The White House today announced the recipients of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the nation?s highest honor for professionals at the outset of their independent research careers. Fifty-eight researchers will be honored today in a ceremony presided over by John H. Marburger III, Science Advisor to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, established in 1996, honors the most promising researchers in the nation within their fields. Eight federal departments and agencies annually nominate scientists and engineers at the start of their independent careers whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge during the twenty-first century. Participating agencies award these talented scientists and engineers up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical government missions.

The recipients of the 2004 Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, along with their nominating federal department or agency are:

Department of Agriculture

Edward S. Buckler, IV, Agricultural Research Service
Devin G. Peterson, Pennsylvania State University
Michael K. Schwartz, USDA Forest Service

Department of Commerce

Daniel J. Cziczo, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Michael J. Fasolka, National Institute of Standards and Technology
Philip Roni, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Joel N. Ullom, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Department of Defense

Ali Adibi, Georgia Institute of Technology
Marija Drndic, University of Pennsylvania
David S. Ginger, University of Washington
John C. Howell, University of Rochester
Raadhakrishnan Poovendran, University of Washington
Mark J. Schnitzer, Stanford University

Department of Energy

John R. Arrington, Argonne National Laboratory
William J. Ashmanskas, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Wei Cai, Stanford University
William P. King, Georgia Institute of Technology
Yunfeng Lu, Tulane University
Hong Qin, Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Robert B. Ross, Argonne National Laboratory
Paul Vaska, Brookhaven National Laboratory
Zhangbu Xu, Brookhaven National Laboratory

Department of Health and Human Services: National Institutes of Health

Luis R. Garcia, Texas A&M University
Catherine M. Gordon, Boston Children's Hospital
Joanna C. Jen, University of California, Los Angeles Yuhong Jiang, Harvard University
Neil L. Kelleher, University of Illinois
Tejvir S. Khurana, University of Pennsylvania
Robin F. Krimm, University of Louisville
Suneeta Krishnan, University of California, San Francisco
Kenneth D. Mandl, Children?s Hospital of Boston
Marisela Morales, National Institute on Drug Abuse
Teresa A. Nicolson, Oregon Health and Science University
Brenda A. Schulman, St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital

Department of Veterans Affairs

William M. Grady, University of Washington
Kevin G. Volpp, University of Pennsylvania National

Aeronautics and Space Administration

David Alexander, Rice University
Michael G. Bosilovich, National Aeronautics and Space Administration

National Science Foundation

David V. Anderson, Georgia Institute of Technology
Paul H. Barber, Boston University
Michael A. Bevan, Texas A&M University
Derrick T. Brazill, City University of New York, Hunter College
Frank L. H. Brown, University of California, Santa Barbara
Marianella Casasola, Cornell University
Elaine Chew, University of Southern California
Martin L. Culpepper, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Oscar D. Dubon,Jr., University of California, Berkeley
Michael J. Garvin, II, Columbia University
Sean Gavin, Wayne State University
Jennifer A. Jay, University of California, Los Angeles
Jun Jiao, Portland State University
Shalinee Kishore, Lehigh University
Wei Li, University of Washington
Donna L. Maney, Emory University
Daniel J. Mindiola, Indiana University
Becky W. Packard, Mount Holyoke College
Russell S. Schwartz, Carnegie Mellon University
ChengXiang Zhai, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

About the Office of Science and Technology Policy

Congress established OSTP in 1976 with a broad mandate to advise the President and others within the Executive Office of the President on the impacts of science and technology on domestic and international affairs. The 1976 Act also authorizes OSTP to lead an interagency effort to develop and to implement sound science and technology policies and budgets and to work with the private sector, state and local governments, the science and higher education communities, and other nations toward this end. The Director of OSTP serves as co-chair of the President?s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and oversees the National Science and Technology Council on behalf of the President. For more information visit www.ostp.gov.

For further news about recipients from New York State, go to: http://www.nystar.state.ny.us/pr/05/press24-05.htm

Article submitted by:
Arie Bodek
6/22/05; 2:08:51 AM

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