Steven Lower, associate professor, School of Earth Sciences and the School of Environment and Natural Sciences, is the recipient of a 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young science and engineering professionals. Lower and all of the PECASE honorees were recognized by President Obama at White House ceremonies on December 13, 2010.

Awardees are selected for their pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and their commitment to community service.

Lower’s research spans a range of disciplines including molecular science, biophysics, microbiology, and mineralogy. He is working to understand the physical forces that enable bacteria to stick to surfaces. His research could one day lead to new methods for environmental clean-ups and new medical implants that resist bacterial infection.

Lower has received a number of awards including a National Science Foundation Early Career Development award (CAREER), the NSF’s most prestigious award in support of junior faculty and the Department of Energy Best Research Award in chemistry and biology. His research is supported with grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the Department of Energy.

The work by Lower and research group has been published in Science and Nature, as well as leading, discipline specific journals like Journal of Bacteriology, Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Langmuir, Environmental Science & Technology, Geochimica, and American Mineralogist.

The PECASE awards were established by President Clinton in 1996. Ten Federal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the most meritorious scientists and engineers whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for assuring America’s preeminence in science and engineering and contributing to the awarding agencies' missions.Winning scientists and engineers have received research grants for up to five years to further their studies in support of critical government missions.