Awardees Through the Years
Since the National Medal of Science was established, 476 people have been named recipients of America’s highest honor for scientists and engineers by 10 U.S. presidents. These are a few examples, listed in the order of the president who awarded the medals. For a complete list of laureates, see the recipient results.
PRESIDENT JOHN F. KENNEDY
Theodore von Kármán
Medal of Science Laureate, 1962
PRESIDENT LYNDON B. JOHNSON
Marshall Nirenberg
Medal of Science Laureate, 1964
Igor Sikorsky
Medal of Science Laureate, 1967
PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON
Barbara McClintock
Medal of Science Laureate, 1970
Albert B. Sabin
Medal of Science Laureate, 1970
PRESIDENT GERALD R. FORD
Linus Carl Pauling
Medal of Science Laureate, 1974
Chien-Shiung Wu
Medal of Science Laureate, 1975
PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER
George Uhlenbeck
Medal of Science Laureate, 1976
Edward O. Wilson
Medal of Science Laureate, 1976
Richard Feynman
Medal of Science Laureate, 1979
Simon Ramo
Medal of Science Laureate, 1979
PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN
Roald Hoffmann
Medal of Science Laureate, 1983
Joan A. Steitz
Medal of Science Laureate, 1986
Anne Anastasi
Medal of Science Laureate, 1987
Paul (Ching-Wu) Chu
Medal of Science Laureate, 1988
Stanley N. Cohen
Medal of Science Laureate, 1988
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH
Mildred S. Dresselhaus
Medal of Science Laureate, 1990
John D. Roberts
Medal of Science Laureate, 1990
H. Guyford Stever
Medal of Science Laureate, 1991
Maxine F. Singer
Medal of Science Laureate, 1992
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON
Vera Rubin
Medal of Science Laureate, 1993
George Whitesides
Medal of Science Laureate, 1998
William Julius Wilson
Medal of Science Laureate, 1998
Karen K. Uhlenbeck
Medal of Science Laureate, 2000
PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH
Edward Witten
Medal of Science Laureate, 2002
Jan D. Achenbach
Medal of Science Laureate, 2005
Peter B. Dervan
Medal of Science Laureate, 2006
Fay Ajzenberg-Selove
Medal of Science Laureate, 2007
Mostafa A. El-Sayed
Medal of Science Laureate, 2007
Charles P. Slichter
Medal of Science Laureate, 2007
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA
Francis S. Collins
Medal of Science Laureate, 2008
Warren Washington
Medal of Science Laureate, 2009
Jacqueline Barton
Medal of Science Laureate, 2010
Peter Stang
Medal of Science Laureate, 2010
Richard A. Tapia
Medal of Science Laureate, 2010
Image descriptions and credits
Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations presented in this material are only those of the presenter grantee/researcher, author, or
agency employee; and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.