Newswise — The National Academy of Sciences has named Dr. Eugenie C. Scott the latest recipient of the NAS Public Welfare Medal. She joins an elite club that includes Carl Sagan, C. Everett Koop, David Packard, and Vannevar Bush.
The NAS medal honors "extraordinary use of science for the public good". Dr. Scott, says NAS president Ralph Cicerone, has worked "tirelessly and very effectively to improve public understanding of both the nature of science and the science of evolution. She makes the case for science again and again."
"I am profoundly honored by the National Academy's choice of me to receive the Public Welfare Medal," Scott said. "It honors not just my work and the NCSE's, but the work of a host of dedicated, thoughtful, and passionate people who have labored in defense of the teaching of evolution in the public schools. I have been privileged to work with them over the years, and I am proud to accept the award on their behalf."
Dr. Scott has led the National Center for Science Education since 1987, promoting and defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools. Dr. Scott and NCSE have played a pivotal role in responding to creationist pseudoscience in the classroom, aiding educators, scientists, parents, school boards, the media, textbook publishers, and more. Scott and NCSE have served as pro bono consultants in state and federal court cases, including the landmark 2005 Kitzmiller v. Dover trial, which held that intelligent design is creationism and cannot be taught in public schools.
“Dr. Scott has been a champion in protecting the teaching of evolution in the U.S. public schools and a central figure in improving the public's understanding of evolution and the nature of science. We honor her for many years of organizing coalitions of scientists, parents, teachers, business people, clergy, and others to defend the teaching of evolution," said John Brauman, home secretary of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the Public Welfare Medal selection committee.
The Public Welfare Medal will be presented to Scott on April 25 during the Academy's 147th annual meeting.
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is an honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Of NAS's 2100 members, nearly 200 have won Nobel Prize.
RESOURCES:
NAS press releasehttp://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=01112010
List of previous medalistshttp://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AWARDS_pwm
"Eugenie C. Scott honored by the National Academy of Sciences"http://ncse.com/news/2010/01/eugenie-c-scott-honored-by-national-academy-sciences-005277
MEDIA NOTE
If you need a picture of Dr. Scott or the NAS Public Welfare Medal, please contact me.
CONTACT: Robert Luhn of the NCSE, 510-601-7203, [email protected]
Web site: www.ncse.com
The National Center for Science Education (NCSE) is a not-for-profit, membership organization that defends and promotes the teaching of evolution in the public schools. The NCSE provides information and resources to schools, parents, and concerned citizens working to keep evolution in public school science education. We educate the press and public about the scientific, educational, and legal aspects of the creation and evolution controversy, and supply needed information and advice to defend good science education at local, state, and national levels. Our 4000 members are scientists, teachers, clergy, and citizens with diverse religious affiliations.
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