President Obama announced today that UCSF biochemist Bruce Alberts, PhD, is one of nine scientists to be awarded the National Medal of Science, the highest U.S. honor for scientific achievement.

These scholars and innovators have expanded our understanding of the world, made invaluable contributions to their fields, and helped improve countless lives, President Obama said. Our nation has been enriched by their achievements, and by all the scientists and technologists across America dedicated to discovery, inquiry, and invention.

Bruce Alberts, PhD, has long been aleader in science and education.Photo by Tom Kochel.

The honorees will receive the awards at a White House ceremony later this year.

Alberts, currently the Chancellors Leadership Chair in Biochemistry and Biophysics for Science and Education, joined UCSF in 1976. His 50-year career has been one of the most illustrious in modern biology. Renowned for his fundamental discoveries on how DNA is replicated before cells divide, Alberts has been equally lauded as a tireless advocate for science and education.

I am pleased and honored to receive this award, which celebrates the great work of science in this country, Alberts said. The greatest rewards in science come from the thrill of discovery and from witnessing the many positive effects of scientific progress and of scientists on societies across the globe.

After a five-year stint as chair of UCSFs Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Alberts served two six-year terms, from 1993 to 2005, as president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). During his tenure at NAS, Alberts was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education standards that have been implemented in school systems nationwide.

Alberts was one of the original authors of the seminal textbookThe Molecular Biology of the Cell. Soon to be published in a sixth edition, MBOC is a landmark in scientific publishing that has introduced countless students to the field.

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UCSF Scientist Wins the National Medal of Science