We could easily run a list of 101 award winners and not even list inventions, great feats or special achievements-but that approach would fail to represent the full breadth of UW accomplishments. So we decided to limit awards, but found that making the cut was one of our greatest challenges. Sadly, we had to drop awards that were specific to one discipline-such as the Lasker Prize in medicine or the Bancroft Prize in history-and focus on programs that cross several disciplines and that are national or international in scope. In addition to famous awards such as the Nobel and Pulitzer prizes, we also included honors given by the White House and Congress for extraordinary lifetime achievements. Yet another awards program, the MacArthur Foundation "genius" grants, not only spans many disciplines, but often highlights unusual achievements.
NOBEL PRIZE
Hans Dehmelt The first UW faculty member to win a Nobel Prize, Physics Professor Hans Dehmelt was honored for trapping a single electron as well as for isolating a single atom and watching it make quantum leaps. He shared the 1989 prize in physics.
Edmond Fischer With Edwin Krebs, Biochemistry Professor Edmond Fischer's research fostered techniques that prevent the body from rejecting transplanted organs. Their breakthrough also opened new doors for research into cancer, blood pressure, inflammatory reactions and brain signals. They shared the 1992 prize in medicine.
Leland Hartwell The president and director of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Genome Sciences Professor Leland Hartwell's basic research on cell division could lead to new therapies to combat cancer. He shared the 2001 prize in medicine.
George Hitchings, '27, '28 A scientist for Burroughs Wellcome, George Hitchings' research was the basis for the development of drugs against a variety of disorders including leukemia, malaria, virus infections and gout. He shared the 1982 prize in medicine.
Edwin G. Krebs Pharmacology/Biochemistry Professor Edwin Krebs and Edmond H. Fischer were the first to turn on certain chemical switches to activate proteins and regulate various cellular processes. Their discovery was a key to unlocking how glycogen in the body breaks down into glucose. They shared the 1992 prize in medicine.
Martin Rodbell, '54 An NIH scientist, Rodbell discovered how some biochemicals help cells respond to hormones. Aberrations can lead to diseases such as cholera and even some kinds of cancer. He shared the 1994 prize in medicine.
George Stigler, '31 University of Chicago Economics Professor George Stigler made fundamental contributions to the study of government regulation and market forces, opening up a completely new area of economic research. He won the 1982 prize in economics.
E. Donnall Thomas UW Medicine Professor E. Donnall Thomas, who is also a director at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, was the first to show that bone marrow could be safely infused into a human patient. He was also the first to treat acute leukemia patients with marrow transplants. He shared the 1990 prize in medicine.
Photo credits: All photos by Mary Levin except Hartwell, courtesy Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Hitchings, photo by Davis Freeman; Rodbell, photo by Dan Sears.
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