Energy Secretary Watkins to Be Honored With Science Award

U.S. Secretary of Energy James Watkins will be awarded the annual Scientist of the Year award this week by the San Diego chapter of Achievement Rewards for College Scientists.

Watkins will be introduced at the Thursday luncheon by Gayle Wilson, wife of Gov. Pete Wilson. She is an honorary charter member of the group, which raises scholarship funds for graduate students seeking advanced degrees in the natural sciences, medicine and engineering.

The award recognizes individuals who encourage excellence in education, said former San Diego City Councilwoman Gloria McColl, a spokeswoman for the group.

Watkins, a retired Navy admiral who graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering, was selected because of his lifelong interest in educating America’s youth and, more recently, for his help in preparing President Bush’s $1.94-billion budget request for science and math education, McColl said. The budget calls for a 13% increase in funding to math, science and engineering education at the pre-college through post-doctoral levels in 1992.

Watkins, who is chairman of the President’s Committee on Education and Human Resources, also contributed to “Turning Points: Preparing American Youth for the 21st Century,” a 1989 report by the Carnegie Corp. Council on Adolescent Development, McColl said.

Achievement Rewards for College Scientists was organized in 1958 in response to the Soviet launching of the Sputnik satellite in 1957, McColl said. Its goal is to educate Americans about the need for advanced study in science and engineering and to provide scholarships for students interested in pursuing degrees in those areas.

The San Diego chapter has awarded $160,000 to 30 scholars at UC San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography and San Diego State University since it was founded in 1986, McColl said.