Obama awards national science, technology medals | Nation & World Updates | Wichita Eagle: WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama linked scientific discovery to helping the struggling economy Wednesday as he honored those who invented batteries for implanted defibrillators, mapped the human genetic code and made global positioning systems possible.
Awarding the National Medal of Science and the Medal of Technology and Innovation, Obama said the United States must continue to invest in 'the next generation of discoveries and the next generation of discoverers.' Repeating his pledge to put thousands more students in college classrooms, he committed to spending 3 percent of the gross domestic product to educate future scientists and researchers.
'Because throughout our history, amid tumult and war and against tough odds, this nation has always looked toward the future and then led the way,' he said.
