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 president John F. Kennedy.
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. 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.
Although Public Law 86-209 provides for 20 recipients of the medal per year, it is typical for approximately 8–15 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 October 21, 2011, there have been a total of 475 individuals recognized.
The award's ceremony is organized by the Office of Science and Technlogy Policy and takes place at the White House.
Read more about this topic: National Medal Of Science
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