Northwesterners In The News

By Stephanie Cartier

UW Biochemistry Professor Wins AAAS Award

One of University of Washington's (UW) researchers nabbed top honors from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). David Baker, a professor of biochemistry at UW, and his team of researchers were recently awarded the Newcomb Cleveland Prize, the oldest award given by AAAS, for a 2003 article in the journal Science. The researchers also received the Feynman Prize for advances in nanotechnology. The article, "Design of a Novel Globular Protein Fold with Atomic-Level Accuracy,” described the creation of a completely new protein. The molecular machines that drive the processes of life, proteins have specific shapes and structures. In nature, the number of shapes is finite, but now, proteins can be designed to take on any shape needed, which could prove to have practical applications in medicine. "Right now, we're very excited about trying to develop an HIV vaccine,” says Baker. Currently, his lab also is working on trying to predict the structures of proteins.

Presidential Early Career Award Winners

Every year since 1996, the White House has recognized outstanding researchers for their work in science and engineering. And while many of them already have a lifetime of work behind them, they are all in the beginning stages of their careers. The Presidential Early Career Award in Science and Engineering is considered the nation's highest honor for young scientists and engineers. This year, the president recognized 58 people nationwide, and four of them work for the University of Washington (UW).

Wei Li is studying porous materials and is researching polymer-based, porous microstructures that could lead to new applications and improvements in things like fuel cells, biochemical sensors, and devices that could help deliver drugs. William Grady, while on the faculty of the UW School of Medicine, is also a researcher at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He was honored for his research to determine what triggers cells in the colon to become cancerous. David Ginger has been working in nanotechnology and bio-inspired assembly. "The work that I've been involved with in the past and continue to be involved with now looks at how we can use biological molecules to build nanostructured materials,” says Ginger. Radha Poovendran has worked on applied cryptography in wireless networks and has discovered algorithms and developed new techniques for multi-sensor security.

Eight different federal agencies nominate young researchers whose work is most beneficial to the agency. The agencies fund award winners for up to five years to further their research. All of the award winners met President Bush and spent about half an hour with him in the Oval Office.

UW Professor Earns Prestigious Award for Sustainable Forestry

A prominent University of Washington forest management researcher was recently recognized with the prestigious Heinz Award. Jerry Franklin received $250,000 recently after decades of work in Northwest forests. According to the Heinz Family Foundation, Franklin is one of the nation's leading authorities on forest management and is often called the "Father of New Forestry” for developing new techniques to reduce the impact of logging. "New Forestry” strategies challenge the idea of clear-cutting and advocate leaving logs, standing dead trees, and scattered live trees, which is less harmful to the environment and has a similar impact as natural disturbance cycles. Franklin spent years studying Mount St. Helens to learn how forests recover from natural disturbances. As a graduate of Oregon State University, Franklin is proud to call the Pacific Northwest home. "I am a native of the Pacific Northwest and love the region and its forests above any other geographic region: its beauty, the unique magnificence of its forests, and the lessons that they teach us about forests everywhere,” says Franklin. He plans to donate a large portion of the award money to endow long-term research programs on Pacific Northwest forests.