THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

          PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES ERIC LANDER AND RUTH PATRICK 
            TO SERVE AS MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE 
                   ON THE NATIONAL MEDAL OF SCIENCE

President Clinton announced today his intent to appoint Eric Lander and Ruth Patrick to serve as members of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science.

Mr. Eric Lander, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, is currently a Professor of Biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he has served since 1993. Since 1989, Dr. Lander has served as the Director of the Whitehead/MIT Institute Center for Genome Research. From 1989 to 1990, he served as the Chair of the Committee on Mathematics and Molecular Biology of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Lander received his A.B. in Mathematics from Princeton University and a D. Phil. in Mathematics from Oxford University.

Ms. Ruth Patrick, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is currently serving as Senior Scientist and Francis Boyer Chair of Limnology at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, where she has served since 1973. She also serves as a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Patrick was a recipient of the National Medal of Science in 1996. She has received many national and international awards and honors, as well as 25 honorary degrees. Dr. Patrick received her B.S. from Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina, and her M.S. and Ph.D from the University of Virginia.

The National Medal of Science was created by statute in 1959 (42 U.S.C. 1880) to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to science and engineering. Up to twenty individuals may be honored in any one calendar year. Medal of Science recipients are selected by the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science.

30-30-30