Sunney Xie (Left) and Steven Chu at the Lawrence Award ceremony

Sunney Xie, Cheung Kong Visiting Professor of Peking University, received his 2009 Lawrence Award at a ceremony held by the Department of Energy of the United States. Together with Zhi-Xun Shen, another distinguished scientist, Xie became the fourth Chinese American with this honor, after physicists Samuel C. Ting(1975), Yuan Tsch Lee(1981)and the material scientist Chain Tsuan Liu(1988).

 

During his speech, Steven Chu, head of DOE, praised Xie for his innovations in nonlinear Raman microscopy and highly sensitive vibrational imaging, his scientific leadership in establishing the field of single-molecule biophysical chemistry, and work in enzyme dynamics and live cell gene expression.

 

After receiving a gold medal bearing the likeness of Ernest Orlando Lawrence from Steven Chu, Xie gave a gracious speech in which he recounted his research history and expressed deep gratitude for his colleagues and students.

 

Besides Xie and Shen, four other distinguished scientists were honored at the ceremony. They are Joan F. Brennecke (Environmental Science and Technology), William Dorland (Nuclear Technologies), Omar Hurricane (National Security and Nonproliferation), and Wim Leemans (High Energy and Nuclear Physics).

 

The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor E. O. Lawrence, the inventor of the cyclotron 1939 Nobel Laureate in physics for that achievement. It honors U.S. scientists and engineers, at mid-career, for exceptional contributions in research and development supporting the Department of Energy and its mission to advance the national, economic and energy security of the United States. The Lawrence Award is given in each of the following eight categories: Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Sciences; Biological and Environmental Sciences; Computer, Information, and Knowledge Sciences; Condensed Matter and Materials Sciences; Energy Science and Innovation; Fusion and Plasma Sciences; High Energy and Nuclear Physics; and National Security and Nonproliferation. The Lawrence Awards are administered by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

 

For more information, please see DOE’s official website and Lawrence Award Laureates: 2009.