2024 Gold Medal is awarded to Jonathan Dennis.

Jonathan Dennis is a distinguished molecular biologist and a celebrated instructor at Florida State. He holds the Pfeiffer Endowed Professorship for Cancer Research in the Department of Biological Science. Not only is his research studying the organization of DNA in the nucleus breaking new barriers, but he has also received awards for his teaching. On top of all of that, he finds time to engage in outreach to the community. For example, he is an integral part of the Young Scholars Program (YSP) summer science and mathematics camp at FSU.  Further, during the pandemic he put his research on pause and was instrumental in working out the details of the Covid-19 rapid test and helping to set up the testing center at FSU, one of the first of its kind. Please read about this achievement here: https://news.fsu.edu/news/university-news/2020/08/10/florida-state-university-and-tallahassee-memorial-healthcare-team-up-to-turn-around-covid-19-tests-in-24-hours-or-less/ .

His research is focused on chromatin structure and organization: how more than two meters of human genomic DNA can be packed into a five micrometer nucleus whose protein concentration approaches that of a protein crystal. His work has led to development of techniques that describe the accessibility and organization of chromatin in the human nucleus. The long-term goal of his research is to apply and develop state-of-the-art techniques to large-scale detailed analysis of chromatin structure, thereby revealing the relationship between the regulation of chromatin architecture and cellular processes and clarifying the role of chromatin structure in the origin and mechanisms of disease.

2023 Gold Medal is awarded to

2022 Gold Medal is awarded to Dr. Ellen Granger of the Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University. She is the Director of the Office of STEM Teaching Activities and Co-Director of FSU Teach. Dr. Granger is recognized as a national leader in the field of science education and was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for “distinguished contribution, service, and leadership in advancing knowledge and classroom practices in science education.”

The 2021 award has been awarded to Mr. Carlos Villa, K-12 Education Director at the Center for Integrating Research & Learning at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. Selection of Carlos Villa created an opportunity to honor one of the most recognized science educators in our community; Carlos clearly exemplifies all of the criteria that this award was created to recognize, His work with the National MagLab has touched the lives of almost every child in Leon and surrounding counties. He can be seen in classrooms, community events representing the MagLab, and is the face of the MagLab summer camp program. His science education efforts are valued on a national stage as well. In 2018, Carlos was recognized for his efforts by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), as their 2018 Distinguished Informal Science Educator. Carlos reaches young adults across the globe with science education videos on the MagLab’s website and YouTube channel and has been featured on national podcasts like NPR’s Short Wave. In the summer of 2020, when COVID-19 shut down many camps, Carlos was instrumental in the creation of the MagLab’s virtual 10-week Summer Exploration Series (SES) program offered to K-12 students in Tallahassee and across the nation. The goal of the program was to increase youth’s interest in STEM and knowledge of STEM careers relevant to MagLab specific STEM disciplines, including materials science, biomedical and mechanical engineering, chemistry, biochemistry, and physics. Carlos’ connections with scientists and engineers at the MagLab including many undergraduate and graduate students at both FSU and FAMU, help to connect the science of the MagLab to K-12 students His work connecting MagLab research and STEM concepts to K-12 students and teachers makes him a crucial part of Tallahassee’s science literacy efforts.

The 2020 Gold Medal has been awarded to Dr. Susan Blessing, Professor, Department of Physics at Florida State University. Dr. Blessing’s research interests include the search for new phenomena in proton-antiproton collisions and electroweak physics. However, her passions have been in undergraduate education in physics and support of women in underrepresented physical sciences. She led the FSU Physics Department in creating an undergraduate physics curriculum that has been cited as one of five national models by a task force on undergraduate education assembled by the American Physical Society; Blessing was elected an American Physical Society Fellow through the society’s Forum on Education, which advocates for physics education. Additional accolades include establishing the FSU Office of National Fellowships, which has helped FSU’s undergraduates compete successfully for high profile national awards, including three Rhodes Scholarships. She serves as director of Women in Math, Science and Engineering, better known as WIMSE. WIMSE is a living-learning community (LLC) at FSU committed to the success of women in the fields of science, engineering and mathematics. Blessing coordinates a robust community of peers and mentors aimed at increasing the retention of young women in STEM fields by providing support, encouraging participation and developing necessary skills. She has become the university’s leading advocate for women in the computing, engineering and physics fields in which women are most strongly underrepresented.

The Tallahassee Scientific Society announces the award of their 2019 Gold Medal to Dr. Laura Greene, Chief Scientist at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. The Society’s Gold Medal, established in 2004, is bestowed annually on a scientist or scholar selected from the Tallahassee community whose career achievements in science or mathematics, and contributions to science education and outreach, are deemed exemplary.

In addition to her role as chief scientist at the National MagLab, a user facility funded by the National Science Foundation and State of Florida, Greene is the Francis Eppes Professor of Physics at Florida State University. Her research in experimental condensed matter physics with a focus on quantum materials has led to over 200 co-authored publications and more than 600 invited and plenary talks.

As the 2017 president of the American Physical Society (APS), Laura’s theme was science diplomacy and human rights. She serves on the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is a vice president of the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics. A champion for diversity, she works with teams that promote the success of women and young scientists, particularly in developing countries. She plays many leadership advisory roles for funding agencies and institutions, and recently was a co-chair of the National Academy’s consensus report: “Frontiers of Materials Research: A Decadal Survey.”

Laura is an active member of the US National Academy of Science, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Physics (UK), the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the APS. Her recognitions include a Guggenheim fellowship, the Lawrence Award for Materials Research, and the Maria Goeppert-Mayer Award. This fall, she received the APS Five Sigma Physicist Award for her work in science advocacy.

The Society invites the public to the Gold Medal ceremony and a free public lecture by Dr. Greene at 7 pm on Tuesday, November 12, at the Challenger Learning Center, 200 South Duval Street, Tallahassee, FL 32301. Dr. Greene’s presentation will be titled, “The Dark Energy of Quantum Materials”. Prior to the ceremony, the Society will host a reception and cash bar beginning at 6 pm.