/UCWE/ - Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has announced the winners of the annual Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology, administered by the New York Academy of Sciences. The awards recognize the important role members of the science and engineering communities play in the success of the City.

Each year, the New York Academy of Sciences oversees the nomination, evaluation, and review process for the awards, in close partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. Candidates must live or work in New York City. Nominations are received through a comprehensive nominating process that includes outreach to all sectors in the City’s scientific communities. The Mayor chooses winners from a list of finalists submitted by NYAS.

“In New York City today we are focused, more than ever, on encouraging the long-term growth of our economy through innovations in science and technology,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “In honoring this year’s eight recipients of the Mayor’s Awards for Science and Technology, we pay tribute to those who harness their creativity and passion and contribute immeasurably to the advancement of our community and we pledge to continue to encourage their spirit for generations to come.”

Ellis Rubinstein, Academy President, commented, “These awards are emblematic of New York’s leadership in science and medicine. No city has more outstanding research talent than New York, exemplified by the exceptional quality of this year’s winners and the number of institutions they represent.”

Nominations were judged in four categories: Biological and Medical Sciences; Physical Sciences and Mathematics; Engineering and Technology; and Young Investigator (for scientists and engineers under the age of 40).

This year’s winners for the Mayor’s Awards are:

Biological and Medical Sciences (three awardees)

Dr. Wayne A. Hendrickson, Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Dr. Hendrickson is one of the world’s preeminent structural biologists whose research utilizes X-ray crystallography to study macromolecules at the atomic level. The improvements he introduced in X-ray diffraction methods have transformed the field and are now employed by researchers around the world. His studies have resulted in important discoveries in many areas, including HIV infection, fertility, and diabetes. In addition to his influence in molecular biophysics, he is known for his leadership in New York’s community of structural biologists. Throughout his career, he has expended significant effort and time towards promoting
collaborations and building the larger scientific community. One example of this effort is his active involvement with the New York Structural Biology Center, a consortium among 10 of New York’s biomedical research centers. Dr. Hendrickson is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Biophysical Society.

Jan L. Breslow, Professor and Laboratory Head at The Rockefeller University.

Dr. Breslow is very well known for his use of molecular genetic technologies in pioneering basic and clinical studies of the genetic and environmental causes of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. His laboratory has uncovered a number of human genetic variations that increase the risk of atherosclerotic disease. In addition, using mouse models, his laboratory has made fundamental discoveries that explain the basis for regulation of the many proteins involved in lipid metabolism and serum transport of lipids. He is the recipient of many awards and prizes, including the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Cardiovascular Research, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In addition to his science, Breslow has had a prominent role in the American Heart Association, serving as president from 1996-1997.

Joan Massagué, Professor and Program Chair of Cancer Biology and Genetics at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Professor at Weill-Cornell University Graduate School, and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Dr. Massagué is a leader in cell regulation and cancer. Combining biochemistry, cell biology and genetics, he elucidated the machinery that conveys growth inhibitory signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus. He provided a direct explanation for how hormones block mammalian cell division. These mechanisms are now known to be also crucial in embryonic development, and their disruption causes tumor formation and metastasis. Building on these advances, Massagué has recently identified genes that cause tumors to form metastasis in vital organs, answering long-standing questions and opening new avenues of research on this devastating aspect of cancer. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the European Molecular Biology Organization.

The Physical Sciences and Mathematics (two awardees)
Mitchell J. Feigenbaum, Professor and Laboratory Head at The Rockefeller University.

Dr. Feigenbaum is well known for his pioneering studies in chaos theory. His discovery of the quantitative universality of chaos was one of the seminal studies that lead to the creation and rapid expansion of “Nonlinear Science” as an endeavor bridging many disciplines. He also made significant contributions to a variety of other problems. For example, he introduced several novel mathematical tools, which were used to redesign from scratch the 1992 Hammond World Atlas. He has received many awards, including the MacArthur Fellowship and the Wolf Foundation Prize in Physics, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He is currently director of the Center for Studies in Physics and Biology at The Rockefeller University.

Joan S. Birman, Professor of Mathematics Emeritus at Barnard College, Columbia University.

Dr. Birman has been influential in theoretical mathematics and has contributed to fundamental developments in topology. Her work has focused on low-dimensional topology: braids, knots, surface mappings, and 3-dimensional manifolds. Birman’s knot invariants have had applications to the work of molecular biologists who have been studying the knotted shapes of DNA. She
did a number of things before she came to Barnard in 1973 as professor and chair of mathematics, including raising three children, completing her Ph.D. 20 years after her B.A., working in industry and at the Stevens Institute of Technology. She has been awarded an honorary doctorate by the Technion in Israel and has received fellowships from the Sloan and Guggenheim Foundations. She is a member of the European Academy of Sciences. Birman co-founded the non-profit publishing house Mathematical Sciences Publishing, which oversees a number of mathematical journals. She also continues to be actively involved in human rights issues, and is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences Human Rights of Scientists Committee.

Engineering and Technology
Bernard Haber, Partner Emeritus at Hardesty & Hanover, LLP.

Mr. Haber has been honored as one of the outstanding civil engineers in the New York metropolitan area. He is a graduate of the City College of New York. Until his retirement in 2001, he was the Managing Partner of Hardesty & Hanover, one of the oldest and largest bridge design firms in the country. Under his direction, the firm designed, inspected, rehabilitated or reconstructed thousands of bridges throughout the US and in the New York Metropolitan area. He served as Chairman of the American Consulting Engineering Council's National Transportation Committee and was a Director and Vice President of NY Association of Consulting Engineers. He is a fellow and life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the National Society of Professional Engineers. He has published numerous professional papers on engineering and civic issues, and has been an active participant in New York City affairs. Haber has served on many City boards and commissions, notably the Mayor’s Commission on the Year 2000 and the NYC Industrial Development Agency.

The Young Investigator (two awardees)

Hernan A. Makse, Associate Professor of Physics at City College of New York, CUNY

Dr. Makse has made important theoretical contributions to the field of granular materials and allied areas of soft condensed matter physics, with profound implications for the understanding of glasses and other disordered systems. Granular materials are ubiquitous, important for such different materials as pharmaceutical and to the preservation on barrier islands. A major highlight of Makse’s work has been to place the thermodynamics of granular materials on a firm footing. His demonstration of self-similarity in network structures like the internet may have important implications for network security.

Leslie Vosshall, Assistant Professor and Laboratory Head at Rockefeller University.

Dr. Vosshall is head of The Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University. She is a molecular neurobiologist and recognized leader in olfactory research. Her studies established a novel system for investigating the molecular basis of olfaction in the fruit fly Drosophila. She has developed a powerful set of research tools that allow her to address some of the most important questions about the processes that generate our sense of smell and that underlie appropriate behavioral responses to beneficial and harmful odorants. Voshall has recognized that an understanding of the biology of olfaction in the fruit fly may be relevant to Anopheles mosquito, the vector carrying the malarial parasite to man. She has therefore initiated experiments to identify odorants elicited by humans that attract Anopheles to specifically compromise the mosquito olfactory system.

Founded in 1817, the New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, non-profit organization of more than 24,000 members serving science, technology and society worldwide