President Barack Obama will award Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Cherry A. Murray the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, according to a press release issued Friday by the White House.  

Murray, who is one of the eight recipients of the medal for 2014, will receive the award during a ceremony at the White House later this year. According to the press release, the honor, which was established in 1980, “recognizes those who have made lasting contributions to America’s competitiveness and quality of life and helped strengthen the Nation’s technological workforce.”

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According to an email from SEAS Assistant Dean for Communications Paul Karoff, Murray said that she was “truly honored and humbled” to receive the award. Murray’s specific citation has yet to be released.

“[Murray] has played a real leadership role in engineering and science for many many years,” Physics professor David A. Weitz said. “We need people like that—we need people who can lead the country and make engineering and science an important part of the country.”

Murray, who was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 and formerly served as an executive at Bell Laboratories, drew attention for her research on the use of light-scattering and her work on condensed-matter physics.

—Staff writer Francesca Annicchiarico can be reached at francesca.annicchiarico@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @FRAnnicchiarico.

—Staff writer John Finnegan can be reached at finnegan@thecrimson.com. Follow him on Twitter @finneganspake.