National Academy of Sciences

University of Utah biologist Baldomero M. Olivera and chemist C. Dale Poulter were elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences in April 2009. The honors come two years after Olivera was elected to the Institute of Medicine. That institute, the National Academy of Sciences, and National Academy of Engineering, all are part of a parent group known as the National Academies.
Olivera is at least the third University of Utah researcher elected to membership in two of the National Academies. He and Poulter bring to at least 35 the number of University of Utah faculty members elected to one of the National Academies during some point in their careers. Pierre Sokolsky, dean of the University of Utah College of Science, offered strong praise for two of his faculty members and their new honors.

“It’s another fine example of the excellence that the College of Science embodies,” Sokolsky says. “Both Baldomero and Dale are absolutely outstanding scientists, and this is recognition from peers of the highest quality for a lifetime of work. It’s another indication that not only is the college a hidden jewel, but that jewel is beginning to be noticed by people across the country in the sciences.”
Poulter studies what is known as the “isoprene biosynthetic pathway,” which all living organisms use to produce essential compounds to survive. Olivera studies medicinal uses of toxins from venomous sea-dwelling cone snails.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln that calls on the academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.
Among the National Academy of Sciences’ renowned members are Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell. More than 180 living academy members have won Nobel Prizes, including University of Utah geneticist Mario Capecchi.