The National Medal of Science

The National Medal of Science is awarded to individuals deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding cumulative contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, or behavioral or social sciences in service to the Nation. These broad areas include astronomy, chemistry, computer and information science and engineering, geoscience, materials research, and research on STEM education.

Please note the following eligibility guidelines:

• Only individuals are eligible for a National Medal of Science.
• You cannot nominate yourself or an immediate family member.
• Nominees must be a U.S. citizen or national, or a permanent resident who is applying for U.S. citizenship.
• Deceased nominees are eligible for the award until the fifth anniversary of the day of their death.
• Nobel Prize winners are eligible for awards and are evaluated according to the same considerations as nominees who have not received a Nobel Prize.

Nominations will be carried over for a period of three calendar years, including the year of nomination. After that time, it is possible to re-nominate an individual for consideration, if they are still eligible.

The President's Committee on the National Medal of Science has established the following considerations for selection of candidates:

1. The impact of the nominee's body of work on the current state of their field of science or engineering.


2. Whether the nominee's achievements are of an unusually significant nature in relation to the potential effects on the development of thought in their field of science or engineering.


3. Whether the nominee has demonstrated unusually distinguished service in the general advancement of science or engineering for the nation, especially when accompanied by substantial contributions to the content of science.


4. The recognition of the nominee by peers within their community, and whether they are recognized for substantial impact in fields in addition to their discipline.


5. Whether the nominee has made contributions to innovation and industry.


6. Whether the nominee has demonstrated sustained influence on education through publications, teaching activities, outreach, mentoring, or other activities.


7. Whether the nominee's contributions have had a significant positive impact on the nation.

Terms Expire December 31, 2025

• Malone M. Harmon
  American Engineer
  CEO, ReEntry Delaware, LLC
   
• Carolyn Mazure
  Professor of Psychiatry and Psychology
  Yale University
   
• Robert Mckinley Sellers
  Charles D. Moody Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Professor of Education
  University of Michigan
   
• Ellen Stofan
  Under Secretary for Science and Research
  Smithsonian Institution
   
• Cherese Winstead Casson
  Associate Professor, Chair
  Chemistry
  College of Agriculture Science and Technology
  Delaware State University

Terms Expire December 31, 2026

• Rafael L. Bras
  K. Harrison Brown Family Chair and Professor
  Water Resources Engineering
  School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  Georgia Institute of Technology
   
• Erika Gabriela Gonzalez
  CEO and President
  South Texas Allergy & Asthma Medical Professionals (STAAMP) and STAAMP Clinical Research
   
• Juan Maldacena
  Carl P. Feinberg Professor
  School of Natural Sciences
  Institute of Advanced Study
   
• Cora Marrett, Chair of the Committee
  Member, Board of Visitors
  Professor Emerita
  Department of Sociology
  University of Wisconsin

Terms Expire December 31, 2027

• Danielle Carnival
  Neuroscientist
   
• Craig Partridge
  Chair, Department of Computer Science
  College of Natural Resources
  Colorado State University
   
• Tracey Tatem Quillen
  Retired
   
• Padma Raghavan
  Vice Provost for Research and Innovation
  Chief Research Officer, and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science
  Vanderbilt University
   
• Neera Tanden
  President and CEO
  Center for American Progress

Ex officio members:

• Assistant to the President for Science and Technology
• President of the National Academy of Sciences

Nomination Tips for the National Medal of Science
from the President’s Committee on the National Medal of Science (PCNMS)

The PCNMS crafted the following tips for nominators to consider in developing the nomination packages. The tips are meant to help you prepare a package that will enable the Committee to evaluate how well the nominee meets the Award Selection Considerations.

1. The PCNMS has the challenge of selecting a small set of candidates for consideration by the White House, from a (typically) large number of nominations. Virtually all the nominees are leaders in science and the PCNMS is faced with the difficult task of determining who among the nominees should be recommended for consideration. The quality of the nomination package can profoundly impact the PCNMS’ ability to properly assess a nominee. Nominators should invest the time to craft a nomination that clearly sets out the nominee’s impact, achievements, and service to their field and to the nation.

2. As described in the Overview, the disciplines represented by the award cover a wide range of subject-matters. One consequence is that some nominees may specialize in an area of science not well-represented on the PCNMS. Nominators should write the nomination to be straightforwardly understood by scientists who are not necessarily experts in the nominee’s discipline.

3. The National Medal of Science is a national award. Furthermore, laureates of the National Medal of Science can have a strong impact on advancing and strengthening the diversity of the science and engineering enterprise in the United States. The PCNMS looks for the nomination to demonstrate significant positive impact on the United States that can reasonably be attributed to the nominee.

4. The National Medal of Science represents a cumulative achievement award for the candidate, rather than an award for a specific discovery or action. It may be useful to have the narrative statement and letters of reference address different aspects of the nominee’s accomplishments to convey the broad scope of the nominee’s contributions to science and society.

5. Nominations should highlight accomplishments across the span of the candidate’s career to date. If significant accomplishments include co-discovery or team accomplishments, the committee suggests that one or more of the reference letters be from a collaborator on the significant accomplishment(s).

The following bullet points describe the National Medal of Science nomination form. We encourage you to review the eligibility guidelines, award selection considerations, and nomination tips in preparing your nomination. The information that needs to be entered includes nominee contact information, nominee history (education, positions held, honors), a proposed citation, nominator information, a narrative statement regarding the nominee's work (limited to three pages), up to 10 publications or patents, and three to five reference writers.

Nomination information

• First Name
• Middle Name (optional)
• Last Name
• Organization
• Email
• Phone Number
• Address
• Major Discipline
• Secondary Discipline (optional)

Education, positions held, honors and awards, proposed citation

• Between one and six of the nominee's degrees
• Positions held by the nominee
• Honors and awards received
• A proposed citation up to 45 words

Nominator information

• First Name
• Middle Name (optional)
• Last Name
• Title
• Organization
• City
• State
• Email
• Phone Number

Narrative statement 

Provide a narrative statement that addresses why the nominee is “deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, or social and behavioral sciences, in service to the Nation.” These broad areas include such disciplines as astronomy, chemistry, computer and information science and engineering, geoscience, materials research, and research on STEM education.

The statement may be entered directly into the platform (limited to 1600 words) or uploaded as a PDF (limited to THREE pages).

Publications & patents   

List 10 publications or patents for the nominee and include a short one-sentence commentary explaining the impact of each.

References

Three to five reference writers may contribute to the nomination. Three of the reference writers must not be from the nominee's home institution. The nomination system will automatically send an email to these reference writers and provide them with a unique link to upload their letter of recommendation. Letters of reference are limited to TWO pages.

Submit information

You may submit the nomination if you have completed the nomination forms and agree with the statement:

The information on this nomination is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, and will be used and disclosed to reviewers and possibly members of the National Science Board in connection with the selection of qualified applicants.

Note: you may submit the nomination in advance of receiving all the letters of reference. However, you may wish to continue to engage with the letter writers to ensure all letters of reference are submitted.

Once submitted, nominations cannot be modified.

Disclosure Statement: The information requested on this nomination is solicited under the authority of the NSF Act of 1950, as amended, and will be used and disclosed to reviewers and the National Science Board in connection with the selection of qualified applicants.