APS Fellows Receive the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

Marigold Linton

In January, President Obama presented APS Fellows Julio Ramirez and Marigold Linton with Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. They were recognized for their outstanding contributions and effort in enhancing opportunities for participation by typically underrepresented individuals (women, minorities, and persons with disabilities) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.

Candidates for the Presidential Mentoring Awards are nominated by colleagues, administrators, and students in their home institutions. The mentoring can involve students at any grade level from elementary through graduate school. In addition to being honored at the White House, recipients receive awards of $10,000 to advance their mentoring efforts.

“These individuals and organizations have gone above and beyond the call of duty to ensure that the United States remains on the cutting edge of science and engineering for years to come,” President Obama said in a White House Press Release. “Their devotion to the educational enrichment and personal growth of their students is remarkable, and these awards represent just a small token of our enormous gratitude.”

Julio Ramirez

Ramirez, Davidson College, has been widely honored for his research on recovery from brain injury and his efforts to promote neuroscience education and research. At Davidson, he founded the college’s neuroscience program, and spearheaded its establishment as an academic concentration, emphasizing discovery-based learning from introductory courses through advanced study and theses. The college recognized his contributions to academic life in 1998 by naming him as its first R. Stuart Dickson Professor.

Linton, the director of the American Indian outreach in the Office for Diversity in Science Training at the University of Kansas, has acquired more than $13 million of support from the National Institute of Health for Haskell Indian Nations University and University of Kansas students. She is a founder and past president of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science. Linton also served on the Board of Directors of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and currently serves on the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, a congressionally mandated NSF advisory committee.