WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) _ A Purdue University scientist whose discoveries have helped the nation's ethanol industry will be among more than a dozen scientists honored next month by President Barack Obama.

The White House announced Tuesday that Purdue chemical engineering research professor emeritus Dr. Nancy Ho will receive a National Medal of Technology and Innovation at the White House.

She's among 17 scientists who will receive either that medal or the National Medal of Science at that ceremony. Those medals are the nation's highest honors for people whose contributions have advanced the fields of science and technology.

Ho developed a type of genetically modified yeast that helps produce ethanol more efficiently from wood chips, grasses and agricultural wastes. She's president of Green Tech America, a company that produces and markets that yeast.