Statement by the President Upon Announcing the 1966 Recipients of the National Medal of Science.
THE National Medal of Science serves as a symbol of the Nation's desire to recognize outstanding achievement, to set an example for our youth, and to depict to the world the depth and variety of American accomplishment in science and engineering.
Behind the brief words of the citations stand real men who every day are lighting the dark areas of our knowledge. From them we have learned much about the cells in the human body, about human and animal nutrition, and about genetics and evolution. One of these men has helped to wipe out some of the most destructive insect pests we have, and in doing so has solved a major economic problem for livestock raisers in the southwestern part of the country and elsewhere.
We are recognizing a major contributor to communication and computer theory; an extraordinarily brilliant young mathematician, the "father" of television, and the "father" of modern meteorology. We also are recognizing major contributors to astronomy and astrophysics, and to our understanding of the nature and structure of matter.
The group is remarkable for its versatility. One of the engineers being honored has made possible major advances in medicine. One of the biologists is renowned for his work in mathematics and statistics. Several in this group have given much to the cause of our national defense and security.
Note: The President's statement was made public in Austin, Texas, as part of a White House release announcing the names of the 1966 recipients of the National Medal of Science. The medal, established by Congress in 1959 (73 Stat. 431), is awarded to outstanding scientists on the basis of recommendations by the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science under the chairmanship of Dr. H. E. Carter of the University of Illinois. The 1966 recipients and their citations follow:
Biological sciences: Edward Fred Knipling, Director, Entomology Research Divisions, U.S. Department of Agriculture, "For outstanding original contributions involving unique biological approaches to the control of insect vectors responsible for diseases of humans, domesticated animals, and plants"; Fritz Albert Lipmann, professor of biochemistry, Rockefeller University, "For original discoveries of molecular mechanisms for the transfer and transformation of energy in living cells, and for fundamental contributions to the conceptual structure of modern biochemistry"; William Cumming Rose, professor of chemistry, emeritus, University of Illinois, "For the discovery of the essential amino acid threonine and for the subsequent brilliant studies elucidating the qualitative and quantitative amino acid requirements of man and of animals"; Sewall Wright, professor of genetics, emeritus, University of Wisconsin, "For original and sustained contributions to the mathematical foundations of the theory of evolution and for basic contributions to experimental and biometrical genetics."
Engineering sciences: Claude Elwood Shannon, Donner Professor of Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "For brilliant contributions to the mathematical theories of communications and information processing and for his early and continuing impact on the development of these disciplines"; Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, honorary vice president, Radio Corporation of America, "For major contributions to the instruments of science, engineering and television, and for his stimulation of the application of engineering to medicine."
Mathematical sciences: John Willard Milnor, professor of mathematics, Princeton University, "For clever and ingenious approaches in topology which have solved long outstanding problems and opened new exciting areas in this active branch of mathematics."
Physical sciences: Jacob Aall Bonnevie Bjerknes, professor of meteorology, University of California, Los Angeles, "By watching and studying maps he discovered the cyclone-making waves of the air and the climate-controlling changes of the sea"; Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, professor of theoretical astrophysics, University of Chicago, "For numerous superb contributions to stellar astronomy, physics, and applied mathematics, and for his guidance and inspiration to his many students and colleagues"; Henry Eyring, dean, Graduate School (retired), University of Utah, "For contributions to our understanding of the structure and properties of matter, especially for his creation of absolute rate theory, one of the sharpest tools in the study of rates of chemical reaction"; and John Hasbrouck Van Vleck, Hollis Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy, Harvard University, "For his many contributions to the development of the theory of molecular structure and for his profound influence, through original contributions and through many brilliant students, on the theory of the magnetic and dielectric properties of materials."
For the President's remarks upon presenting medals to the 1965 recipients, and for their names and citations, see Item 61 and note. Presentations to the 1966 recipients listed above were made on February 6, 1967.
Lyndon B. Johnson, Statement by the President Upon Announcing the 1966 Recipients of the National Medal of Science. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/238211