The Connecticut Medal of Science and the Connecticut Medal of Technology were first conceived in 1991, when then-Senate majority leader John Larsen introduced a bill to initiate an annual state award "for scholarship achievement in science and technology." The bill was enacted by the General Assembly, and early in 1993, the state Department of Higher Education and the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering -- the designated architects and administrators of the awards -- set the process in motion.

Unlike their federal counterparts, the state medals are designed to laud individuals, not teams or entire corporations. The work the awards honor must also have a "clear association with Connecticut," meaning it must have been performed in the state, at least in its final stages, or in a company or institution closely affiliated with the state.

Beginning with the 2004 Medal of Technology, the medals will be awarded bi-annually in alternate years.

Criteria for the 2008 Connecticut
Medal of Technology

Criteria for the 2009 Connecticut
Medal of Science

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Robert R. Birge
2009 Recipient
Connecticut Medal of Science

Robert Birge with students in his UConn laboratory. (Photo: University of Connecticut)

CASE member Robert R. Birge, The Harold S. Schwenk, Sr., Distinguished Chair in Chemistry at the University of Connecticut, was presented with the 2009 Connecticut Medal of Science, the state’s highest award for scientists, at the annual meeting of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in Windsor Locks on May 20.

In presenting the award, Frank W. Ridley, chairman of the Board of Governors for Higher Education, said “Dr. Birge’s pioneering work in protein engineering and biomolecular electronics has led to seminal discoveries in the fields of vision, quantum computation, and protein-based data processing. His efforts have boosted the growth and national reputation of UConn’s science programs, and have immeasurably strengthened Connecticut’s economic position.”

Birge is known for his basic research on protein structure and function and in biomolecular electronics. He was the first scientist to propose using proteins to store data; a protein-based disk drive that his research group developed in 1982 was the first such memory device ever produced. His research group in 1978 was the first to apply a new spectroscopic technique to reveal previously unavailable information about a biological molecule, vitamin A. He has written widely about the molecular basis of vision. His research also has far-reaching implications for the development of molecular electronic devices.

He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Yale University, his PhD in chemical physics from Wesleyan University and was a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University.

Click here to learn more about Professor Birge and his work.