|
 Working at the University of Chicago,
Fermi led construction of the world’s first nuclear reactor. He went
on to play a vital role in the Manhattan Project, which built the
first atomic bomb. These achievements came after he had already won
a Nobel prize for other research.
Watson, who grew up in Illinois, was part of the team that figured
out the shape of DNA molecules, which carry the genetic code for all
living organisms. The discovery has been called a turning point in
understanding life. He, too, received a Nobel.
The top five also includes R. Buckminster Fuller, an architect and
theorist who taught at Southern Illinois University; Percy Lavon
Julian, who pioneered large-scale synthesis of medicines from
plants; and Andrew Moyer, a key figure in discovering how to produce
penicillin in large amounts.
The Top 200 project lets Illinoisans vote every two weeks on the
state’s most inspiring leaders, greatest inventions, top businesses
and much more. By the state’s bicentennial on Dec. 3, voters will
have chosen 10 favorites in 20 different categories – the Illinois
Top 200.
Voting in the next category, top athletes, is underway at
www.IllinoisTop200. com.
The nominees include Michael Jordan, Ken Norton, Bonnie Blair, Dick
Butkus and Jim Thome.
Here are the top 10 Illinois scientists chosen in online voting:
1. Enrico Fermi – Fermi left Italy for the United States in 1939. He
developed the world’s first nuclear reactor, played a key role in
the Manhattan Project, and continued doing important research at the
University of Chicago for years.
2. James Watson –Watson and his partners discovered that DNA
molecules were shaped like two snakes twisting around each other.
Understanding this “double helix” yielded ground-breaking insights
into the genetic code
3. R. Buckminster Fuller – Fuller is most famous for developing the
geodesic dome, including a huge version at the 1967 world’s fair in
Montreal. He was awarded 28 U.S. patents and received the
Presidential Medal of Freedom.
4. Percy Lavon Julian – Working in the Chicago area, Julian
developed large-scale synthesis of substances like cortisone and
progesterone. He was the first African-American chemist inducted
into the National Academy of Sciences.
5. Andrew Moyer – When Moyer and other scientists at a Peoria
agriculture lab studied penicillin, they found a strong new strain
and learned how to make it grow. Suddenly large amounts were
available, just in time for World War II.
6. Leon Lederman – A Nobel Prize-winner for research on neutrinos,
Lederman was the longtime director of the Fermi National
Acceleration Laboratory in Batavia. He founded the Illinois
Mathematics and Science Academy.
7. John Bardeen – Bardeen, a professor for almost 40
years at the University of Illinois, is the only person to win the
Nobel Prize in Physics twice: first for helping invent the
transistor, then for research into superconductivity.
[to top of second column] |
8. Nick Holonyak – Born in Zeigler and educated at the University
of Illinois, Holonyak invented the first diode that produced light in the
visible spectrum, paving the way for LED lights. He is in the National Inventors
Hall of Fame.
9. Allene Jeanes – Working in Peoria, Jeanes discovered a way to
produce dextran, which could temporarily replace lost blood. Her team also
discovered xanthan gum, an ingredient in everything from ice cream to
toothpaste.
10. Francine Patterson –Patterson is an animal psychologist known for teaching
sign language to a gorilla named Koko. She is president of The Gorilla
Foundation and has written several books about her work with Koko.
The nominees who did not make the top 10 were Marvin Camras, a pioneer in audio
recording; aviation pioneer Octave Chanute; nuclear physicist Arthur Compton;
code expert William Friedman; astronomer George Hale; mathematician Olive
Hazlett; cancer researcher Charles Huggins; physicist Robert Millikan; chemist
Lewis Sarett; and Clyde Tombaugh, the astronomer who discovered Pluto.
The Illinois Top 200 is a joint initiative of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum, The (Springfield) State Journal-Register and the Illinois
Bicentennial Commission.
Future categories include trailblazing women, unforgettable moments and leaders.
Everyone is invited to suggest possible nominees in each category by using the
hashtag #ILtop200 on social media.
The presidential library and museum uses a combination of rigorous scholarship
and high-tech showmanship to immerse visitors in Lincoln’s life and times.
Visitors can see ghosts come to life on stage, watch TV coverage of the 1860
Presidential election, roam through the Lincoln White House, experience booming
cannons in a Civil War battle and come face to face with priceless original
Lincoln artifacts.
The library holds an unparalleled collection of Lincoln books, documents,
photographs, artifacts and art, as well as some 12 million items pertaining to
all aspects of Illinois history.
For more information, visit
www. PresidentLincoln.illinois.gov.
ABOUT ILLINOIS BICENTENNIAL
On Dec. 3, 1818, Illinois became the 21st state in the union. The Illinois
Bicentennial is a yearlong celebration of what has been BORN, BUILT & GROWN in
the state and a reminder of why we are #IllinoisProud. Citizens are encouraged
to participate in the celebration by visiting
www.illinois200. com and using the
hashtag #IllinoisProud. Partners and event and project managers planning
activities in 2018 can apply to become an official part of Illinois Bicentennial
by visiting the PARTICIPATE page at
www.illinois 200.com.
[Christopher Wills] |
