Category Archives: Science and Health

Louisville scientist started mission that educates kids in Pakistan

In Methola, an obscure hamlet in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, lives 12-year-old Nafisa with her parents and five brothers. The family is poor; their village’s government-provided facilities meagre. So, Nafisa missed early education. But things dramatically improved for her. Today, she aspires to become a doctor.In Mahershah, a dusty village in the Southern Punjab region of Pakistan, lives 9-year-old Ismail. He has congenital hand and back deformities. His father strives to provide for the family. Ismail also missed early education, not just because of poverty in his family, but also because the schools in his area, if any, are not refined enough to meet the needs of special children. But then, things dramatically improved for him, too. Today, he aspires to become an art teacher.Nafisa and Ismail are among the thousands of children of various ages, in various villages in Pakistan, whose young lives have, luckily, encountered epochal transformation: Their thirst for education, a natural phenomenon in every growing mind, is experiencing quenching miracles.The source of those miracles is Shahid Qamar, a Pakistani-born immigrant. He and his wife, Nuzhat, live in Louisville. He holds a doctorate in physics from Arizona State University. For 15 years, he worked as a research scientist at the University of Louisville, where he used AI when not many people knew about it. He now works in the corporate world — you guessed it — as a scientist.The couple is the heart and soul of the Pakistani community in Kentuckiana. They are always there for the community to help it celebrate its joys and cope with its sorrows. It was probably that inherent kindness that motivated him to start the mission of providing early education to the kids, who otherwise would have missed it, in desolate Pakistani villages.Takmil grows from 50 to 5,000 studentsQamar established Takmil (pronounced Taakmeel), a nonprofit education-oriented organization. It’s an Urdu word, meaning completion. But completion of what? Giving a child basic education is hardly the completion of a child’s education.Here is the answer: Perhaps, one day, Takmil will support its kids all the way to college. For now, Takmil is content with lighting a flame inside them. Its warmth and glow may motivate the kids enough to continue their learning even after leaving Takmil’s fold. Hopefully, more will succeed than fail. The word refers to completing the basic learning step, not the entire journey, if the learning journey is ever complete. It’s an apt name.At its inception in 2017, Takmil had 50 students. Today, it has 5,000 students in 150 schools. In some schools, more than half the students are from non-Muslim families. A Takmil school is not a typical brick and mortar structure. There are not enough resources for that. So, Takmil took a creative and lean approach.How Takmil helps children in Pakistani villagesHere is how it works: Takmil has a team of passionate and competent facilitators (New facilitators receive training in Islamabad). The facilitators approach the residents of a deserving village, asking them to provide a place where kids could gather for daily free lessons. It may be a mud hut, a mosque or a thatched portico. And voila, a Takmil school is born.Opinion:Biden should act like Trump when it comes to the Equal Rights AmendmentTakmil provides the students with simple tablets, free of cost. The tablets are loaded with the early education material that covers STEM and other topics. The kids have missed years of early education, so, the material covers topics that a child would normally take seven years to learn. Takmil kids complete it within a year. They are ready and eager to learn fast. The facilitators are on hand to help.Even Pakistan’s big cities face power shortages. Villages don’t face power shortages; they simply face absence of power. So Takmil relies on solar energy to meet its power needs. One thing the subcontinent is replete with is solar energy.Mission gets recognition from BidenImmigrants enrich their adopted land by contributing to its academic and economic prowess. That happens automatically, when an immigrant has the brain of a scientist. But emigration from economically weak countries stymies their chances of breaking the vicious cycles of helplessness because emigration results in loss of their talent. That’s one of the causes of international inequity. But as Qamar is showing us, a great immigrant is also a great emigrant, as he continues to benefit the country he emigrated from.Qamar has received a letter from President Joe Biden, acknowledging his efforts in spreading early education in Pakistan. Qamar said he did not apply for it. My guess is the U.S. embassy in Pakistan noticed his mission and then briefed the White House.Opinion:Fatal shooting of health insurance CEO has exposed outrage, need for changeQamar’s passion reminds me of two educational icons in history whose creations continue to benefit humanity: from Kentucky, Charles William Forman (1821-1894), and from India, Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898).Forman was born in Washington, Kentucky. Such was his passion to serve humanity that on the day he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister at age 26, he started his journey to India. He settled in Lahore (now a part of Pakistan). He established a missionary school in Lahore. It transformed into a college. It’s now called the Forman Christian College and has the status of a university. FCC maintains internationally recognized high standards of education. Forman is buried in Lahore.Sir Syed was dismayed by the ignorance that, at the time, was rampant among his fellow Muslims. Many of them were against studying sciences and liberal arts, restricting learning to religion. He confronted that mindset. He established Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental college, on the pattern of Oxford. Later, the college became a university, the Aligarh Muslim University. Today, the AMU is one of India’s top-notch universities.We don’t know if Nafisa will become a doctor, or Ismail’s artwork will, one day, mesmerize the world, but they and their likes now have a fighting chance to improve their future and their communities’ future. For that, we should all thank Qamar, whom posterity may list next to Forman and Sir Syed.Siddique Malik is an observer of sociopolitical and international affairs. He has made occasional op-ed contributions to the Courier Journal for the past two decades. Find him @TheSummerOf1787.

MATRIC RESULTS PREVIEW: Universities hope for improvement in maths, science

STEM graduates likelier to find jobs, and industries employing them are important drivers of economy 05 January 2025 – 14:42 by Tamar Khan The 2024 matric results released on Monday January 13 will be scrutinised closely for signs of improvement in candidates’ performance in maths and physical science, two critical gateway subjects for university admission.Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) graduates are likelier to find employment than those with humanities degrees, and the industries they find work in are important drivers of the economy…

Covid jab scientists develop Black Death vaccine amid fears of next pandemic

The plague has killed around 200 million people worldwide throughout history.But the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca coronavirus jab has now reported progress in its work on an inoculation.Three of the world’s seven known pandemics have been caused by the plague, a bacterial infection triggered by the Yersinia pestis microbe. It can be treated with antibiotics but none of the several vaccines in development are approved for use.Scientists have called for the UK to add a Black Death jab to its stockpile as the risk of a superbug strain rises.And now the Oxford team says a trial of its vaccine on 40 healthy adults which started in 2021 has yielded results which show it is safe and able to produce an immune response in people.The man behind the trial, Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told The Telegraph that the results of the trial are to be submitted to a journal for peer review within weeks, with further clinical trials expected.He said: “There are no licensed plague vaccines in the UK. Antibiotics are the only treatment. There are some licensed vaccines in Russia.“The risk in the UK is currently very low. Previous historical pandemics that had high mortality were associated with initiation from fleas on rodents but were driven by person to person spread.”Government military scientists recently called for a vaccine to be approved and manufactured in bulk quantities because plague still exists in pockets of the world and has “potential for pandemic spread”.Scientists at Porton Down’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) wrote in a paper in the journal NPJ Vaccines that vaccines need to be expedited “to prevent future disastrous plague outbreaks”.This, they add, is compounded by the rising issue of antimicrobial resistance which is creating superbug strains of plague that cannot be easily treated by antibiotics.Plague is spread by fleas which transmit the bacteria from the rodents that carry it to the humans they bite. The Black Death outbreak in the 1300s killed half the population of Europe, according to some estimates.It can manifest as bubonic plague, pneumonic plague or septicemic plague. Bubonic plague is 30 per cent fatal without treatment and is characterised by swollen and painful lymph nodes around the flea bite.Pneumonic is where the bacteria is breathed into the lungs and results in shortness of breath, fever and coughing up blood. This is 100 per cent fatal if not treated in 24 hours, and people can spread this to other humans via droplets.Bubonic and pneumonic can also develop into septicaemic plague, which is life-threatening.Since the advent of antibiotics in the 20th century there has been less concern over plague. However, antimicrobial resistance is now on the march globally and expected to kill 39 million people by 2050.DSTL scientists say there is a “demonstrable” risk of superbug plague evolving, with such strains already found in Madagascar and Peru.Professor Tim Atkins, a DTSL Fellow and lead in the chemical, biological and radiological division, told The Telegraph: “If a person gets infected with an antibiotic-resistant strain of the plague bacteria, treatment might be less effective, and they could remain sick for longer.“For pneumonic plague (spread by inhalation), this increases the chances of infecting others nearby.“While resistant strains exist, there are still other antibiotics that can be used as backups. Antibiotic resistance isn’t unique in the plague; it’s also a concern for common infections like MRSA in the UK.”He added that the current risk of superbug plague currently is “very low” but said this could increase with climate change making it easier for animal diseases to spread to humans,Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: “Until relatively recently, Yersinia pestis was regarded as widely susceptible to antibiotics, so eminently treatable if infection were detected early enough. However, that’s changing, and resistance is increasing.“Malign use in bioterrorism or biowarfare could see the bacteria spread relatively efficiently. At a time when we’re being warned of increased risk of everything from cyber warfare to a third nuclear age, use of pathogens to destabilise societies and spread panic might be appealing to some bad actors.“If that were to happen, vaccination of the whole population would be the only way to grip such a situation quickly, so aligned states would probably be well advised to at least have the potential to quickly generate batches of vaccine.”

NIH Scientists Discover Game-Changing Antibodies Against Malaria

NIH researchers discovered new antibodies targeting a malaria parasite region not addressed by current vaccines. The most potent, MAD21-101, shows promise for prevention without compromising vaccine efficacy, offering hope for improved tools to combat malaria and other diseases. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
Novel antibodies have the potential to pave the way for the next generation of malaria interventions.
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have identified a novel class of antibodies that target a previously unexplored region of the malaria parasite, potentially paving the way for innovative prevention strategies. The study, published in Science, highlights the promise of these antibodies in the fight against malaria.
Among the newly identified antibodies, the most effective demonstrated protective effects against malaria parasites in animal models. These antibodies stand out because they bind to regions of the parasite not targeted by current malaria vaccines, offering a new avenue for combating this life-threatening disease.
Malaria, caused by Plasmodium parasites transmitted through infected mosquito bites, remains a significant global health threat. While rare in the United States, the disease had a devastating global toll in 2023, with the World Health Organization reporting an estimated 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths.
Of the five species of Plasmodium that cause malaria, Plasmodium falciparum is the most common in African countries where the burden of malaria is largest and where young children account for the majority of malaria deaths. Safe and effective countermeasures are critical for reducing the immense burden of this disease.
Advances in Malaria Interventions
In recent years, new interventions have been developed against malaria, including vaccines that currently are being rolled out for young children in regions where the disease is prevalent. Anti-malarial monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are another promising new tool that have been shown to be safe and efficacious against infection with P. falciparum in adults and children in early clinical trials.
The anti-malarial mAbs evaluated in trials in malaria-endemic regions target the P. falciparum sporozoite—the life stage of the parasite that is transmitted from mosquitoes to people. By binding to and neutralizing the sporozoite, the mAbs prevent sporozoites from infecting the liver, where they otherwise develop into blood-stage parasites that infect blood cells and cause disease and death.
Plasmodium falciparum sporozoites (purple/blue) with bound monoclonal antibodies (yellow/orange). Credit: NIAID
The most promising anti-malarial mAbs tested in humans to date bind to a protein on the sporozoite surface called the circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP) at locations near to or containing amino acid repeats in a region called the central repeat region. This portion of PfCSP also is included in the two available malaria vaccines. The researchers in the current study aimed to find mAbs that target new sites on the sporozoite surface.
Led by scientists at NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the research team used a novel approach to find new portions—or epitopes—on the sporozoite surface where antibodies bind. They isolated human mAbs produced in response to whole sporozoites, rather than to specific parts of the parasite, and then tested the mAbs to see if they could neutralize sporozoites in a mouse model of malaria. One mAb, named MAD21-101, was found to be the most potent, providing protection against P. falciparum infection in mice.
Implications for Vaccine and Antibody Development
This new mAb binds to an epitope on PfCSP outside of the central repeat region that is conserved—or similar—between different strains of P. falciparum. Notably, the epitope, called pGlu-CSP, is exposed only after a specific step in the development of the sporozoite, but it is widely accessible on the sporozoite surface—a scenario that the researchers say could mean pGlu-CSP would be effective at eliciting a protective immune response if used in a vaccine.
As pGlu-CSP is not included in currently used malaria vaccines, mAbs targeting this epitope are unlikely to interfere with the efficacy of these vaccines if the vaccines and mAbs are co-administered. According to the scientists, this could provide an advantage because this new class of antibodies may be suitable to prevent malaria in at-risk infants who have not yet received a malaria vaccine, but may receive one in the future.
Findings from the study will inform future strategies for the prevention of malaria and may facilitate the development of new antibodies and vaccines against the disease, the researchers indicate. The scientists also note that more research is needed to examine the activity and effectiveness of the newly identified antibody class and epitope, according to their paper. The approach used in this study could also aid the development of a new generation of countermeasures against other pathogens, in addition to malaria.
Reference: “Protective antibodies target cryptic epitope unmasked by cleavage of malaria sporozoite protein” by Cherrelle Dacon, Re’em Moskovitz, Kristian Swearingen, Lais Da Silva Pereira, Yevel Flores-Garcia, Maya Aleshnick, Sachie Kanatani, Barbara Flynn, Alvaro Molina-Cruz, Kurt Wollenberg, Maria Traver, Payton Kirtley, Lauren Purser, Marlon Dillon, Brian Bonilla, Adriano Franco, Samantha Petros, Jake Kritzberg, Courtney Tucker, Gonzalo Gonzalez Paez, Priya Gupta, Melanie J. Shears, Joseph Pazzi, Joshua M. Edgar, Andy A. Teng, Arnel Belmonte, Kyosuke Oda, Safiatou Doumbo, Ludmila Krymskaya, Jeff Skinner, Shanping Li, Suman Ghosal, Kassoum Kayentao, Aissata Ongoiba, Ashley Vaughan, Joseph J. Campo, Boubacar Traore, Carolina Barillas-Mury, Wathsala Wijayalath, Azza Idris, Peter D. Crompton, Photini Sinnis, Brandon K. Wilder, Fidel Zavala, Robert A. Seder, Ian A. Wilson and Joshua Tan, 3 January 2025, Science.DOI: 10.1126/science.adr0510

“Homo juluensis”: Scientists Claim To Have Discovered New Species of Humans

A new human species, Homo juluensis, has been proposed based on fossils from eastern Asia, dating back 300,000 to 50,000 years ago, possibly including the Denisovans. This research uses a novel method of organizing fossil evidence to clarify the evolution of ancient humans in the region.
Researcher Christopher J. Bae identified Homo juluensis, a new human species that coexisted with Denisovans in Asia.
A University of Hawaiʻi researcher may have identified a new human species, Homo juluensis, which could encompass enigmatic groups like the Denisovans—ancient human relatives whose stories are still being unraveled.
Professor Christopher J. Bae, a renowned anthropologist at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Department of Anthropology in the College of Social Sciences, has dedicated over 30 years to studying human ancestors across Asia.
His latest findings, published in Nature Communications, shed light on the complex interactions and diversity of ancient human-like species that coexisted in Asia during the late Middle to early Late Pleistocene, a time frame spanning approximately 300,000 to 50,000 years ago.
New organization of hominin fossils from eastern Asia after discovery of new species. Credit: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Homo juluensis lived approximately 300,000 years ago in eastern Asia, hunted wild horses in small groups, and made stone tools and possibly processed animal hides for survival before disappearing around 50,000 years ago. Importantly, it was proposed that the new species include the enigmatic Denisovans, a population known primarily through DNA evidence from a few physical remains found in Siberia, and a few fossils found in Tibet and Laos. More research is clearly needed to test this relationship, which is primarily based on similarities between jaw and teeth fossils from these different sites.
Organization breakthrough
Bae credits a new way of organizing fossil evidence for the breakthrough. Some may think of it as organizing an old family photo album where some pictures are blurry or hard to identify. Bae and his research team have essentially created a clearer system for sorting and understanding these ancient human fossils from China, Korea, Japan, and southeast Asia.
Christopher J. Bae. Credit: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
“This study clarifies a hominin fossil record that has tended to include anything that cannot easily be assigned to Homo erectus, Homo neanderthalensis, or Homo sapiens,” Bae said. “Although we started this project several years ago, we did not expect to be able to propose a new hominin (human ancestor) species and then to be able to organize the hominin fossils from Asia into different groups. Ultimately, this should help with science communication.”
This work is important because it helps scientists—and the rest of us—better understand the complex story of human evolution in Asia, filling in some of the gaps in our understanding of our ancient relatives.
Reference: “Making sense of eastern Asian Late Quaternary hominin variability” by Christopher J. Bae, and Xiujie Wu, 2 November 2024, Nature Communications.DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-53918-7
Bae’s Nature Communications co-author is Xiujie Wu, a senior professor from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in Beijing, China, and lead author on the taxonomic assignment and description of Homo juluensis.

Science Fair on Jan. 17 @ SMART Building

Posted by The Patuxent Partnership on Sunday, January 5, 2025 · Leave a Comment 

The Patuxent Partnership offers this reminder: the 2025 St. Mary’s County Science and Engineering Fair will be held Friday, January 17.
The event will be held at the University System of Maryland at Southern Maryland SMART Building in California, MD. The award ceremony will be held on the same afternoon.
The science fair is open to St. Mary’s County students and offers an opportunity for them to share their talents in experimental methodologies, engineering design and testing, and other scientific projects.
The fair website contains links to general information, science and engineering categories, and judging information.
Check the website for ways to partner with the fair, including sponsoring awards and scholarships, advertising opportunities, and volunteering as board members, judges, and project mentors.
Email Mark Ragland, fair president, at [email protected] for additional information.
Deadline for advertising materials is Monday, January 6, 2025. Please send advertisement artwork and questions directly to Samantha Nelson at [email protected].
More information and sponsorship forms may be found here.
About The Patuxent Partnership
The Patuxent Partnership is a nonprofit member organization that fosters collaboration between government, industry, and academia to advance education through STEM-based initiatives; to advance technology through speaker programs, forums, and networking; to advance science and technology transfer through the exchange of ideas, information, and data related to technologies; and to increase workforce development through an array of initiatives.
SoMD 2030 is focused on building a STEM pipeline, increasing career opportunities. This collaborative effort is funded by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aviation Division. The Patuxent Partnership is accomplishing the work under an agreement with NAWCAD, working with St. Mary’s College of Maryland, College of Southern Maryland, area public school systems, as well as other schools, industry, and NAWCAD. SoMD 2030 connects talented students with paid apprenticeships and internships.
To learn more about The Patuxent Partnership and its programs, visit its Leader member page.

Opinion: George Will: Memo to Musk: Overhauling government isn’t rocket science. It’s harder.

Elon Musk, a Don Quixote with Vivek Ramaswamy tagging along as Sancho Panza, recently ascended Capitol Hill to warn the windmills of tiltings to come. They have vowed to cut government down to the size they prefer. But when they descended from the Hill, their most specific proposal remained what it was before they ascended: to eliminate … daylight saving time. How this would improve governmental “efficiency” is unclear.

Predicting La Crosse and Wisconsin top stories of 2025 with UW-L political scientist, Chergosky

UW-La Crosse’s Dr. Anthony Chergosky in the WIZM studio Friday for La Crosse Talk PM, predicting the Top 2025 stories for both La Crosse and Wisconsin, plus the professor’s Top 5 story predictions for the year. La Crosse Talk PM airs weekdays at 5:06 p.m. Listen on the WIZM app, online here, or on 92.3 FM…

WFMZ gets Wicked at the Da Vinci Science Center’s 2025 Ice Cream Wars

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Da Vinci Science Center welcomed back a favorite tradition to its new location. Ice Cream Wars pins local companies against one another to come up with the best crowd-pleasing flavor.After all, who doesn’t love ice cream? Lin Erickson, Executive Director and CEO of the Da Vinci Science Center said, “It’s one of the most popular events every year. It’s my favorite event, no question.”Over 1,000 people attended this year. 8 different companies took on the task to come up with the best flavor and got creative. There was mint delight, to a banana-chocolate creation, to even “breakfast of champions,” maple ice cream topped with waffle and bacon bits.#placement_730101_0_i{width:100%;margin:0 auto;}But it’s more than just the ice cream, presentation plays a big role. “These teams come together,” said Erickson. “It gets so creative and besides the ice cream flavor, which they are testing in their company, their colleagues also have a theme, they are in costumes.”WFMZ got into the action with our own wicked cool idea. Wicked From Oz was this year’s theme. We even had our very own Glinda, Elphaba and Oz in costume. As for the ice cream, “We actually have two different flavors if you want Elphaba or if you want Glinda,” said 69 News anchor, Melanie Falcon who played Elphaba. “We have a mint cookie crunch which is green like me, and a vanilla cookie crunch, which is pink like Glinda.”The event is fun and delicious, with some science snuck in. “We have a show going on here that introduces kids and family to liquid nitrogen and what’s actually happening in the ice cream process to make it do smooth,” said Erickson.A lot of liquid nitrogen, milk, sugar and toppings later, it was time to call the winners.WFMZ took home best in show.The Alvin H. Butz, Inc. was the big winner and went home with the trophy and bragging rights.

Biden Names 25 Recipients Of National Medals Of Science, Technology

President Joe Biden has announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation—the nation’s highest honors for exemplary achievements and leadership in science and technology.

Established in 1959, the National Medal of Science is administered for the White House by the National Science Foundation. The medal recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation was established in 1980 and is administered for the White House by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Patent and Trademark Office. It recognizes individuals and organizations for their lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the nation’s technological workforce.

The National Medal of Science was awarded to 14 recipients. Nine individuals were given the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, along with two organizations — Moderna, Inc. and Pfizer Inc.

Four of the recipients were faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The University of Minnesota, Stanford University, Harvard University and Vanderbilt University had two medal recipients each.

In a statement from the White House, Biden said, “those who earn these awards embody the promise of America by pushing the boundaries of what is possible. These trailblazers have harnessed the power of science and technology to tackle challenging problems and deliver innovative solutions for Americans and for communities around the world.”

He cited their discoveries in areas such as climate crisis, medical treatments, vaccine developments, changes in communication and improvements in understanding of the universe and our place within it. “Their accomplishments advance American leadership in science, technology, and innovation, and their work inspires the next generation of American leaders,” noted the press release.

The 14 recipients of the National Medal of Science are:

Richard B. Alley, the Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences at Pennsylvania State University. Alley researches the great ice sheets to help predict future changes in climate and sea levels.
Larry Martin Bartels, University Distinguished Professor of Political Science and Law and the May Werthan Shayne Chair of Public Policy and Social Science at Vanderbilt University. His scholarship focuses on public opinion, public policy, election science, and political economy.
Bonnie L. Bassler, Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, for her research on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular communication.
Angela Marie Belcher, the James Mason Crafts Professor of Biological Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at MIT and a member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research. She was honored for designing materials for applications in solar cells, batteries, and medical imaging.
Helen M. Blau, Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and the Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University for her research on muscle diseases, regeneration and aging, including the use of stem cells for tissue repair.
Emery Neal Brown, the Edward Hood Taplin Professor of Medical Engineering and Computational Neuroscience at MIT, was recognized for his work revealing how anesthesia affects the brain.
John O. Dabiri, Centennial Chair Professor at the California Institute of Technology, in the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories and Mechanical Engineering. His research focuses on fluid mechanics and flow physics, with an emphasis on topics relevant to biology, energy, and the environment.
Ingrid Daubechies, the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor Emerita of Mathematics at Duke University, was honored for her pioneering work on signal processing.
Cynthia Dwork, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at Harvard University, was recognized for research that has transformed the way data privacy is handled in the age of big data and AI.
R. Lawrence Edwards, Regents and Distinguished McKnight University Professor, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota. Edwards is known for his refinement of radiocarbon dating techniques to study climate history and ocean chemistry.
Wendy L. Freedman, the John and Marion Sullivan University Professor in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago, for her observational cosmology research, including pioneering uses of the Hubble Space Telescope.
Keivan G. Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Physics & Astronomy at Vanderbilt University for his work in astrophysics, including the study of star formation and exoplanets.
G. David Tilman is Regents Professor and the McKnight Presidential Chair in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He studies biological diversity, the structure and benefits of ecosystems and ways to assure sustainability despite global increases in human consumption and population.
Teresa Kaye Woodruff is the MSU Research Foundation Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology and Biomedical Engineering at Michigan State University. She is an internationally recognized expert in ovarian biology and reproductive science.

The nine individual recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation are:

Martin Cooper for his work in advancing in personal wireless communications for over 50 years. Cited in the Guinness Book of World Records for making the first cellular telephone call, Cooper, known as the “father of the cell phone,” spent much of his career at Motorola.
Jennifer A. Doudna, a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry and the Li Ka Shing Chancellor’s Chair in Biomedical and Health Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. She is a pioneer of CRISPR gene editing.
Eric R. Fossum is the John H. Krehbiel Sr. Professor for Emerging Technologies at Dartmouth College. He invented the CMOS active pixel image sensor used in cell-phone cameras, webcams, and medical imaging.
Paula T. Hammond, an MIT Institute Professor, vice provost for faculty, and member of the Koch Institute, was honored for developing methods for assembling thin films that can be used for drug delivery, wound healing, and other applications.
Kristina M. Johnson, former president of The Ohio State University was recognized for research in photonics, nanotechnology, and optoelectronics. Her discoveries have contributed to sustainable energy solutions and advanced manufacturing technologies.
Victor B. Lawrence spent much of his career at Bell Laboratories, working on new developments in multiple forms of communications. He is a Research Professor and Director of the Center for Intelligent Networked Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology.
David R. Walt is a faculty member of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University and is the Hansjörg Wyss Professor of Bioinspired Engineering at Harvard Medical School and Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He was honored for co-inventing the DNA microarray, enabling large-scale genetic analysis and better personalized medicine.
Paul G. Yock is an emeritus faculty member at Stanford University. A physician, Yock is known for inventing, developing and testing new cardiovascular intervention devices, including the stent.
Feng Zhang, the James and Patricia Poitras Professor of Neuroscience at MIT and a professor of brain and cognitive sciences and biological engineering, was recognized for his work developing molecular tools, including the CRISPR genome-editing system.