Harvard Alumni Awarded National Medal of Science

Two Harvard alumni—David B. Mumford ’57 and Susan L. Lindquist—were announced as recipients of the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest scientific honor, in a press release issued by the White House last week.

The award, presented annually to 10 recipients, is given to individuals “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences,” according to National Science Foundation website.

Mumford, currently an emeritus professor of mathematics at Brown University, was recognized for his “extraordinary contributions to the mathematical, engineering and neurobiological sciences,” according to an NSF press release.

Mumford studied mathematics at Harvard College and graduated magna cum laude in 1957. He continued graduate work in algebraic geometry and joined the Department of Mathematics as a faculty member 10 years later, garnering honors that include the Fields Medal and the MacArthur “Genius” Grant.

Mumford said his experiences at Harvard helped fuel a passion for mathematics, citing his doctorate adviser Oscar Zariski, a 1965 recipient of the medal, and the late Benoit B. Mandelbrot, whose lecture series he attended, as key influences.

“He was absolutely a giant in the field of algebraic geometry,” said Joseph D. Harris ’72, who was a student at the time Harris taught, and is currently a professor of mathematics. “I don’t think there’s anyone comparable in the position was in today. He left the subject very different from when he entered it.”

Harris’s colleagues agreed with this description, and said that Mumford played a large role in the development of his field.

“[Mumford] has made major contributions to algebraic geometry. He helped develop the field in the sixties, and his contributions—which are very far reaching—influence mathematics up to now,” said Shing-Tung Yau, chair of the department of mathematics. “We are very proud of him.”

Susan Lindquist, a professor of biology at MIT and member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, was recognized for her contributions to the field of protein folding.

“The award represents lifelong, outstanding contribution to science and leadership in the scientific community, and Susan has made both,” said Nobel laureate Phillip A. Sharp, an Institute Professor at MIT and a member of the board of directors at the Whitehead.

Lindquist, who received her doctorate from Harvard in 1977, has provided fundamental insight to how biological systems respond to stress, Sharp said. He added that the implications of her work are far reaching, extending from disease therapeutics to nanotechnology, according to Sharp.

Sharp added that Lindquist, in addition to scientific aptitude, has also demonstrated exceptional leadership.

“We turn to her for advice on numerous fronts,” Sharp said. “She also serves on boards across the country and has taken leadership in the national science scene.”

Past recipients of the award include James D. Watson, Linus C. Pauling, and B.F. Skinner.