When the president calls – Audio
When the president calls
Judith Kimble, Professor
Department of Biochemistry
UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
jekimble@wisc.edu
Phone (608) 262-6188, (608) 265-5819
3:01 – Total Time
0:18 – Called to serve
1:01 – The National Medal of Science
1:31 – Covers many scientific disciplines
1:53 – Honor for the state
2:22 – Work here at home
2:52 – Lead out
TRANSCRIPT
Sevie Kenyon: When the president calls, we’re visiting today with Judith Kimble, Department of Biochemistry University of Wisconsin-Madison in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and I’m Sevie Kenyon. Judith, the President of the United States asked you to serve as Chair, of the Committee on the National Medal of Science, tell us about it.
Judith Kimble: This is a committee of 12 senior expert scientists from around the country who cover a very broad group of sciences, so that includes mathematics, biology, physics, chemistry, engineering, and social and behavioral sciences. And what we do is we review the nominations that are put in and then we get together to discuss them and decide who we want to put forward to the President as recommendations; and that is what we do is we make recommendations to the President he is the one who decides who gets it.
Sevie Kenyon: Judith can you tell us what the National Medal of Science is?
Judith Kimble: The National Medial of Science is, I would say, the most prestigious honor for a scientist in the country and it is a medal that the President himself gives out and to honor major contributions to science and to the scientific community. I would say all of the awardees have not only made major contributions to science but to our society.
Sevie Kenyon: What kinds of things are you likely to be looking at?
Judith Kimble: We really look at the importance and significance of the contributions that the individual has made to science and also the contributions that the person has made to the community, both in science and the broader community.
Sevie Kenyon: What is the significance for you, to being the Chair of this medal committee?
Judith Kimble: The National Medal of Science is a tremendously significant award and that is an honor for me as Chair, but it also is a remarkable opportunity to serve the country and also serve the state of Wisconsin. I really hope that my serving as Chair of this committee will have some positive impact for the State and for the Flagship University of that state which is the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Sevie Kenyon: Judith, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your work here at UW-Madison?
Judith Kimble: So I have been on the faculty here since 1983. I came to Madison because this was the place I most wanted to be on the face of the Earth even though I had never been in Wisconsin before. And I’ve been here since and working on a very basic problem in how animals develop from an embryo to a full-blown animal. And we’ve focused primarily on stem cells and the molecules that control stem cells.
Sevie Kenyon: We’ve been visiting today with Judith Kimble, Department of Biochemistry University of Wisconsin-Madison in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, and I’m Sevie Kenyon