President Honors UT’s Bard Once Again

By Andrew Roush in 40 Acres, Research on January 13, 2014 at 3:27 pm | No Comments

Chemistry professor Allen Bard might just have a fan in Barack Obama. With the announcement that he will share the Enrico Fermi Presidential Award with Berkeley National Laboratory director emeritus Andrew Sessler, Bard can now claim two honors from the 44th president.

Less than a year ago, Obama awarded Bard the National Medal of Science, along with fellow UT professor and lithium-ion battery pioneer John Goodenough. For his part, Goodenough also made news last week by earning the highest honor in his field, the Charles Stark Draper Prize for Engineering.

The award, named for nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, honors achievement in basic and applied research in energy science. Bard is widely considered the “father of modern electrochemistry,” a field which influences battery and fuel cell technologies.

“Allen Bard and Andrew Sessler have shown tremendous leadership throughout their careers in advancing the scientific and intellectual interests of the United States,” said Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz. “I congratulate them for their achievements and hope that the example they set serves as inspiration to future generations of scientists and engineers.”

Moniz will present the award at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 3. Bard and Sessler will each receive a citation, a medal bearing the likeness of Fermi, and will split a $50,000 honorarium.

Photo by Marsha Miller.

Tags: Allen Bard, chemistry, College of Natural Sciences, John Goodenough, president barack obama