The Academy awards prizes that recognize excellence in the sciences and the humanities and a commitment to the ideals of the Academy. Recipients of the awards are often, but not always, members of the Academy. Information about the prizes and past recipients below:

Ruth Lehmann
2020

Ruth Lehmann and Gertrud M. Schüpbach for discoveries that have significantly advanced their own fields and contributed to knowledge and progress in areas including DNA repair, embryonic development, RNA regulation, and stem cell research. 

Prize press release.

Honoree introduction and remarks.

Gertrud M. Schüpbach
2020

Gertrud M. Schüpbach and Ruth Lehmann for discoveries that have significantly advanced their own fields and contributed to knowledge and progress in areas including DNA repair, embryonic development, RNA regulation, and stem cell research. 

Prize press release.

Honoree introduction and remarks.

 

Barbara Jean Meyer
2017

Barbara Jean Meyer, University of California, Berkeley, for her breakthrough solutions to long-standing mysteries about chromosomal expression and sex determination.

Prize press release.

Honoree introduction and remarks.

Patrick C Walsh
2012

Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, for research and surgical innovation in the treatment of prostate cancer.

Prize press release.

Peter N. Goodfellow
1997

SmithKline Beecham, Harlow, Essex, England, for pioneering work on the genetic basis of male sex determination.

 

 

Robin H. Lovell-Badge
1997

MRC, National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London, England, for pioneering work on the genetic basis of male sex determination.

David C. Page
1997

Whitehead Institute, MIT, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for pioneering work on the genetic basis of male sex determination.

David L. Garbers
1992

David L. Garbers, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, for discovery and identification of factors that regulate sperm function.

Beatrice Mintz
1988

Beatrice Mintz, The Institute for Cancer Research, Fox Chase, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for contributions to reproductive biology and cell differentiation.

Henry Lardy
1984

Henry Lardy, University of Wisconsin, for work on the metabolism and function of spermatozoa.

Susumu Ohno
1981

Susumu Ohno, Division of Biology, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, California, for fundamental contributions to the biology of sex chromosomes and sex-linked genes.

Elwood Vernon Jensen
1977

Elwood Vernon Jensen, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, for pioneering studies of the mode of action of estrogenic hormones.

Mary Frances Lyon
1977

Mary Frances Lyon, FRS, Head, Genetics Section, Medical Research Council Radiobiology Unit, Harwell, England, for genetic discoveries relating to mammalian sex chromosomes.

Jean D. Wilson
1977

Jean D. Wilson, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical School, Dallas, Texas, for contributions to the understanding of androgenic hormones and their relation to human disease.

Karl Sune Detlof Bergström
1975

Karl Sune Betlof Bergström, Karolinska Institutet, for structural analysis of the prostaglandins and characterizing the prostaglandins as C20 acids of a novel type.

Min Chueh Chang
1975

Min Chueh Chang, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology, Worcester, Massachusetts, for work in the physiology of reproduction and the capacitation of spermatozoa.

Howard Guy Williams-Ashman
1975

Howard Guy Williams-Ashman, Ben May Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, for his research in the biochemistry of reproduction and the uncovering of novel biological macromolecule and enzymic processes.

Geoffrey Wingfield Harris
1970

Geoffrey Wingfield Harris, University of Oxford, England, for pioneering work in the field of glandular physiology, particularly on the role of the brain in regulating the functions of the pituitary gland, opening to research a vast new field of neuroendocrinology.

 

Hans Henriksen Ussing
1970

Hans Henriksen Ussing, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, for important contributions to renal and electrolyte physiology and for his ingenious studies on the transport and hormonal regulation of sodium and water across isolated frog skin, which has led to a new understanding of the transport processes that are basic to the functioning of the human kidney.

J. Hartwell Harrison
1961

J. Hartwell HarrisonDavid M. Hume, and Joseph E. Murray, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their surgical finesse in developing the technique of renal transplantation in humans.

David M. Hume 
1961

J. Hartwell HarrisonDavid M. Hume, and Joseph E. Murray, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their surgical finesse in developing the technique of renal transplantation in humans.

Joseph E. Murray
1961

J. Hartwell HarrisonDavid M. Hume, and Joseph E. Murray, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their surgical finesse in developing the technique of renal transplantation in humans.

John P. Merrill
1961

John P. MerrillBenjamin F. Miller, and George W. Thorn, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their imaginative handling of the medical problems connected with the management of renal failure and kidney transplantation.

Benjamin F. Miller
1961

John P. MerrillBenjamin F. Miller, and George W. Thorn, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their imaginative handling of the medical problems connected with the management of renal failure and kidney transplantation.

George W. Thorn
1961

John P. MerrillBenjamin F. Miller, and George W. Thorn, Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, for their imaginative handling of the medical problems connected with the management of renal failure and kidney transplantation.

Harry Goldblatt
1961

Harry Goldblatt and Eugene F. Poutasse, Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, for their studies of renal ischemia and hypertension in humans and the development cures thereof.

Eugene F. Poutasse
1961

Harry Goldblatt and Eugene F. Poutasse, Mount Sinai Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio, for their studies of renal ischemia and hypertension in humans and the development cures thereof.

Eugene M. Bricker 
1961

Eugene M. Bricker and Justin J. Cordonnier, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, for the suggestion, careful development, application, and evaluation of urinary diversion by uretral transplantation to a segment of ileum.

Justin J. Cordonnier
1961

Eugene M. Bricker and Justin J. Cordonnier, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, for the suggestion, careful development, application, and evaluation of urinary diversion by uretral transplantation to a segment of ileum.

Frederic E.B. Foley
1954

Frederic E.B. Foley, Lowry Medical Arts Building, St. Paul, Minnesota, for the development of surgical procedures and instruments that have contributed greatly to the treatment of urological disease.

Choh Hao Li
1954

Choh Hao Li, University of California, Berkeley, California, for his work on the relation of the anterior pituitary hormones to the maintenance and functioning of the human reproductive organs.

Thaddeus R.R. Mann
1954

Thaddeus R.R. Mann, Molteno Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England, for his basic contributions to the rapidly expanding field of the biochemistry of reproductive functions providing basic data stimulating research and clinical progress.

Terence J. Millin
1954

Terence J. Millin, the Queen's Gate Clinic, London, England, for his valuable contribution to surgery by devising and developing the technique of retropubic prostatectomy for benign hyperplasia of the prostate and for adapting this technique to radical prostatectomy and vesiculectomy for the cure of cancer of the prostate.

Warren O. Nelson
1954

Warren O. Nelson, State University of Iowa, College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, for his penetrating studies of the structural relationships of the male sex organs and of the factors that determine the functional activities of the various components thereof.

Frederick J. Wallace
1954

Frederick J. Wallace, American Cystoscope Makers, Inc., New York, New York, for his cooperation with the urological profession in developing diagnostic and therapeutic instruments that have contributed materially to the technical advances in this specialty.

Lawson Wilkins
1954

Lawson Wilkins, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, in recognition of his significant contributions to fundamental knowledge of growth and development of secondary sex characteristics in men and his brilliant application of adrenal cortical hormone to their management and treatment.

Alexander Benjamin Gutman
1947

Alexander Benjamin Gutman, New York, New York, for his demonstration, aided by his wife, E. B. Gutman, of the usefulness of serum acid phosphatase determination in the diagnosis and management of patients with prostatic malignancy.

Charles Brenton Huggins
1947

Charles Brenton Huggins, Chicago, Illinois, for his studies on the prostate gland, on the influence of several hormones on prostatic secretion, and on the diagnosis and treatment of cancer of the prostate that have brought relief to many men.

Willem Johan Kolff
1947

Willem Johan Kolff, Kampen, The Netherlands, for his development of an artificial kidney in the treatment of patients with uremia and for his monograph describing the construction of the apparatus, indications for its use, and observations on its effectiveness.

Guy Frederic Marrian
1947

Guy Frederic Marrian, Edinburgh, Scotland, for his research on the chemistry, biochemistry, and metabolism of the steroid hormones affecting the activity of the male and female generative tract, leading to important diagnostic and therapeutic measures.

George Nicholas Papanicolaou
1947

George Nicholas Papanicolaou, New York, New York, for his development of exfoliative cytology and its application to rapid and simple methods of diagnosis of cancer of the organs of the genitourinary tract.

Selman Abraham Waksman
1947

Selman Abraham Waksman, New Brunswick, New Jersey, for his discovery of streptomycin, an antibiotic agent that has proved to be of great value in the treatment of infections common to the urinary passage.

​​​​​​​Ernest Laqueur
1940

Ernest Laqueur, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, for his contributions to the physiological, pharmacological, and clinical knowledge of the male sex hormones, and in particular for his investigations of sex hormones that resulted in the discovery of testosterone.

Joseph Francis McCarthy
1940

Joseph Francis McCarthy, New York, New York, for the development of instrumental procedures for the examination, diagnosis, and treatment by way of the urethra of certain diseases of the bladder, prostate, and related organs.

Carl Richard Moore
1940

Carl Richard Moore, Chicago, Illinois, for his studies of the physiology of spermatozoa and of the male reproductive tract of mammals. His work has demonstrated important influences of hormonal secretions of the male sex glands on the behavior of other components of the male reproductive apparatus.

Hugh Hampton Young
1940

Hugh Hampton Young, Baltimore, Maryland, for devising the operation of total prostatectomy by the perineal approach. Through this technique, obstruction to the outlet of the urinary bladder caused by cancer of the prostate gland is relieved without interfering with the normal function of the bladder.

Martha C. Nussbaum
2017

Martha C. Nussbaum, philosopher, classicist, political theorist, and public intellectual

Award press release.

Honoree remarks - A Philosophical Approach to Anger and Fear

Denis Donoghue
2013

Denis Donoghue, literary critic, essayist, memoirist, and teacher

Helen Vendler
2013

Helen Vendler, literary critic, scholar, and teacher

Jean-Pierre Vernant
1993

Jean-Pierre Vernant, literary critic, scholar of Greek myths

Meyer Abrams
1984

Meyer Abrams, scholar, editor, and literary critic

​​​​​​​Kenneth Burke
1977

Kenneth Burke, literary critic and theorist

Charles L. Bennett
2021

Charles L. Bennett, Johns Hopkins University

For his contributions to the field of cosmology.

Press release

Award event video

Award event article

 

Ernst Bamberg
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics:

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Edward Boyden
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics.

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Karl Deisseroth
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics:

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Peter Hegemann
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics:

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Gero Miesenböck
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics:

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Georg Nagel
2018

For their extraordinary contributions related to the invention and refinement of optogenetics:

Ernst Bamberg, Max-Planck Institute of Biophysics  

Ed Boyden, MIT

Karl Deisseroth, Stanford University

Peter Hegemann, Humboldt University 

Gero MiesenböckUniversity of Oxford

Georg Nagel, University of Wuerzburg

Press release online.

Federico Capasso
2015

For their contributions to the field of laser technology:

Federico Capasso, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Alfred Cho, Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs

Award press release.

Alfred Cho
2015

For their contributions to the field of laser technology:

Federico Capasso, Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Alfred Cho, Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs

Award press release.

Sidney D. Drell
2008

For their efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons:

Sidney D. Drell, Stanford University

Sam Nunn, Nuclear Threat Initiative

William J. Perry, Stanford University

George P. Shultz, Stanford University

Award press release.

Sam Nunn
2008

For their efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons:

Sidney D. Drell, Stanford University

Sam Nunn, Nuclear Threat Initiative

William J. Perry, Stanford University

George P. Shultz, Stanford University

Award press release.

William J. Perry
2008

For their efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons:

Sidney D. Drell, Stanford University

Sam Nunn, Nuclear Threat Initiative

William J. Perry, Stanford University

George P. Shultz, Stanford University

Award press release.

George P. Shultz
2008

For their efforts to reduce the global threat of nuclear weapons:

Sidney D. Drell, Stanford University

Sam Nunn, Nuclear Threat Initiative

William J. Perry, Stanford University

George P. Shultz, Stanford University

Award press release.

John C. Mather
1996

John C. Mather, Greenbelt, Maryland, for contributions to understanding the cosmic microwave background.

James R. Norris
1992

James R. Norris and Joseph J. Katz, Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with George Feher of San Diego, California for contributions to understanding photosynthesis.

Joseph J. Katz
1992

James R. Norris and Joseph J. Katz, Chicago, Illinois, in conjunction with George Feher of San Diego, California for contributions to understanding photosynthesis.

Robert B. Leighton
1986

Robert B. Leighton, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Frank J. Low, Tucson, Arizona, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Gerry Neugebauer, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Frank J. Low
1986

Robert B. Leighton, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Frank J. Low, Tucson, Arizona, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Gerry Neugebauer, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Gerry Neugebauer
1986

Robert B. Leighton, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Frank J. Low, Tucson, Arizona, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

Gerry Neugebauer, Pasadena, California, for contributions to the development of infrared astronomy.

​​​​​​​Hans Georg Dehmelt
1985

Hans Georg Dehmelt, Seattle, Washington, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Martin Deutsch, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Vernon Willard Hughes, New Haven, Connecticut, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Norman Foster Ramsey, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Martin Deutsch
1985

Hans Georg Dehmelt, Seattle, Washington, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Martin Deutsch, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Vernon Willard Hughes, New Haven, Connecticut, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Norman Foster Ramsey, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Vernon Willard Hughes
1985

Hans Georg Dehmelt, Seattle, Washington, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Martin Deutsch, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Vernon Willard Hughes, New Haven, Connecticut, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Norman Foster Ramsey, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Norman Foster Ramsey
1985

Hans Georg Dehmelt, Seattle, Washington, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Martin Deutsch, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Vernon Willard Hughes, New Haven, Connecticut, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

Norman Foster Ramsey, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for contributions to atomic spectroscopy.

​​​​​​​Gregorio Weber
1980

Gregorio Weber, Urbana, Illinois, for his work on the theory and application of fluorescence.

 

Chen Ning Yang
1980

Chen Ning Yang, Stony Brook, New York, for development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory.

Robert Mills, Columbus, Ohio, for development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory.

Robert Mills
1980

Chen Ning Yang, Stony Brook, New York, for development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory.

Robert Mills, Columbus, Ohio, for development of a generalized gauge invariant field theory.

Bruno Rossi
1976

Bruno Rossi, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his discoveries concerning the nature and origins of cosmic radiations.

E. Bright Wilson
1973

E. Bright Wilson, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his early recognition of the importance of symmetry properties in polyatomic molecules and for his active and pioneering development of microwave spectroscopy.

MIT Group
1971

Three groups of scientists received the prize for their work in the field of long-baseline interferometry.

John. A Ball

Alan H. Barrett

Bernard F. Burke

Joseph C. Carter

Patricia P. Crowther

James M. Moran, Jr. 

Alan E. E. Rogers

Canadian Group
1971

Three groups of scientists received the prize for their work in the field of long-baseline interferometry.

Norman W. Broten

R. M. Chisholm

John A. Galt

Herbert P. Gush

Thomas H. Legg

Jack L. Locke

Charles W. McLeish

Roger S. Richards

Jui Lin Yen

NRAO-Cornell Group
1971

Three groups of scientists received the prize for their work in the field of long-baseline interferometry.

C. C. Bare

Barry G. Clark

Marshall H. Cohen

David L. Jauncey

Kenneth I. Kellermann

Maarten Schmidt
1968

Maarten Schmidt, Pasadena, California, for his discoveries in the spectra of quasi-stellar objects.

Robert Henry Dicke
1967

Robert Henry Dicke, Princeton, New Jersey, for his contributions to microwave radiometry and to the understanding of atomic structure.

 

Cornelis B. Van Niel
1967

Cornelis B. Van Niel, Stanford, California, for his contributions to the understanding of photosynthesis.

Samuel Cornette Collins
1965

Samuel Cornette Collins, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his invention of the Collins Helium Cryostat and his pioneer work in low-temperature research.

 

William David McElroy
1965

William David McElroy, Baltimore, Maryland, in recognition of his work on the molecular basis of bioluminescence.

Hans Albrecht Bethe
1963

Hans Albrecht Bethe, Ithaca, New York, for his theoretical studies of energy production in stars.

Charles Hard Townes
1961

Charles Hard Townes, New York, New York, for his development of the laser.

George Wald
1959

George Wald, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his studies on the biochemical basis of vision.

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
1957

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, Williams Bay, Wisconsin, for his work on the radiative transfer of energy in the interior of stars.

James Franck
1955

James Franck, Chicago, Illinois, for his fundamental studies on photosynthesis.

​​​​​​​Enrico Fermi
1953

Enrico Fermi, Chicago, Illinois, for his studies of radiation theory and nuclear energy.

Willis E. Lamb, Jr.
1953

Willis E. Lamb, Jr., Stanford, California, for his studies of the atomic hydrogen spectrum.

 

Lars Onsager
1953

Lars Onsager, New Haven, Connecticut, for his contribution to the thermodynamics of transport processes.

Herbert E. Ives
1951

Herbert E. Ives, Montclair, New Jersey, for his noteworthy contributions to optics.

Ira Sprague Bowen
1949

Ira Sprague Bowen, Pasadena, California, for his solution of the mystery of nebulium and for other outstanding work in spectroscopy.

​​​​​​​Edmund Newton Harvey
1947

Edmund Newton Harvey, Princeton, New Jersey, for his fundamental investigations of the nature of bioluminescence.

Edwin Herbert Land
1945

Edwin Herbert Land, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his new applications in polarized light and photography.

Charles Edward Mees
1943

Charles Edward Mees, Rochester, New York, for his contributions to the science of photography.

Vladimir Kosma Zworykin
1941

Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, Princeton, New Jersey, for his invention of the iconoscope and other television devices.

George Russell Harrison
1939

George Russell Harrison, Belmont, Massachusetts, for his improvements in spectroscopic technique.

William Weber Coblentz
1937

William Weber Coblentz, Washington, DC, for his pioneering work in the technology and measurement of heat and light.

Harlow Shapley
1933

Harlow Shapley, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for research on the luminosity of stars and galaxies.

Karl Taylor Compton
1931

Karl Taylor Compton, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for research in thermionics and spectroscopy.

John Stanley Plaskett
1930

John Stanley Plaskett, Victoria, British Columbia, for his stellar spectrographic research.

Edward Leamington Nichols
1928

Edward Leamington Nichols, Ithaca, New York, for his research in spectrophotometry.

Arthur Holly Compton
1926

Arthur Holly Compton, Chicago, Illinois, for his research in Roentgen rays.

Henry Norris Russell
1925

Henry Norris Russell, Princeton, New Jersey, for his research in stellar radiation.

Irving Langmuir
1920

Irving Langmuir, Schenectady, New York, for his research in thermionic and allied phenomena.

Theodore Lyman
1918

Theodore Lyman, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his research on light of very short wavelength.

Percy Willliams Bridgman
1917

Percy Willliams Bridgeman, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his thermodynamic research at extremely high pressures.

Charles Greeley Abbot
1915

Charles Greeley Abbot, Washington, DC, for his research on solar radiation.

William David Coolidge
1914

William David Coolidge, Schenectady, New York, for his invention of ductile tungsten and its application in the production of radiation.

Joel Stebbins
1913

Joel Stebbins, Urbana, Illinois, for his development of the selenium photometer and its application to astronomical problems.

Frederic Eugene Ives
1912

Frederic Eugene Ives, Woodcliff-on-Hudson, New York, for his optical inventions, particularly in color photography and photoengraving.

James Madison Crafts
1911

James Madison Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts, for his research in high-temperature thermometry and the exact determination of new fixed points on the thermometric scale.

Charles Gordon Curtis
1910

Charles Gordon Curtis, New York, New York, for his improvements in the utilization of heat as work in the steam turbine.

Robert Williams Wood
1909

Robert Williams Wood, Baltimore, Maryland, for his discoveries in light, and particularly for his research on the optical properties of sodium and other metallic vapors.

Edward Goodrich Acheson
1907

Edward Goodrich Acheson, Niagara Falls, New York, for the application of heat in the electric furnace to the industrial production of carborundum, graphite, and other new and useful substances

Ernest Fox Nichols
1904

Ernest Fox Nichols, New York, New York, for his research on radiation, particularly on the pressure due to radiation, the heat of the stars, and the infrared spectrum.

George Ellery Hale
1902

George Ellery Hale, Chicago, Illinois, for his investigations in solar and stellar physics and in particular for the invention and perfection of the spectro-heliograph.

Elihu Thomson
1901

Elihu Thomson, Lynn, Massachusetts, for his inventions in electric welding and lighting.

Carl Barus
1900

Carl Barus, Providence, Rhode Island, for his research in heat.

Charles Francis Brush
1899

Charles Francis Brush, Cleveland, Ohio, for the practical development of electric arc-lighting.

James Edward Keeler
1898

James Edward Keeler, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, for his application of the spectroscope to astronomical problems, and especially for his investigations of the proper motions of the nebulae and the physical constitution of the rings of the planet Saturn by the use of that instrument.

Thomas Alva Edison
1895

Thomas Alva Edison, Orange, New Jersey, for his investigations in electric lighting.

Edward Charles Pickering
1891

Edward Charles Pickering, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his work on the photometry of the stars and upon stellar spectra.

Albert Abraham Michelson
1888

Albert Abraham Michelson, Cleveland, Ohio, for his determination of the velocity of light, for his research on the motion of the luminferous ether, and for his work on the absolute determination of the wavelengths of light.

Samuel Pierpont Langley
1886

Samuel Pierpont Langley, Allegheny, Philadelphia, for his research in radiant energy.

Henry Augustus Rowland
1883

Henry Augustus Rowland, Baltimore, Maryland, for his research in light and heat.

Josiah Willard Gibbs
1880

Josiah Willard Gibbs, New Haven, Connecticut, for his research in thermodynamics.

John William Draper
1875

John William Draper, New York, New York, for his research on radiant energy.

Lewis Morris Rutherford
1873

Lewis Morris Rutherford, New York, New York, for his improvements in the processes and methods of astronomical photography.

Joseph Harrison, Jr.
1871

Joseph Harrison, Jr., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for his method of constructing safer steam boilers.

George Henry Corliss
1869

 

George Henry Corliss, Providence, Rhode Island, for his improvement in the steam engine

Alvan Clark
1866

Alvan Clark, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for his improvements in the manufacture of refracting telescopes, as exhibited in his method of local correction.

Daniel Treadwell
1865

Daniel Treadwell, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for improvements in the management of heat, embodied in his investigations and inventions relating to the construction of cannon of large caliber, and great strength and endurance.

John Ericsson
1862

John Ericsson, New York, New York, for his improvements in the management of heat, particularly as shown in his caloric engine of 1858.

Robert Hare
1839

Robert Hare, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for his invention of the "compound" or "oxyhydrogen" blowpipe.

Vanesha Pravin
2015

Vanesha Pravin teaches at the University of California, Merced, and her poems have appeared in Slate, Callaloo, Crab Orchard Review, Many Mountains Moving, Prodigal, and Phoebe.

Award press release

Arda Collins
2008

Arda Collins is a candidate in the Ph.D. program in poetry at the University of Denver. She holds an M.F.A. from the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, where she was a Glenn Schaeffer Fellow. Her poems have been published in The New YorkerA Public SpaceThe American Poetry Review and elsewhere. Her collection of poems, It Is Daylight won the 2008 Yale Series of Younger Poets Award, and is forthcoming from Yale University Press.

Award press release.

Matthew Dickman
2008

Matthew Dickman is the author of "All-American Poem," winner of the 2008 APR/Honickman first book prize from the American Poetry Review and Copper Canyon Press. His work has recently appeared in Tin HouseThe Boston ReviewThe American Poetry ReviewDossier Magazine, and The New Yorker. He has received fellowships or residencies from Oregon Literary Arts, the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin, the Breadloaf Writers Conference, the Vermont Studio Center, and the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He lives and works in Portland, Oregon.

Award press release.

Dawn Lundy Martin
2008

An assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, Martin is a founding member of the Black Took Collective, a group of experimental black poets; co-founder of the Third Wave Foundation; and co-editor of The Fire This Time: Young Activists and the New Feminism (Anchor Books, 2004). Her books include The Morning Hour, a collection of poems that was selected in 2003 for the Poetry Society of America’s National Chapbook Fellowship, and A Matter of Gathering / A Gathering of Matter (University of Georgia Press, 2007), which won the 2006 Cave Canem Book Prize. Her work has appeared in HamboneFENCEnocturnesEncyclopedia, and Callaloo.

Award press release.

Meghan O’Rourke
2008

O’Rourke grew up in Brooklyn, where she now lives. After earning her B.A. from Yale University in 1997, she joined The New Yorker as an editorial assistant and became an editor there in 2000. In 2005 she was named poetry co-editor of the Paris Review. She is the 2005 recipient of the Union League Civil and Arts Award. Her poetry and prose have appeared in The New YorkerThe New RepublicKenyon ReviewPoetryThe New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. Her first book of poems, Halflife, was published by W. W. Norton in 2007.

Award press release.

Matthew Zapruder
2008

Zapruder is the author of two collections of poetry: American Linden, published by Tupelo Press in 2002; and The Pajamaist, published by Copper Canyon in 2006. The Pajamaist was winner of the William Carlos Williams Award from the Poetry Society of America, and was chosen by Library Journal as one of the top ten poetry volumes of 2006. German and Slovenian language editions of his poems are forthcoming from Luxbooks and Serpa Editions. Luxbooks is also publishing a separate German language graphic novel version of the poem "The Pajamaist." An editor for Wave Books, Zapruder teaches in the low residency MFA program at the University of California, Riverside-Palm Desert and at the Juniper Summer Writing Institute at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. In 2007 he was a Lannan Literary Fellow in Marfa Texas. He lives in San Francisco.

Award press release.

Morton L. Mandel
2016

Morton L. Mandel, Business Leader, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Dedicated Public Servant.

Award press release

Award presentation.

Yo-Yo Ma
2011

Yo-Yo Ma, Musician, Educator and Humanist.

Award press release

Edward M. Kennedy
2008

Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, extraordinary service to the Academy, the community, and the nation

Louis W. Cabot
2006

Louis W. Cabot, captain of industry, philanthropist, and valued advisor to business, government and civic organizations

Award press release.

William T. Golden
2001

William T. Golden, visionary statesman, respected adviser, munificent patron of science and culture, and trusted friend and mentor to generations of men and women

Leo L. Beranek
2000

Leo L. Beranek, master of acoustics, farsighted entrepreneur, dedicated public servant, and steadfast patron of culture

William Labov
2019

William Labov, University of Pennsylvania (Linguistics)

Prize press release.

Honoree remarks.

Joan Wallach Scott
2016

Joan Wallach Scott, Institute for Advanced Study (History)

Prize press release.

Honoree remarks - On Free Speech and Academic Freedom

Daniel Kahneman
2011

Daniel Kahneman, Princeton University (Psychology)

Prize press release.

Honoree remarks - Two Systems in the Mind.

William Julius Wilson
2003

William Julius Wilson, Harvard University (Sociology)

Joseph H. Greenberg
1997

Joseph H. Greenberg, Stanford University (Anthropology, Linguistics)

Daniel Bell
1992

Daniel Bell, Harvard University (Sociology)

C. Vann Woodward
1988

C. Vann Woodward, Yale University (History)

Albert Hirschman
1983

Albert Hirschman, Institute for Advanced Study (Economics)

Robert K. Merton
1979

Robert K. Merton, Columbia University (Sociology)

Robert Dahl
1977

Robert Dahl, Yale University (Political Science)

Clifford Geertz
1974

Clifford Geertz, Institute for Advanced Study (Anthropology)