126-AD-98
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
UC IRVINE CHANCELLOR WINS PRESTIGIOUS SCIENCE PRIZE
Ralph J. Cicerone Honored for Contributions to Understanding of Greenhouse Gases and Depletion of the Ozone Layer
Irvine, Calif., Oct. 14, 1998 - UC Irvine Chancellor Ralph J. Cicerone has been selected to receive The Franklin Institute's 1999 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science in recognition of his fundamental contributions to our understanding of greenhouse gases and the depletion of the ozone layer and for his research in biogeochemistry.
The Philadelphia-based institute bestowed its prestigious annual award on Cicerone, who is also UCI's Daniel G. Aldrich professor of earth system science and chemistry, in honor of his accomplishments as a chemist and his leadership in advancing public policy to protect the global environment.
The award goes to a distinguished scientist of any nationality for outstanding work in the physical or life sciences and carries a prize of a gold medallion and $250,000, making it one of the richest American awards in science. Past recipients include Sir Martin Rees, the Astronomer Royal of England, and Dr. Ralph Brinster of the University of Pennsylvania. The chancellor also now joins scientists such as Albert Einstein and Max Planck as Franklin Institute laureates.
"The value of Ralph Cicerone's work lies as much in its prevention of harm as it lies in scientific discovery," said Woodrow Leake, vice president of The Franklin Center, which oversees the institute's awards. "The Bower program awards people with ethical standards who care about their universe. Ralph laid the groundwork for this science, and then went into the public policy arena and helped save the world from chemicals that hurt the ozone."
Cicerone, 55, is an internationally known scientist who conducts research on atmospheric chemistry and climate change. In the 1970s, he investigated how chlorine gas depletes ozone and found that rockets could damage the ozone layer by emitting hydrogen chloride through exhaust into the atmosphere. He also has testified before committees and legislators about the dangers of ozone depletion and has advised industrial groups and corporations.
His work in atmospheric chemistry has helped place UCI programs in earth system science and chemistry in the national forefront of research on the atmosphere, land and waters of our planet.
Cicerone did not start out working with molecules and pollutants, though. As a college student, he studied electrical engineering. He began his professional academic career in 1972 at the University of Michigan, where he rose through the ranks of academia as a lecturer in electrical engineering, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and research scientist.
His interests turned toward a different side of science when he served as an associate research chemist and research chemist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego from 1978-1981.
In 1980, Cicerone became senior scientist and director of the Atmospheric Chemistry Division at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.
UCI leaders brought him to campus in 1989 as founding chair of the Department of Geoscience, now Earth System Science. In 1994, Cicerone became dean of the School of Physical Sciences, which enrolls 1,200-1,300 students each fall. He became UCI's fourth chancellor on July 1.
During his tenure as dean of physical sciences, two professors in the school received Nobel Prizes, making UCI the first public university with faculty receiving two Nobel Prizes in two different fields (chemistry and physics) in the same year. Cicerone's own research was recognized on the citation for the 1995 Nobel Prize in chemistry awarded to UCI atmospheric chemist F. Sherwood Rowland.
"The 1999 Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science not only reflects well on Ralph Cicerone-the internationally renowned atmospheric chemist and founding chair of the unique earth system science department-but also on Ralph Cicerone, the chancellor of UCI," said mathematics professor Ronald Stern, who succeeded Cicerone as dean of physical sciences. "It is very reassuring that we have as our leader such an eminent scientist. Excellence begets excellence."
The chancellor has received numerous awards and honors for his work. He has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Last year, he was one of six American scientists to receive the prestigious United Nations Environment Program Ozone Award for research that serves to protect the earth's fragile ozone layer. He has served as president of the American Geophysical Union, the world's largest society of earth scientists, and received the group's James B. Macelwane Award in 1979 for outstanding contributions to geophysics.
He has written and edited numerous professional publications, and continues to work with UCI graduate students on research. His current work focuses on the release of gas from rice paddies.
Cicerone earned his B.S. in electrical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He earned an M.S. in electrical engineering and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and physics from the University of Illinois.
The chancellor will be honored at The Franklin Institute Awards Ceremony and Gala to be held April 29, 1999 at The Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at the institute. Organizers also will hold a three-day symposium on earth science and related topics.
The Franklin Institute was created in 1824 as a research facility at a time when only the affluent could afford higher education. Started as a way to increase technical literacy, the institute became a center for inventors and innovation. In 1934, it was turned into a museum, which continues to provide interactive educational experiences focusing on science and technology. The institute has awarded the prestigious Benjamin Franklin Medal since 1824 to scientists and innovators such as Marie Curie and Thomas Edison, and began the Bower award program through a $7.5 million bequest by Philadelphia chemical manufacturer Henry Bower in 1988.
Contact:Alicia Di Rado, (949) 824-6455, [email protected]
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