National Medal of Science

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

National Medal of Science
Awarded for	Outstanding contributions to the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, or social and behavioral sciences
Presented by	President of the United States
Country	United States
Location	Washington, D.C.
First awarded	1963
Official website

The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social sciences, biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and physics. The twelve member presidential Committee on the National Medal of Science is responsible for selecting award recipients and is administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF). As of February 13, 2006, there have been 425 recipients of the medal. On 27 July 2007, President Bush presented the 2005 and 2006 medals.^[1]

Contents 1 History 2 Award process 3 The Medal 4 Notable laureates 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit] History

The National Medal of Science was established on August 25, 1959, by an act of the Congress of the United States under Public Law 86-209. The medal was originally to honor scientists in the fields of the "physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences." The Committee on the National Medal of Science was established on August 23, 1961 by executive order 10961 of former president John F. Kennedy.^[2]

On January 7, 1979, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) passed a resolution proposing that the medal be expanded to include the social and behavioral sciences.^[3] In response, Senator Ted Kennedy introduced the Science and Technology Equal Opportunities Act into the Senate on March 7, 1979, expanding the medal to include these scientific disciplines as well. President Jimmy Carter's signature enacted this change as Public Law 96-516 on December 12, 1980.

In 1992, the National Science Foundation signed a letter of agreement with the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation that made the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation the metaorganization over both the National Medal of Science and the very similar National Medal of Technology.

The first National Medal of Science was awarded on February 18, 1963, for the year 1962 by President John F. Kennedy to Theodore von Kármán for his work at the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The citation accompanying von Kármán's award reads:

For his leadership in the science and engineering basic to aeronautics; for his effective teaching and related contributions in many fields of mechanics, for his distinguished counsel to the Armed Services, and for his promoting international cooperation in science and engineering.^[4]

Although Public Law 86-209 provides for 20 recipients of the medal per year, it is typical for approximately 12–15 accomplished scientists and engineers to receive this distinction each year. There have been 6 years where no National Medals of Science were awarded between 1962 and 2004. Those years were: 1985, 1984, 1980, 1978, 1977, 1972 and 1971]]. As of February 13, 2006, there have been a total of 425 individuals recognized.

The award's ceremony is organized by the Office of Science and Technlogy Policy and takes place at the White House.

[edit] Award process

Each year the National Science Foundation sends out a call to the scientific community for the nomination of new candidates for the National Medal of Science. Individuals are nominated by their peers with each nomination requiring three letters of support from individuals in science and technology. Nominations are then sent to the Committee of the National Medal of Science which is a board composed of fourteen presidential appointees comprising twelve scientists, and two ex officio members - the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).^[5]

According to the Committee, successful candidates must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are applying for U.S. citizenship that have done work of significantly outstanding merit or that has had a major impact on scientific thought in their field. The Committee also values those who promote the general advancement of science and individuals who have influenced science education, although these traits are less important than groundbreaking or thought-provoking research. The nomination of a candidate is effective for three years; at the end of three years, the candidates peers are allowed to renominate the candidate. The Committee makes their recommendations to the President for the final awarding decision.

[edit] The Medal

The National Medal of Science depicts Man, surrounded by earth, sea, and sky, contemplating and struggling to understand Nature. The crystal in his hand represents the universal order and also suggests the basic unit of living things. The formula being outlined in the sand symbolizes scientific abstraction.

[edit] Notable laureates

Year	Laureate	Citation
1997	James D. Watson	"For five decades of scientific and intellectual leadership in molecular biology, ranging from his co-discovery of the double helical structure of DNA to the launching of the Human Genome Project."
1990	Stephen Cole Kleene	"For his leadership in the theory of recursion and effective computability and for developing it into a deep and broad field of mathematical research."
1990	Leonid Hurwicz	"For his pioneering work on the theory of modern decentralized allocation mechanisms."
1987	James Van Allen	"For his central role in the exploration of outer space, including the discoveries of the magnetospheres of Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn."
1986	Chen-Ning Yang	"For his pathbreaking research in theoretical physics, which he has influenced for many years by his profound questions and deep mathematical insight. His ideas have had great impact not only on theoretical developments but also on experiments in elementary particles and condensed matter."
1976	Edward O. Wilson	"For his pioneering work on the organization of insect societies and the evolution of social behavior among insects and other animals."
1975	Wernher von Braun	"For his work in making the liquid-fuel rocket a practical launch vehicle and for individual contributions to a series of advanced space vehicles, culminating in the Saturn series that made the Apollo program possible."*
1974	Kurt Gödel	"For laying the foundation for today's flourishing study of mathematical logic."
1974	Linus Pauling	"For the extraordinary scope and power of his imagination, which has led to basic contributions in such diverse fields as structural chemistry and the nature of chemical bonding, molecular biology, immunology, and the nature of genetic diseases."
1973	Carl Djerassi	"In recognition of his major contributions to the elucidation of the complex chemistry of the steroid hormones and to the application of these compounds to medicinal chemistry and population control by means of oral contraceptives."
1973	Earl Sutherland	"For the discovery that epinephrine and hormones of the pituitary gland occasion their diverse regulatory effects by initiating cellular synthesis of cyclic adenylic acid, now recognized as a universal biological second messenger, which opened a new level of understanding of the subtle mechanisms that integrate the chemical life of the cell while offering hope of entirely new approaches to chemotherapy."
1971	Barbara McClintock	"For establishing the relations between inherited characters in plants and the detailed shapes of their chromosomes, and for showing that some genes are controlled by other genes within chromosomes."
1970	John Archibald Wheeler	"For his basic contributions to our understanding of the nuclei of atoms, exemplified by his theory of nuclear fission, and his own work and stimulus to others on basic questions of gravitational and electromagnetic phenomena."
1969	Ernst Mayr	"For notable contributions to systematics, biogeography, and the study of birds, and especially for great work on the evolution of animal populations."
1968	B.F. Skinner	"For basic and imaginative contributions to the study of behavior which have had profound influence upon all of psychology and many related areas."
1967	Paul J. Cohen	"For epoch-making results in mathematical logic which have enlivened and broadened investigations in the foundation of mathematics."
1966	Claude Shannon	"For brilliant contributions to the mathematical theories of communications and information processing and for his early and continuing impact on the development of these disciplines."
1964	Harold Urey	"For outstanding contributions to our understanding of the origin and evolution of the solar system and the origin of life on Earth and for pioneering work in the application of isotopes to the determination of the temperatures of ancient oceans."
1963	Vannevar Bush	"For his distinguished achievements in electrical engineering, in the technology of computing machines, in the effective coupling of the physical and life sciences; and in his mobilizing science, engineering and education in enduring ways in the service of the Nation."
1963	Norbert Wiener	"For his marvellously versatile contributions, profoundly original, ranging within pure and applied mathematics, and penetrating boldly into the engineering and biological sciences."

[edit] See also

• National Medal of Technology
• List of National Medal of Science laureates
• Searchable Database of ALL National Medal of Science Recipients

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• National Science Foundation
• National Science & Technology Medals Foundation
• Using the National Medal of Science to recognize advances in psychology