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PRESS RELEASE
May 20, 2002
Contact: Jeri Openshaw (801) 535-2556

GOVERNOR’S MEDAL AWARDS FOR SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY RECIPIENTS ANNOUNCED

Governor Michael O. Leavitt has announced the 2002 recipients of the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology. The Governor's Medal recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions to the state in science and technology. The medals will be presented at a luncheon at the Governor’s Mansion on May 23, 2002 at 11:30am.“Utah’s recognition as one of the nation’s premier centers in science and technology is due, in large part, to the contributions of outstanding individuals, including these medal recipients," says State Science Advisor Michael Keene, Ph.D. “They are among our state’s greatest assets.”

Established in 1983, the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology is the state's highest scientific honor. It is presented to leading technology innovators and educator who deserve special recognition for their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical and engineering sciences and technology. The 2002 recipients are:

ACADEMIC

Steven D. Aust, Ph.D. - Dr. Aust, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the College of Science at Utah State University, is an internationally recognized expert in a number of fields. He is widely published and cited for fundamental studies in such topics as the toxicology of polyhalogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, lipid peroxidation, the role of iron in the deleterious oxidation of biomolecules, and the degradation of both lignin and environmental pollutants by white-rot fungi.

Randall W. Burt, M.D. - Dr. Burt, the Senior Director for Prevention and Outreach of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, is an international authority on the inheritance of colon cancer. He has improved colon cancer health care policy and treatment by establishing that genes can confer inherited susceptibility to the disease, and by establishing endoscopic laser therapy as a treatment for colon cancer and other gastrointestinal problems. His group discovered the gene responsible for familial adenomatous polyposis and showed the same gene to be mutated in over 80% of all colon cancers. An outcome of these efforts is that persons with the inherited syndrome can now be identified and that similar genetic tests may soon be available to detect more common colon cancers.

Om P. Gandhi, Sc.D. E.E. - Dr. Gandhi, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Utah, is a pioneer in the fields of numerical bioelectromagnetics and the effects of electromagnetic radiation on the human body, and he has been one of the primary forces behind the establishment of radiation safety standards throughout the industrial world during the last 25 years. The ANSI/IEEE radio frequency/microwave safety guidelines adopted by the U.S., the World Health Organization and others are primarily based on what are known as “Gandhi Resonance Curves” developed by Dr. Gandhi and his students. His work in the area of numerical
bioelectromagnetics is now being used in the design of antennas for cell phones and other applications.

INDUSTRY

Larry J. Ashton - Mr. Ashton, an adjunct professor at BYU and the founder, chairman and chief scientist of Rocky Mountain Composites, Inc., is internationally recognized for his achievements in the field of advanced composite structures. His early training in the field led to his founding of the Engineering Technology Corporation, which became the first company to produce a line of commercial filament winding machines. Application of this technology has lead to low cost manufacturing methods for building composite structures, thereby increasing the competitiveness of these materials in the structures manufacturing industry. The fabrication of composite structures has rapidly become an important industry for Utah.

Hunter Jackson, Ph.D. - Dr. Jackson, the co-founder, CEO and Chairman of NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc., is a rare example of an academic scientist who has successfully grown a three-person start-up company into a public biopharmaceutical enterprise with a market capitalization of a billion dollars. His pioneering work with calcium channel blocking compounds isolated from spider venoms formed the basis for the company, which was established when he left the University of Utah in 1986. A cornerstone of the biotechnology industry in Utah, NPS has raised in excess of $300 million to support its discovery and development of innovative pharmaceutical products.

Bill Jordan Pope, Ph.D. - Dr. Pope, Chairman of US Synthetic Corporation and the founder/CEO of Diamicron, Inc., has both founded three successful synthetic diamond companies and contributed some 20 years of service to Brigham Young University as a teacher, researcher and administrator during a career spanning more than 50 years. He was a pioneer in the development of sintered polycrystalline diamond compact and its use in oil drilling, and US Synthetic has become the world leader in the manufacturing of industrial diamonds for such uses. The firms he has created and led today provide nearly 500 high-tech jobs here in Utah.

EDUCATION

Kathleen P. Ochsenbein - The woman affectionately known to her young charges as“Mrs. O” has been energizing the minds of students as a science educator at Roy Junior High School for some 25 years. The students that Ms. Ochsenbein has taught and guided have dominated the Science and Engineering fairs for many years. One university professor has remarked that her success in encouraging large numbers of students to go beyond the norm in the sciences is “Nothing short of incredible.” Outside of her numerous teaching duties she has written and produced on-line science textbooks for 4th, 5th and 6th graders, written the science and Olympic lesson plans for a K-12 web site, created the Science Fair Web site for Weber County and served as an Earth
Systems Internet Resource Specialist for the Utah State Office of Education. She has been recognized with numerous prestigious teaching awards in Utah, including the Outstanding Middle School Science Teacher and Outstanding Service to Education awards.

DISTINGUISHED

Mario Renato Capecchi, Ph.D. - Dr. Capecchi, Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics and Biology at the University of Utah, has been recognized as a leader and model for other scientists and students since before he was first recruited from Harvard University nearly 30 years ago. His fundamental work in the molecular genetics of animal models for human diseases, and specifically his development of the “gene targeting” technique, has won innumerable honors including the prestigious 2001 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.