January 28, 2009 – Sigma Xi, the international honor society of research scientists and engineers, has chosen David Michaels, PhD, MPH, Director of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP), as the winner of its 2009 John P. McGovern Science and Society Award. The award honors people who are highly visible and prominent spokespersons for the public understanding and appreciation of science.
“I am honored to receive this award from such an important organization, and to be included in a list of winners that includes so many respected and influential figures,” said Dr. Michaels. Past McGovern Award winners include Alan Lightman, Sylvia Earle, Norman Borlaug, Mario Molina, and Condoleeza Rice.
Dr. Michaels is an epidemiologist who serves as professor and interim chair of the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services. Through his research, publication, and teaching, he promotes the use of the best available evidence to protect public health. His 2008 book Doubt is Their Product: How Industry’s Assault on Science Threatens Your Health reveals how the tobacco industry's duplicitous tactics spawned a multimillion dollar industry that is dismantling public health safeguards.
Nominated by President Clinton and confirmed by the US Senate, Dr. Michaels served as the Department of Energy's Assistant Secretary for Environment, Safety and Health from 1998 through January 2001. In this position, he had primary responsibility for protecting the health and safety of workers, the neighboring communities, and the environment surrounding the nation's nuclear weapons facilities. He was the chief architect of the historic initiative to compensate workers in the nuclear weapons complex who developed cancer or lung disease as a result of exposure to radiation, beryllium, and other hazards.
In February 2006, Dr. Michaels received the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Scientific Freedom and Responsibility Award for his work on behalf of nuclear weapons workers and for his advocacy for scientific integrity. He is also the recipient of the American Public Health Association's David P. Rall Award for Advocacy in Public Health, and the US Department of Energy's Meritorious Service Award.
The John P. McGovern Award has been given annually since 1984, and the recipient delivers an address at the Sigma Xi annual meeting. The 2009 meeting will take place November 12-15 in Houston.
Founder of the renowned McGovern Allergy Clinic in Houston, John P. McGovern has served on the Board of Directors of Sigma Xi and on several national committees. He received his B.S. and M.D. degrees at Duke University and conducted his postgraduate training at Yale-New Haven Medical Center, McGuire Hospital in Richmond and Duke. A noted physician, researcher, scholar, teacher and lecturer, he was a prime organizer and later president of the prestigious American Osler Society, as well as the American Association of Certified Allergists. His many honors include the Distinguished Award of Merit and the first recipient of the Fellow Distinguished Award of the American College of Allergists, the international Gold Medal Award for outstanding and meritorious achievements in the field of pediatric allergy and the Distinguished Alumni Award from Duke University School of Medicine. He has served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine and as editor, associate editor, or on the editorial boards of 18 medical journals and publications series. The Sigma Xi award that bears his name was endowed by the John P. McGovern Foundation.
See also:
Sigma Xi announcement
David Michaels bio page
