11 Utahns win science awards

An amazing range of achievements marks the 11 Utahns honored last week with the Governor's Medal for Science and Technology.

They include a physicist making measurements at the finest scale, a scientist who pinpointed how aspirin and related medicines work, educators, entrepreneurs, a forensic DNA expert, a computer-science pioneer, a co-developer of a patch for the space shuttle, an analyst discovering how materials fail, and a leader in getting the Moab radioactive tailings moved.

Greg Jones, the state science adviser, said the medals are a symbol of recognition to people who have provided "distinguished service to the state" in science and technology. This year, he added in a press release, the ceremony was scheduled for The Leonardo at Library Square.

The following honorees are listed in the order given by state officials in the release.

In the field of industry:

• Dean M. Lester of ATK Thiokol. Groups like Thiokol and the Space Dynamics Laboratory at Utah State University, Logan, "have placed Utah in a position of leadership in the global space race," says the state's citation.

"Currently the principal scientist on the ATK's efforts toward in-orbit space-shuttle repair, Mr. Lester is the co-originator of the concept for Space Shuttle Leading Edge Repair." This "plug" could save astronauts if a shuttle developed a hole like the one that doomed Space Shuttle Columbia in February 2003.

• James LeVoy Sorenson of the Sorenson Companies. A renowned entrepreneur who invented and produced many ingenious medical devices, Sorenson is credited with devising the first cardiovascular system to monitor the human heart in real time and with inventing the disposable plastic surgical mask and the plastic venous catheter, says the citation.

"Each of Mr. Sorenson's inventions not only solved persistent health-care delivery problems, but also made the practice of medicine safer, more effective and more comfortable for patients."

In the field of education:

• Barbara Gentry, science-curriculum consultant for the Jordan School District. She was the project manager for the first Science CRT tests in Utah. As a participant in the Intel Math and Science Technology Workshop from 2002-04 and author of a life-science textbook, Gentry has had "an impact on science education at a national level."