The National Science Board established the Vannevar Bush Award ( ) in 1980 to honor

Vannevar Bush Vannevar Bush ( ; March 11, 1890 – June 28, 1974) was an American engineer, inventor and science administrator, who during World War II headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development (OSRD), through which almost all warti ...

's unique contributions to public service. 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. Vannevar Bush (1890–1974) was a prominent scientist, adviser to US presidents, and the force behind the establishment of the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National ...

. In 1945, at the request of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he wrote a famous essay entitled ''Science, the Endless Frontier'' which recommended that a foundation be established by the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

to serve as a focal point for the USA 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

was signed by president Harry S. Truman on May 10, 1950.

List of winners

Source
National Science Board
{{columns-list, colwidth=30em, * 1980:

James R. Killian, Jr. James Rhyne Killian Jr. (July 24, 1904 – January 29, 1988) was the 10th president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, from 1948 until 1959. Early life Killian was born on July 24, 1904, in Blacksburg, South Carolina. His father w ...

* 1981:

William O. Baker William Oliver Baker (July 15, 1915 – October 31, 2005) was president of Bell Labs from 1973 to 1979 and advisor on scientific matters to five United States presidents. Biography He was born on July 15, 1915 in Chestertown, Maryland. He receive ...

* 1982:

Lee A. DuBridge Lee Alvin DuBridge () was an American educator and physicist, best known as president of the California Institute of Technology from 1946–1969. Background Lee Alvin DuBridge was born on , in Terre Haute, Indiana. His father was Fred DuBridge, ...

* 1983: Frederick Seitz * 1984:

Roger R. Revelle Roger Randall Dougan Revelle (March 7, 1909 – July 15, 1991) was a scientist and scholar who was instrumental in the formative years of the University of California, San Diego and was among the early scientists to study anthropogenic global ...

* 1985: Hans A. Bethe * 1986: I. I. Rabi * 1987: David Packard * 1988: Glenn T. Seaborg * 1989:

Linus Pauling Linus Carl Pauling (; February 28, 1901August 19, 1994) was an American chemist, biochemist, chemical engineer, peace activist, author, and educator. He published more than 1,200 papers and books, of which about 850 dealt with scientific topi ...

* 1990: ''nobody awarded'' * 1991: James A. Van Allen * 1992:

Jerome B. Wiesner Jerome Bert Wiesner (May 30, 1915 – October 21, 1994) was a professor of electrical engineering, chosen by President John F. Kennedy as chairman of his Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). Educated at the University of Michigan, Wiesner was ass ...

* 1993:

Norman Hackerman Norman Hackerman (March 2, 1912 – June 16, 2007) was an American chemist, professor, and academic administrator who served as the 18th President of the University of Texas at Austin (1967–1970) and later as the 4th President of Rice Universi ...

* 1994:

Frank Press Frank Press (December 4, 1924 – January 29, 2020) was an American geophysicist. He was an advisor to four U.S. presidents, and later served two consecutive terms as president of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (1981–1993). He was the au ...

* 1995: Norman F. Ramsey, Jr. * 1996: Philip H. Abelson * 1997: H. Guyford Stever * 1998: Robert M. White * 1999:

Maxine Frank Singer Maxine Frank Singer (born February 15, 1931) is an American molecular biologist and science administrator. She is known for her contributions to solving the genetic code, her role in the ethical and regulatory debates on recombinant DNA techniq ...

* 2000:

Herbert F. York Herbert Frank York (24 November 1921 – 19 May 2009) was an American nuclear physicist of Mohawk origin.http://www.edge.org/conversation/nsa-the-decision-problem. The Decision Problem He held numerous research and administrative positions ...

and Norman Borlaug * 2001: Harold Varmus and Lewis M. Branscomb * 2002:

Erich Bloch Erich Bloch (January 9, 1925 – November 25, 2016) was a German-born American electrical engineer and administrator. He was involved with developing IBM's first transistorized supercomputer, 7030 Stretch, and mainframe computer, System/360. ...

* 2003: Richard C. Atkinson * 2004: Mary L. Good * 2005: Robert W. Galvin * 2006:

Charles H. Townes Charles Hard Townes (July 28, 1915 – January 27, 2015) was an American physicist. Townes worked on the theory and application of the maser, for which he obtained the fundamental patent, and other work in quantum electronics associated wit ...

and

Raj Reddy Dabbala Rajagopal "Raj" Reddy (born 13 June 1937) is an Indian-American computer scientist and a winner of the Turing Award. He is one of the early pioneers of artificial intelligence and has served on the faculty of Stanford and Carnegie Mello ...

* 2007: Shirley Ann Jackson * 2008: Norman Augustine * 2009: Mildred Dresselhaus * 2010: Bruce M. Alberts * 2011:

Charles M. Vest Charles "Chuck" Marstiller Vest (September 9, 1941 – December 12, 2013) was an American educator and engineer. He served as President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from October 1990 until December 2004. He succeeded Paul Gray a ...

* 2012: Leon M. Lederman * 2013:

Neal F. Lane Cornelius Francis "Neal" Lane (born August 22, 1938), is an American physicist and Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and Malcolm Gillis University Professor Emeritus of Physics ...

* 2014: Richard Tapia * 2015: James J. Duderstadt * 2016: Robert J. Birgeneau * 2017:

Rita R. Colwell Rita Rossi Colwell (born November 23, 1934) is an American environmental microbiologist and scientific administrator. Colwell holds degrees in bacteriology, genetics, and oceanography and studies infectious diseases. Colwell is the founder and ...

* 2018:

Jane Lubchenco Jane Lubchenco (born December 4, 1947) is an American environmental scientist and marine ecologist who teaches and conducts research at Oregon State University. Her research interests include interactions between the environment and human well- ...

* 2019:

Walter E. Massey Walter Eugene Massey (born April 5, 1938) is an American educator, physicist, and executive. President emeritus of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and of Morehouse College, he is chairman of the board overseeing construction ...

* 2020: Roderic I. Pettigrew * 2021:

Ralph E. Gomory Ralph Edward Gomory (born May 7, 1929) is an American applied mathematician and executive. Gomory worked at IBM as a researcher and later as an executive. During that time, his research led to the creation of new areas of applied mathematics. ...

External links

Award Home Page
American science and technology awards Awards established in 1980 National Science Foundation

List of winners

See also

External links