[meteorite-list] NASA Scientists and Engineers Receive Presidential Early Career Awards

[Ron Baalke]

July 23, 2012

Sarah DeWitt 
Headquarters, Washington   
202-358-2451 
sarah.l.dewitt at nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 12-251

NASA SCIENTISTS AND ENGINEERS RECEIVE PRESIDENTIAL EARLY CAREER AWARDS

WASHINGTON -- President Obama has named six NASA individuals as 
recipients of the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists 
and Engineers (PECASE). The NASA recipients and 90 other federal 
researchers will receive their awards in a ceremony later this month 
in Washington. 

The PECASE awards represent the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. 
government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent 
careers. They recognize recipients' exceptional potential for 
leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge, and their 
commitment to community service as demonstrated through professional 
leadership, education or community outreach. 

"These talented individuals have already made significant 
contributions to the agency's mission at this early stage in their 
careers," said NASA Chief Scientist Waleed Abdalati. "We look forward 
to celebrating their continued success for many years to come." 

The 2011 NASA recipients were nominated by the agency's Science 
Mission Directorate, Office of the Chief Engineer, and Office of the 
Chief Technologist: 

- Morgan B. Abney, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, 
Ala., recognized for innovative technical leadership in advancing 
technologies for recovering oxygen from carbon dioxide for 
self-sustaining human space exploration. 

- Ian Gauld Clark, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and California 
Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., recognized for 
exceptional leadership and achievement in the pursuit of advanced 
entry, descent and landing technologies and techniques for space 
exploration missions. 

- Temilola Fatoyinbo-Agueh, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 
Greenbelt, Md., recognized for exceptional achievement in merging 
scientific priorities with advanced technology to develop innovative 
remote-sensing instrumentation for carbon-cycle and ecosystems 
science. 

- Jessica E. Koehne, NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, 
Calif., recognized for exceptional dedication to the development of 
nano-bio sensing systems for NASA mission needs. 

- Francis M. McCubbin, Institute of Meteoritics, University of New 
Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M., recognized for studies of the 
geochemical role of water and other volatiles in extraterrestrial 
materials from the inner solar system. 

- Yuri Y. Shprits, University of California, Los Angeles, recognized 
for early-career leadership and innovative research and modeling in 
the realm of the Earth's Van Allen radiation belts. 

The PECASE awards were created to foster innovative developments in 
science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and 
engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of 
participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental 
research and many of the grand challenges facing the nation, and 
highlight the importance of science and technology for America's 
future. Eleven federal departments and agencies nominated scientists 
and engineers for the 2011 PECASE awards. For a complete list of 2011 
award winners, visit: 

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/23/president-obama-honors-outstanding-early-career-scientists 

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov 
	
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