Two ACS members, editor of JACS to receive nation's highest honors in science and innovation

Peter J. Stang, Ph.D., editor of the Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS), and American Chemical Society members Jacqueline K. Barton, Ph.D. and Rakesh Agrawal, Ph.D., are among 12 eminent researchers and inventors named by President Obama to receive the nation's highest honors in science and innovation.

"Each of these extraordinary scientists, engineers and inventors is guided by a passion for innovation, fearlessness even as they explore the very frontiers of human knowledge, and a desire to make the world a better place," President Obama said. "Their ingenuity inspires us all to reach higher and try harder, no matter how difficult the challenges we face."

The President named Stang and Barton as recipients of the National Medal of Science and Agrawal as recipient of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. The awards will be presented at a White House ceremony later in 2011.

Stang has been editor of JACS - one of 41 peer-reviewed scientific journals published by the world's largest scientific society - since 2002. He leads a team of more than 20 associate editors, all active researchers, setting the highest standards of editorial excellence and driving impressive growth in citations. As reported in the Journal Citation Reports- by Thomson Reuters, the journal received 369,164 total cites and a 9.019 Impact Factor in 2010. JACS is the most-cited journal in chemistry.

The President cited Stang "for his creative contributions to the development of organic supramolecular chemistry and for his outstanding and unique record of public service."

Barton, of the California Institute of Technology, was honored for "discovery of a new property of the DNA helix, long-range electron transfer, and for showing that electron transfer depends upon stacking of the base pairs and DNA dynamics. Her experiments reveal a strategy for how DNA repair proteins locate DNA lesions and demonstrate a biological role for DNA-mediated charge transfer."

Agrawal was cited for "an extraordinary record of innovations in improving the energy efficiency and reducing the cost of gas liquefaction and separation. These innovations have had significant positive impacts on electronic device manufacturing, liquefied gas production, and the supply of industrial gases for diverse industries."