The Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, established in 1996, honors the most promising researchers in the Nation within their fields. Nine federal departments and agencies annually nominate scientists and engineers who are at the start of their independent careers and whose work shows exceptional promise for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge. Participating agencies award these talented scientists and engineers with up to five years of funding to further their research in support of critical government missions.

Awards were announced today - links to some of the awardees:

• Jelena Vuckovic, Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
• Matthew Rodell, Physical Scientist, NASA
• Katerina Akassoglou, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology, University of California, San Diego
• Carlos Rinaldi, Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
• Ahna Skop, Assistant Professor of Genetics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• Krystyn J. Van Vliet, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, MIT
• Odest Chadwicke Jenkins, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science, Brown University

Related: 2006 MacArthur Fellows - Young Innovators Under 35 - Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2006) - NSF Release on 2007 awardees that are also NSF CAREER awardees