At the White House Feb 1, President Obama awarded University of Maryland physics professor Sylvester James Gates Jr. the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government upon scientists, engineers and inventors, the National Medal of Science.
Gates has contributed tremendously to the mathematics of supersymmetry in particle, field and string theories.
“If there is one idea that sets this country apart, one idea that makes us different from every other nation on Earth, the president said as he introduced the 23 scientists and inventors who received medals, ” it’s that here in America, success does not depend on where you were born or what your last name is. Success depends on the ideas that you can dream up, the possibilities that you envision, and the hard work — the blood, sweat and tears — you’re willing to put in to make them real,”
The president also emphasized the need for the nation to focus on science and math education, saying that only about a third of undergraduates are receiving degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.
Read the president’s full remarks here.
Source: the Root.