Dr. Leroy Hood has received the National Medal of Science, one of the highest honors bestowed upon scientists, engineers and inventors in the U.S. Hood is a pioneer in the fields of genomics and systems biology, and the National Medal of Science is one of many honors he’s received in recent years.
He’s best known in the Seattle area for founding the Institute for Systems Biology, whose mission is to “revolutionize science, transform human health, and ensure environmental sustainability.” Prior to the ISB, Hood worked at the University of Washington, and before that led teams that developed the DNA gene sequencer and synthesizer, technologies that paved the way for the successful mapping of the human genome.
“I am deeply honored to receive a National Medal of Science, and am profoundly grateful to the many fantastic colleagues and partners with whom I have worked throughout the years,” said Hood in a statement. “Transforming human health is my life’s work and I am proud of all we have accomplished.”
Hood will officially receive the award at a White House ceremony next year. He’s the fifth person from Washington state to win the award, and the first in nearly two decades.
President Barack Obama issued this statement on the award winners:
“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.”
Here are all of the recipients
National Medal of Science
Dr. Allen Bard, University of Texas at Austin, TX
Dr. Sallie Chisholm, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
Dr. Sidney Drell, Stanford University, CA
Dr. Sandra Faber, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA
Dr. Sylvester James Gates, University of Maryland, MD
Dr. Solomon Golomb, University of Southern California, CA
Dr. John Goodenough, University of Texas at Austin, TX
Dr. M. Frederick Hawthorne, University of Missouri, MO
Dr. Leroy Hood, Institute for Systems Biology, WA
Dr. Barry Mazur, Harvard University, MA
Dr. Lucy Shapiro, Stanford University School of Medicine, CA
Dr. Anne Treisman, Princeton University, NJ
National Medal of Technology and Innovation
Dr. Frances Arnold, California Institute of Technology, CA
Dr. George Carruthers, U.S. Naval Research Lab, DC
Dr. Robert Langer, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA
Dr. Norman McCombs, AirSep Corporation, NY
Dr. Gholam Peyman, Arizona Retinal Specialists, AZ
Dr. Art Rosenfeld, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA
Dr. Jan Vilcek, NYU Langone Medical Center, NY
Team:
Dr. Samuel Blum, IBM Corporation, NY
Dr. Rangaswamy Srinivasan, IBM Corporation, NY
Dr. James Wynne, IBM Corporation, NY
Company:
Raytheon BBN Technologies, MA, *Represented by CEO, Edward Campbell
