2 UT professsors win Medal of Science awards

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Two professors from the University of Texas will be honored at the White House Friday when they will formally receive their National Medals of Science.

Dr. John Goodenough and Dr. Allen Bard are among the 12 recipients being recognized for their contributions to science.

Goodenough, a professor in the Department of Engineering, created the materials needed for the development of lightweight and rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.

Bard is known for the development of the scanning electrochemical microscope, a tool used worldwide that discovers new materials for solar cells and batteries, and also investigates the inner workings of biological cells.

Friday’s ceremony comes after last months announcement that Goodenough, Bard, and ten other academics from around the nation were chosen to receive the highest honor given by the United States Government among scientists, engineers, and inventors.

Goodenough has been teaching at the University of Texas for over 26 years and holds the Virginia H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering. He received the prestigious Japan Prize in 2001 and the Presidential Enrico Fermi Award in 2009.

Bard is the Norman Hackerman-Welch Regents chairman in Chemistry and the director of the Center for Electrochemistry at the University of Texas. Bard is the recipient of numerous honors, published three books, and served as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of the American Chemical Society for almost two decades.