President Barack Obama announced earlier in February that the Director of Metabolism at the Morgridge Institute for Research Dave Pagliarini is one of the 105 recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.
The award, which was created in 1996, is given to scientists who show great potential in the early portion of their careers. It is one of the highest honors awarded by the U.S. government, according to a university release.
Pagliarini earned the award because of his work on the composition and function of mitochondria. He said that while the award is a sign of his team’s hard work, it also serves as a call to action for both him and his students.
“Science is a living, ongoing enterprise, not merely a collection of established facts,” Pagliarini said in the release. “When students realize that science is a process in which they can actively participate and make a difference, they light up and want to know more.”
