Vannevar Bush Award
Encyclopedia
The National Science Board
established the Vannevar Bush Award in 1980 to honor Dr. Vannevar Bush
's unique contributions to public service. His name is pronounced væˈniːvər .
The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technology, has made an outstanding "contribution toward the welfare of mankind and the Nation." The recipient of the award receives a bronze medal struck in the memory of Dr. Bush.
Dr. Bush (1890-1974) was a prominent scientist, adviser to Presidents, and the force behind the establishment of the National Science Foundation
. In 1945, at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
, he recommended that a foundation be established by Congress to serve as a focal point for the Federal Government's support and encouragement of research and education in science and technology as well as the development of a national science policy. The legislation creating the National Science Foundation
was signed by President Harry S. Truman
on May 10, 1950
List of winners:
National Science Board
The National Science Board of the United States is composed of 25 members appointed by the President and confirmed by the United States Senate, representing the broad U.S. science and engineering community. The Board establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation within the framework...
established the Vannevar Bush Award in 1980 to honor Dr. Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush
Vannevar Bush was an American engineer and science administrator known for his work on analog computing, his political role in the development of the atomic bomb as a primary organizer of the Manhattan Project, the founding of Raytheon, and the idea of the memex, an adjustable microfilm viewer...
's unique contributions to public service. His name is pronounced væˈniːvər .
The annual award recognizes an individual who, through public service activities in science and technology, has made an outstanding "contribution toward the welfare of mankind and the Nation." The recipient of the award receives a bronze medal struck in the memory of Dr. Bush.
Dr. Bush (1890-1974) was a prominent scientist, adviser to Presidents, and the force behind the establishment of the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
. In 1945, at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, he recommended that a foundation be established by Congress to serve as a focal point for the Federal Government's support and encouragement of research and education in science and technology as well as the development of a national science policy. The legislation creating the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
was signed by President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
on May 10, 1950
List of winners:
- 1980 – James R. Killian, Jr.
- 1981 – William O. BakerWilliam O. BakerWilliam Oliver Baker was a former President of Bell Labs who had advised five Presidents on scientific matters. He received his degree from Washington College and went on to get a doctorate from Princeton University, studying under Charles Phelps Smyth...
- 1982 – Lee A. DuBridge
- 1983 – Frederick SeitzFrederick SeitzFrederick Seitz was an American physicist and a pioneer of solid state physics. Seitz was president of Rockefeller University, and president of the United States National Academy of Sciences 1962–1969. He was the recipient of the National Medal of Science, NASA's Distinguished Public Service...
- 1984 – Roger R. Revelle
- 1985 – Hans A. Bethe
- 1986 – I. I. Rabi
- 1987 – David PackardDavid PackardDavid Packard was a co-founder of Hewlett-Packard , serving as president , CEO , and Chairman of the Board . He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1969–1971 during the Nixon administration...
- 1988 – Glenn T. SeaborgGlenn T. SeaborgGlenn Theodore Seaborg was an American scientist who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements", contributed to the discovery and isolation of ten elements, and developed the actinide concept, which led to the current arrangement of the...
- 1989 – Linus PaulingLinus PaulingLinus Carl Pauling was an American chemist, biochemist, peace activist, author, and educator. He was one of the most influential chemists in history and ranks among the most important scientists of the 20th century...
- 1990 – no award
- 1991 – James A. Van Allen
- 1992 – Jerome B. Wiesner
- 1993 – Norman HackermanNorman HackermanNorman Hackerman was an American chemist, internationally known as an expert in metal corrosion, and a former president of both the University of Texas at Austin and Rice University ....
- 1994 – Frank PressFrank PressFrank Press is an American geophysicist.Born in Brooklyn, New York, Press was science advisor to President Jimmy Carter from1976 to 1980,and president of the U.S. NationalAcademy of Sciences from 1981 to 1993...
- 1995 – Norman F. Ramsey, Jr.
- 1996 – Philip H. Abelson
- 1997 – H. Guyford Stever
- 1998 – Robert M. WhiteRobert M. WhiteMajor General Robert Michael "Bob" White was a military aircraft test pilot and a major general in the United States Air Force...
- 1999 – Maxine Frank Singer
- 2000 – Herbert F. York and Norman BorlaugNorman BorlaugNorman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution". Borlaug was one of only six people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal...
- 2001 – Harold Varmus and Lewis M. BranscombLewis M. BranscombLewis M. Branscomb is an American physicist, government policy advisor, and corporate research manager. He is best known as former head of the National Bureau of Standards and, later, chief scientist of IBM; and as a prolific writer on science policy issues.Following World War II service in the...
- 2002 – Erich BlochErich BlochErich Bloch is a German-born American electrical engineer and administrator. He served as director of National Science Foundation from 1984 to 1990....
- 2003 – Richard C. AtkinsonRichard C. AtkinsonRichard Chatham Atkinson is an American professor of psychology and academic administrator. He is the former president and regent of the University of California system, and former chancellor of U.C...
- 2004 – Mary L. GoodMary L. GoodMary Lowe Good is an inorganic chemist who does industrial research and has worked in government. She received her BS from the University of Central Arkansas and in 1955 received her PhD in from the University of Arkansas...
- 2005 – Robert W. GalvinBob GalvinRobert William "Bob" Galvin was a US executive. He was the son of the founder of Motorola, Paul Galvin, and served as the CEO of Motorola from 1959 to 1986.-Motorola career:...
- 2006 – Charles H. Townes and Raj ReddyRaj ReddyDabbala Rajagopal "Raj" Reddy , a Turing Award winner, is one of the early pioneers in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence and has served on the faculty of Stanford and Carnegie Mellon University for over 40 years. He was the founding Director of the Robotics Institute at CMU...
- 2007 – Shirley Ann JacksonShirley Jackson (physicist)Shirley Ann Jackson is an American physicist, and the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. She received her Ph.D. in physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1973, becoming the first African American woman to earn a doctorate from MIT.-Early life and...
- 2008 – Norman Augustine
- 2009 – Mildred DresselhausMildred DresselhausMildred S. Dresselhaus is an Institute Professor and Professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology....
- 2010 – Bruce M. AlbertsBruce AlbertsBruce Michael Alberts is an American biochemist known for his work in science public policy and as an original author of the Molecular Biology of the Cell...
- 2011 – Charles M. Vest