2017 DRI Nevada Medal Award - Call for Nominations

RENO, Nev., May 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Desert Research Institute (DRI) Foundation is now accepting nominations for the 30th Annual DRI Nevada Medal to be awarded in the spring of 2017.

The DRI Nevada Medal was established in 1988 to acknowledge outstanding achievement in the fields of science and engineering. The annual award includes an eight-ounce minted medallion of 0.999 pure Nevada silver and a $20,000 lecture honorarium. The award is formally presented by the Governor of Nevada during ceremonies in Reno and Las Vegas attended by Nevada's business, educational, and governmental leaders.

The DRI Nevada Medal is the highest scientific honor awarded in the state. Over the last 29 years, the DRI Foundation has honored individuals in science and engineering whose prominent research contributions have ranged from mapping the human genome and explaining protein folding to discovering ancient hydrothermal vents in the Galapagos and advancing our knowledge of archaeological discoveries across the globe.

Recent recipients include Duke University professor and unmanned systems expert Dr. Missy Cummings; NASA astrobiologist and Mars Science Laboratory mission member Dr. Chris McKay; and National Geographic Explorer and University of California, San Diego research scientist Dr. Albert Yu-Min Lin. A full list of all 29 award recipients is available online at www.dri.edu/nvmedal .

Nominations will be accepted online through June 30, 2016. Nominations are accepted for any individual who has made outstanding achievements in the fields of science or engineering.

Please submit nominations online at www.dri.edu/nvmedal The DRI Foundation serves to cultivate private philanthropic giving in support of the mission and vision of the Desert Research Institute. For over 25 years DRI Foundation trustees have worked with DRI benefactors to support applied environmental research to maximize the Institute's impact on improving people's lives throughout Nevada, the nation, and the world.

DRI, the nonprofit research arm of the Nevada System of Higher Education, is a world leader in environmental sciences through the application of knowledge and technologies to improve people's lives throughout Nevada and the world. For more information about DRI's cloud seeding program please visit www.dri.edu

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=40384

Justin Broglio Communications Officer, DRI 775-673-7610