ASIAN-AMERICAN SCIENTISTS

In this entry in the American Profiles series, Yount (Medical Technology, 1998, etc.) dispels stereotypes with this upbeat and accessible biographical collection of 12 Asian-American scientists. Readers meet computer scientist Tsutomu Shimomura, who hunts down lawbreakers on the information superhighway; Time’s 1996 “Man of the Year,” David Ho, whose research on AIDS and new drug treatments seems to have eliminated HIV from the blood of infected patients; Paul Ching-wu Chu, “superconductivity’s superstar”; Har Gobind Khorana, who created the first artificial genes; and more. The biographies, each accompanied by a list of further reading and a chronology, offer glimpses not only of the diverse career paths of 12 individuals, but lucid descriptions of their fields of interest, research, and prospects for the future. (b&w photos, index, not seen) (Biography. 12-14)