Professor Emeritus M. Frederick Hawthorne is among twelve scientists President Obama selected to receive the National Medal of Science, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government upon scientists.
Hawthorne was recognized for his pioneering work with the chemical element boron; he developed the Boron Neuron Capture Technology technique that has been used in experimental treatments of such diseases as cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and Alzheimer’s. The recipients will receive their awards at a White House ceremony later this year.
From 1969 to 2006, Hawthorne served as a professor of chemistry in the department, being named the University Professor of Chemistry, the most distinguished title bestowed upon faculty, by the Regents of the University of California, in 1998. In 2006, he retired and founded the International Institute of Nano and Molecular Medicine at the University of Missouri, where he is Institute Director and Curators’ Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Radiology. Hawthorne joins the following faculty in receiving this medal: Saul Winstein (1970, Richard B. Bernstein (1989), Donald J. Cram (1993), C. Kumar Patel (1996), and Mostafa A. El-Sayed (2007).
The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 and is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. Awarded annually, the Medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.
The official announcemnt is available here.
