Contacts: Ron Kalb, DRI Director of Public Information ron.kalb@dri.edu Las Vegas (702) 862-5420 (office), (702) 498-8916 (cell)
All DRI News Releases available at: http://news.dri.edu/
April 28, 2005
DRI welcomes nominations for Nevada Medal as deadline approaches
Reno, Nev. —
Desert Research Institute is seeking nominations for its annual award to a
world-renowned
scientist. Widely recognized as one of the West's most-prestigious scientific
honors, the Nevada Medal acknowledges outstanding achievement in science and
engineering. DRI's nominations deadline is July 1.
Established by DRI in1988, the award includes an eight-ounce minted medallion
of 99.9 percent pure Nevada silver and a $20,000 lecture honorarium sponsored
by communications company SBC.
Previous winners include researchers in wide-ranging disciplines and fields,
including archaeology, astrophysics, atmospheric chemistry, biology, biochemistry,
limnology, mathematics, microbiology, paleoecology, physics and remote sensing.
Some of the most-distinguished names in science have been honored by DRI. When
Dr. F. Sherwood Rowland agreed to accept the Nevada Medal in September 1995,
the University of California, Irvine professor was notified a month later of
his Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Both awards recognized his atmospheric studies
that led to an understanding of how the stratospheric ozone layer forms and
decomposes.
Nevada Medalist Dr. James A. Van Allen, of the University of Iowa, was honored
as the discoverer of the "Van Allen Radiation Belt" surrounding the Earth and
a pioneer in the use of unmanned probes for space exploration.
Paleoecologist Dr. Margaret Bryan Davis, of the University of Minnesota, received
the award for her innovative analytical approach that overturned scientific assumptions
about how environments respond to climate change.
Dr. Benoit Mandelbrot, of IBM's Watkins Research Center, accepted the Nevada
Medal for introducing fractal geometry and "The Mandelbrot Set" to art, mathematics
and science.
Nevada's governor formally presents the medal during dinner ceremonies attended
by the state's business, education and government leaders. Medalists also deliver
public lectures at DRI campuses in Las Vegas and Reno.
Universities, private firms, research organizations, professional societies and
individuals are invited to make Nevada Medal nominations. DRI is currently accepting
nominations for the 2006 and 2007 award years.
DRI's selection committee considers the overall impact of a nominee's career
as well as singular contributions with reference to the influence on the field
of science or engineering. The committee also takes into account the significance
of these contributions toward resolution or understanding of critical scientific,
environmental or technical challenges.
For more information about the Nevada Medal, go to http://ia.dri.edu/NVmedal/ or
contact DRI Vice President for Research Dr. Chris Maples at chris.maples@dri.edu or
775-673-7463 or 702-862-5460, in Las Vegas.
About DRI
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System
of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental
research on a local, national and international scale. More than 500 full- and
part-time scientists, technicians and support staff conduct some 300 research
projects at DRI annually. The State of Nevada provides part of DRI's capital
and operating budgets supporting construction of new facilities, administration,
and operations and maintenance. While DRI's portion of the UCCSN operating
budget is less than 1 percent, DRI leverages these funds to enhance its competitiveness.
In the last fiscal year, DRI generated $45 million in total revenue consisting
predominantly of competitively won research contracts and grants.