The Sloan Digital Sky Survey is one of the most ambitious and successful astronomical surveys ever performed. It has left an impact far and wide, ranging from asteroids to cosmology. As Sean has mentioned, the SDSS would have been impossible without optical fibers and CCDs, and this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics acknowledges the development of these technologies. The SDSS would also have been impossible without Jim Gunn.
President Obama yesterday conferred The National Medal of Science to Jim Gunn, as well as 8 other scientists. This is our nation’s highest scientific honor. It is a clear demonstration that our society values science, and acknowledges its contributions; even though this may not always be apparent in the squabbling on Capitol Hill, or on school boards “debating” evolution. Once a year scientists take pride of place, and are officially thanked by a grateful Nation. As usual, Obama unleashes his eloquence:
So this nation owes all of you an enormous debt of gratitude far greater than any medal can bestow. And we recognize your contributions, but we also celebrate the incredible contributions of the scientific endeavor itself. We see the promise — not just for our economy but for our health and well-being — in the human capacity for creativity and ingenuity. And we are reminded of the power of free and open inquiry, which is not only at the heart of all of your work, but at the heart of this experiment we call America.
…
there are those who say we can’t afford to invest in science, that it’s a luxury at a moment defined by necessities. I could not disagree more. Science is more essential for our prosperity, our security, and our health, and our way of life than it has ever been. And the winners we are recognizing only underscore that point, with achievements in physics and medicine, computer science and cognitive science, energy technology and biotechnology. We need to ensure that we are encouraging the next generation of discoveries — and the next generation of discoverers.
Full transcript here. Jim Gunn was honored “for his brilliant design of many of the most influential telescopes and instruments in astronomy, and in particular for the crucial role those technological marvels played in the creation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which has cataloged 200 million stars, galaxies, and quasars; discovered the most distant known quasars; and probed the epoch of formation of the first stars and galaxies.”
Sitting in the audience were members of the administration, including Steve Chu (Secretary of Energy) and John Holdren (Science Advisor), widely respected scientists in their own right. Seeing them gathered with Obama, celebrating science, is a hopeful image. There is a perception that scientists are losing the goodwill amassed in the last Century, and are now thought of as just another interest group. But we need science to address many of the world’s most pressing challenges. We need young people to be inspired, and to want to become scientists. Occasions like this remind us that science, and scientists, will play a crucial role in our future.
October 8th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
“We need young people to be inspired, and to want to become scientists.”
The supply of scientists already far outstrips the demand. What we really need is more welders.
October 8th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Hey look at this. There is an after life!
http://www.hulu.com/paranormal-tv
October 8th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Dan- wow, this is excellent news! Both that Pres. Obama said such supportive things of science (though we know this of him by now), and that Jim Gunn was awarded this medal! I haven’t met him yet, but my ‘boss’ here (more or less) works closely on SDSS3 with him, and assures me that the man is one sharp cookie. Yes, in between all the DC squabbling, this is a bright ray.. :-> -M
October 8th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
I heart Jim Gunn.
October 8th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I heart Gunn too, but the fact that he wrote a paper in grad school with this citation history makes me despair. 46 citations in 2009 alone so far (2 of those are me, so I’m not saying he and Peterson don’t deserve it…).
October 9th, 2009 at 3:31 am
And now, somewhat strangely, Obama himself got a very fancy ’science’ price. The Norwegians decided to give him the Nobel peace price. Very odd indeed to give him that after he just decided to send more soldiers to bomb the poorest country in the world.
Odd Odd.
October 9th, 2009 at 4:26 am
The words of the president Obama are a good hope for scientists, even for those who are not following him in politics.
October 9th, 2009 at 8:47 am
Luckily, in science you have to actually achieve something to receive a science medal or Nobel prize. Intentions are not good enough. Apparently, to win a peace prize, intentions are sufficient.
October 9th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
@Metre. Intentions alone has often been considered a valid criteria by the Peace Prize Committee, simply look at some of the previous winners. Many who had never actually achieved their stated goals at the time of the award itself and only some of whom later achieved the intentions they were awarded for.
However, the Peace Prize, unlike the other Nobel prizes, is not just about achievements but about how stated intentions by the right people can change perception and thus, sometimes, make the goals even possible to attempt let alone easier to achieve. In Obama’s case, as I understand it, it is, among other reasons, about his often repeated intent, even before his presidency, to again use diplomacy in areas the US has, over the last eight years or so at least, openly renounced as an useful tool.
Whether anyone agrees with the criteria that the committee uses is of course a matter of individual opinion. However, when one looks at Obama’s award in the context of some previous awards, while it may be a surprise, the committee hasn’t done anything particularly outrageous according to previous selection criteria.
October 10th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
President Obama’s policies freeing up scientific research have helped his image as peace maker. I think that his nomination serves as an indictment against the previous administrations policies in science as well, not just for causing a conflict that killed a million Iraqis.
Colin Powell said that with an invasion “we’ve bought” the land we enter. If we leave now, a void will be made and filled by ruthless sectarians. That’s what happened when we left the Afghanis after helping them repel the Soviets. Heroin has blighted our landscape since then, women have been subjected to horrible conditions, and terrorist camps grow and thrive.