Two Black Scientists Receive the National Medal of Technology and Innovation

From Good Black News

Two African-American scientists have been named as part of a group that received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation Award by the Obama Administration, the White House announced.

Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr. and President Barack Obama share a laugh at the awards ceremony. (Getty Images)
Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr. and President Barack Obama share a laugh at the awards ceremony. (Getty Images)

Among the 12 recipients are James Gates, a physicist at the University of Maryland, and George Carruthers, an inventor, physicist, space scientist and professor at Howard University.

“I am proud to honor these inspiring American innovators,” President Obama said, in a statement. “They represent the ingenuity and imagination that has long made this Nation great — and they remind us of the enormous impact a few good ideas can have when these creative qualities are unleashed in an entrepreneurial environment.”

Gates has become well known for his work on supergravity and supersymmetry and is a member of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. He has been featured on the PBS program NOVA and other shows on physics.

Learn more about their work.

Read more Breaking News here.

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