A Georgia Tech chemistry professor is getting the nation’s highest science honor for his work in nanotechnology.

Mostafa El-Sayed will receive the National Medal of Science during a ceremony at the White House on Sept. 29. El-Sayed is being honored for his research on the electronic and optical properties of nano-materials.

He is working with his son Ivan, a San Francisco doctor, to develop special nanorods that bind to cancer cells and make them easier to detect so lasers cans destroy them without harming healthy cells.

University System of Georgia officials said El-Sayed is only the second Georgian to ever receive the honor. G.W. Burton won the medal in 1982 while working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.