PROVO — President Bush has announced his intention to appoint Rodney J. Brown, dean of Brigham Young University's College of Life Sciences, as a member of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science.

As a part of the 12-member National Science Foundation committee of scientists and engineers, Brown will participate in evaluating the nominees for the National Medal of Science award.

He will begin his service on the committee upon final appointment by the president and will serve a three-year term that expires on Dec. 31, 2010.

The award, which is the nation's highest honor for science, is given each year by the president to honor individuals for pioneering research in a range of fields — physical, biological, mathematical, social, behavioral and engineering sciences — which enhances understanding of the world and leads to innovations and technologies that provide the United States with a global economic edge.