UC Berkeley professors to receive top US research honors

Two professors with University of California at Berkeley have been selected to receive top U.S. honors in science and technology.

Paul Alivisatos, a professor of chemistry, and Chenming Hu, a professor emeritus of electrical engineering and computer sciences, will be awarded the National Medal of Science and the the National Medal of Technology and Innovation respectively.

In a statement announcing the awards, U.S. President Barack Obama said "the knowledge produced by these Americans today will carry our country's legacy of innovation forward and continue to help countless others around the world. Their work is a testament to American ingenuity."

He acknowledged that "science and technology are fundamental to solving some of our nation's biggest challenges."

Alivisatos is among nine chosen to receive the National Medal of Science, while Hu is among eight selected to receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

The medals will be presented next year during a White House ceremony.

Alivisatos, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is a professor in UC Berkeley's departments of materials science and chemistry and the director of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute.

Hu, who was elected last week to the National Academy of Inventors, is a member of the National Academy of Engineering. He is well-known for innovations, in particular the FinFET, a type of field-effect transistor, that have allowed the semiconductor industry to produce smaller yet more reliable and higher-performing integrated circuits.

According to UC Berkeley, since the National Medal of Science was first awarded in 1959, 35 of the school's faculty members have received the honor; and Hu is the second Berkeley faculty member to win the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, which was first awarded in 1985 as the National Medal of Technology.