Awarded since 1962 to those "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences."
| Name | Occupation | Birth | Death | Known for |
|---|
| Roger Adams |
Chemist |
2-Jan-1889 |
6-Jul-1971 |
Organic chemist at Illinois |
| Luis W. Alvarez |
Physicist |
13-Jun-1911 |
1-Sep-1988 |
Particle accelerator, extinction of dinosaurs |
| Philip W. Anderson |
Physicist |
13-Dec-1923 |
|
Solid state physics |
| Daniel I. Arnon |
Biologist |
14-Nov-1910 |
20-Dec-1994 |
Photophosphorylation |
| John Backus |
Computer Programmer |
3-Dec-1924 |
17-Mar-2007 |
Inventor of BNF, led FORTRAN team |
| David Baltimore |
Biologist |
7-Mar-1938 |
|
Co-Discoverer, reverse transcriptase |
| John Bardeen |
Physicist |
23-May-1908 |
30-Jan-1991 |
Co-Inventor of the transistor |
| Jacqueline K. Barton |
Chemist |
7-May-1952 |
|
Professor of Chemistry at CalTech |
| Arnold Beckman |
Inventor |
10-Apr-1900 |
18-May-2004 |
Philanthropist who invented pH meter |
| Baruj Benacerraf |
Scientist |
29-Oct-1920 |
2-Aug-2011 |
Gene control of HLA antigens |
| Paul Berg |
Chemist |
30-Jun-1926 |
|
Pioneer in recombinant DNA |
| Hans Bethe |
Physicist |
2-Jul-1906 |
6-Mar-2005 |
Atomic scientist |
| J. Michael Bishop |
Scientist |
22-Feb-1936 |
|
Genetic causes of cancer |
| Konrad Bloch |
Scientist |
21-Jan-1912 |
15-Oct-2000 |
Cholesterol and fatty acid metabolism |
| Nicolaas Bloembergen |
Physicist |
11-Mar-1920 |
|
Nonlinear optics |
| Herbert W. Boyer |
Biologist |
10-Jul-1936 |
|
Recombinant DNA, first synthetic insulin |
| Gregory Breit |
Physicist |
14-Jul-1899 |
11-Sep-1981 |
Proton-proton dispersion |
| Herbert C. Brown |
Chemist |
22-May-1912 |
19-Dec-2004 |
Discovered organoboranes |
| Michael S. Brown |
Biologist |
13-Apr-1941 |
|
Metabolism of cholesterol |
| E. Margaret Burbidge |
Astronomer |
12-Aug-1919 |
|
Synthesis of the elements in stars |
| Vannevar Bush |
Scientist |
11-Mar-1890 |
30-Jun-1974 |
Pre-internet visionary |
| Melvin Calvin |
Chemist |
8-Apr-1911 |
8-Jan-1997 |
Deciphered photosynthesis |
| Mario Capecchi |
Scientist |
6-Oct-1937 |
|
Knock-out mice |
| Thomas R. Cech |
Chemist |
8-Dec-1947 |
|
Proved enzyme role of RNA |
| Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar |
Astronomer |
19-Oct-1910 |
21-Aug-1995 |
Evolutionary stages of stars |
| Erwin Chargaff |
Biologist |
11-Aug-1905 |
20-Jun-2002 |
Biochemist at Columbia University |
| Stanley Cohen |
Scientist |
17-Nov-1922 |
|
Nerve and skin cell growth factors |
| Stanley N. Cohen |
Biologist |
17-Feb-1935 |
|
Recombinant DNA |
| Allan M. Cormack |
Physicist |
23-Feb-1924 |
7-May-1998 |
Computerized axial tomography (CAT scans) |
| F. Albert Cotton |
Chemist |
9-Apr-1930 |
20-Feb-2007 |
Metal-metal bonds |
| Raymond Davis, Jr. |
Scientist |
14-Oct-1914 |
31-May-2006 |
Detected solar neutrinos |
| Michael DeBakey |
Doctor |
7-Sep-1908 |
11-Jul-2008 |
Father of cardiovascular surgery |
| Hans G. Dehmelt |
Physicist |
9-Sep-1922 |
|
Co-Inventor of the ion trap |
| Peter B. Dervan |
Chemist |
28-Jun-1945 |
|
DNA Researcher |
| Jared Diamond |
Scientist |
10-Sep-1937 |
|
Collapse of societies |
| Robert H. Dicke |
Physicist |
6-May-1916 |
4-Mar-1997 |
Dicke radiometer |
| T. G. Dobzhansky |
Scientist |
25-Jan-1900 |
18-Dec-1975 |
Genetics and the Origin of Species |
| Daniel C. Drucker |
Engineer |
1918 |
25-Aug-2001 |
Drucker's stability postulate |
| John Presper Eckert |
Computer Programmer |
9-Apr-1919 |
3-Jun-1995 |
ENIAC, BINAC, and UNIVAC I computers |
| Gertrude B. Elion |
Scientist |
23-Jan-1918 |
21-Feb-1999 |
Developed medicines for leukemia, herpes, AIDS |
| Richard Feynman |
Physicist |
11-May-1918 |
15-Feb-1988 |
Surely he's joking |
| Val Fitch |
Physicist |
10-Mar-1923 |
|
Time not necessarily reversible |
| Paul J. Flory |
Chemist |
19-Jun-1910 |
9-Sep-1985 |
Studied polymers |
| William A. Fowler |
Astronomer |
9-Aug-1911 |
14-Mar-1995 |
Element generation within stars |
| Milton Friedman |
Economist |
31-Jul-1912 |
16-Nov-2006 |
1976 Nobel Prize for Economics |
| Riccardo Giacconi |
Astronomer |
6-Oct-1931 |
|
Discovered cosmic X-ray sources |
| Kurt Gödel |
Mathematician |
28-Apr-1906 |
14-Jan-1978 |
Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems |
| Maurice Goldhaber |
Physicist |
18-Apr-1911 |
11-May-2011 |
Neutrons |
| Joseph L. Goldstein |
Scientist |
18-Apr-1940 |
|
Hypercholesterolemia and cell metabolism |
| Ralph E. Gomory |
Business |
c. 1938 |
|
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation |
| Samuel Goudsmit |
Physicist |
11-Jul-1902 |
4-Dec-1978 |
Conceived idea of Quantum Spin |
| Roger Guillemin |
Scientist |
11-Jan-1924 |
|
Hypothalamic hormones (brain peptides) |
| Dudley R. Herschbach |
Chemist |
18-Jun-1932 |
|
Crossed molecular beam experiments |
| William Hewlett |
Business |
20-May-1913 |
12-Jan-2001 |
Co-Founder of Hewlett-Packard |
| Roald Hoffmann |
Chemist |
18-Jul-1937 |
|
Woodward-Hoffmann reaction |
| Robert Hofstadter |
Physicist |
5-Feb-1915 |
17-Nov-1990 |
Size, shape, and structure of neutrons and protons |
| Nick Holonyak |
Physicist |
3-Nov-1928 |
|
Light-emitting diodes |
| Leonid Hurwicz |
Economist |
21-Aug-1917 |
24-Jun-2008 |
Mechanism design theory |
| Eric R. Kandel |
Scientist |
7-Nov-1929 |
|
Signal transduction in the nervous system |
| Theodore von Kármán |
Mathematician |
11-May-1881 |
7-May-1963 |
Kármán vortices |
| H. Gobind Khorana |
Scientist |
9-Jan-1922 |
9-Nov-2011 |
RNA's role in protein synthesis |
| Jack S. Kilby |
Inventor |
8-Nov-1923 |
20-Jun-2005 |
Electrical engineering pioneer |
| Donald E. Knuth |
Computer Programmer |
10-Jan-1938 |
|
The Art of Computer Programming |
| Walter Kohn |
Chemist |
9-Mar-1923 |
|
Density-functional theory |
| Arthur Kornberg |
Scientist |
3-Mar-1918 |
26-Oct-2007 |
Synthesized DNA |
| Edwin H. Land |
Inventor |
7-May-1909 |
1-Mar-1991 |
Polaroid Land Camera |
| Paul C. Lauterbur |
Scientist |
6-May-1929 |
27-Mar-2007 |
Magnetic resonance imaging |
| Philip Leder |
Biologist |
19-Nov-1934 |
|
Harvard Geneticist |
| Joshua Lederberg |
Biologist |
23-May-1925 |
2-Feb-2008 |
Genetic properties of bacteria |
| Leon M. Lederman |
Physicist |
15-Jul-1922 |
|
Researcher of neutrinos |
| Yuan T. Lee |
Chemist |
29-Nov-1936 |
|
Crossed molecular beam experiments |
| Rita Levi-Montalcini |
Scientist |
22-Apr-1909 |
|
Nerve and skin cell growth factors |
| Edward B. Lewis |
Scientist |
20-May-1918 |
21-Jul-2004 |
Drosophila researcher, Nobel laureate |
| Susan L. Lindquist |
Biologist |
5-Jun-1949 |
|
Protein folding |
| Fritz Lipmann |
Scientist |
12-Jun-1899 |
24-Jul-1986 |
Carbohydrate oxidation |
| Rudolph A. Marcus |
Chemist |
21-Jul-1923 |
|
Electron-transfer reactions |
| Lynn Margulis |
Biologist |
5-Mar-1935 |
22-Nov-2011 |
Origin of eukaryotic organelles |
| Ernst Mayr |
Biologist |
5-Jul-1904 |
3-Feb-2005 |
Evolutionary biologist |
| John McCarthy |
Computer Programmer |
4-Sep-1927 |
24-Oct-2011 |
Created LISP programming language |
| Barbara McClintock |
Scientist |
16-Jun-1902 |
2-Sep-1992 |
Discovered transposable genes |
| Victor A. McKusick |
Scientist |
21-Oct-1921 |
22-Jul-2008 |
Father of medical genetics |
| Edwin M. McMillan |
Physicist |
18-Sep-1907 |
7-Sep-1991 |
Discovered neptunium and plutonium |
| Robert K. Merton |
Sociologist |
4-Jul-1910 |
23-Feb-2003 |
On the Shoulders of Giants |
| Raymond D. Mindlin |
Engineer |
17-Sep-1906 |
22-Nov-1987 |
Mindlin's problem |
| Yoichiro Nambu |
Physicist |
18-Jan-1921 |
|
Spontaneous broken symmetry |
| Daniel Nathans |
Scientist |
30-Oct-1928 |
16-Nov-1999 |
Restriction enzymes (DNA cleavage) |
| Marshall W. Nirenberg |
Scientist |
10-Apr-1927 |
15-Jan-2010 |
RNA's role in protein synthesis |
| Robert Noyce |
Inventor |
12-Dec-1927 |
3-Jun-1990 |
Co-Inventor, integrated circuit |
| Severo Ochoa |
Scientist |
24-Sep-1905 |
1-Nov-1993 |
Synthesized RNA |
| Barney Oliver |
Astronomer |
27-May-1916 |
23-Nov-1995 |
SETI researcher |
| Lars Onsager |
Chemist |
27-Nov-1903 |
5-Oct-1976 |
Fourth Law of Thermodynamics |
| George Pake |
Scientist |
1-Apr-1924 |
4-Mar-2004 |
First director of Xerox PARC |
| George E. Palade |
Scientist |
19-Nov-1912 |
7-Oct-2008 |
Microstructure of the cell |
| Pief Panofsky |
Physicist |
24-Apr-1919 |
24-Sep-2007 |
Stanford Linear Accelerator |
| Eugene Parker |
Astronomer |
10-Jun-1927 |
|
Solar winds |
| Linus Pauling |
Chemist |
28-Feb-1901 |
19-Aug-1994 |
Scientist and peacenik |
| Kenneth S. Pitzer |
Chemist |
6-Jan-1914 |
26-Dec-1997 |
President of Rice University, 1961-68 |
| E. M. Purcell |
Physicist |
30-Aug-1912 |
7-Mar-1997 |
Nuclear magnetic resonance |
| Norman F. Ramsey |
Physicist |
27-Aug-1915 |
4-Nov-2011 |
Energy levels of atoms |
| Frederick Reines |
Physicist |
16-Mar-1918 |
26-Aug-1998 |
Co-Discover of the neutrino |
| Bruno Rossi |
Astronomer |
13-Apr-1905 |
21-Nov-1993 |
Rossi curve and magnetopause |
| Vera Rubin |
Astronomer |
23-Jul-1928 |
|
Structure of galaxies |
| Albert Sabin |
Biologist |
26-Aug-1906 |
3-Mar-1993 |
Developed oral polio vaccine |
| Paul Samuelson |
Economist |
15-May-1915 |
13-Dec-2009 |
Theory of revealed preference |
| Allan R. Sandage |
Astronomer |
18-Jun-1926 |
13-Nov-2010 |
Quasars and Hubble-Sandage variable stars |
| Arthur L. Schawlow |
Physicist |
5-May-1921 |
28-Apr-1999 |
Laser spectroscopy |
| Robert Schrieffer |
Physicist |
31-May-1931 |
|
BCS Theory of Superconductivity |
| Martin Schwarzschild |
Astronomer |
31-May-1912 |
10-Apr-1997 |
Structure and Evolution of the Stars |
| Julian Schwinger |
Physicist |
12-Feb-1918 |
16-Jul-1994 |
Quantum electrodynamics |
| Glenn Seaborg |
Physicist |
19-Apr-1912 |
25-Feb-1999 |
Co-Discoverer of Plutonium |
| Claude Shannon |
Scientist |
30-Apr-1916 |
24-Feb-2001 |
Pioneer in information theory |
| Phillip A. Sharp |
Biologist |
6-Jun-1944 |
|
Eukaryotic (split) genes |
| Igor Sikorsky |
Business |
25-May-1889 |
26-Oct-1972 |
Helicopter magnate |
| Herbert A. Simon |
Economist |
15-Jun-1916 |
9-Feb-2001 |
Administrative Behavior |
| Isadore Singer |
Mathematician |
3-May-1924 |
|
Atiyah-Singer index theorem |
| Roger W. Sperry |
Scientist |
20-Aug-1913 |
17-Apr-1994 |
"Split brain" hemispheric neurophysiology |
| Lyman Spitzer, Jr. |
Astronomer |
26-Jun-1914 |
31-Mar-1997 |
Father of space telescopes |
| Jack Steinberger |
Physicist |
25-May-1921 |
|
Researcher of neutrinos |
| H. Guyford Stever |
Educator |
24-Oct-1916 |
9-Apr-2010 |
President of CMU, 1965-72 |
| George J. Stigler |
Economist |
17-Jan-1911 |
1-Dec-1991 |
Economic Theory of Regulation |
| Earl W. Sutherland, Jr. |
Scientist |
19-Nov-1915 |
9-Mar-1974 |
Hormones mechanisms (cyclic AMP) |
| Henry Taube |
Chemist |
30-Nov-1915 |
16-Nov-2005 |
Mechanisms of electron transfer |
| Edward Teller |
Physicist |
15-Jan-1908 |
9-Sep-2003 |
Father of the Hydrogen Bomb |
| Howard M. Temin |
Scientist |
10-Dec-1934 |
9-Feb-1994 |
Tumor viruses and host genetics |
| Frederick Terman |
Scientist |
7-Jun-1900 |
19-Dec-1982 |
Stanford Research Park |
| E. Donnall Thomas |
Scientist |
15-Mar-1920 |
|
Bone marrow transplants |
| Lonnie Thompson |
Scientist |
1-Jul-1948 |
|
Paleoclimatologist, glaciologist |
| Charles H. Townes |
Physicist |
28-Jul-1915 |
|
Invention of the maser and laser |
| George Uhlenbeck |
Physicist |
6-Dec-1900 |
31-Oct-1988 |
Conceived idea of Quantum Spin |
| Harold C. Urey |
Chemist |
29-Apr-1893 |
5-Jan-1981 |
Discovered Deuterium |
| James Van Allen |
Astronomer |
7-Sep-1914 |
9-Aug-2006 |
Discovered the Van Allen Belt |
| John H. van Vleck |
Physicist |
13-Mar-1899 |
27-Oct-1980 |
Quantum theory of paramagnetism |
| Harold E. Varmus |
Scientist |
18-Dec-1939 |
|
Genetic causes of cancer |
| Craig Venter |
Biologist |
14-Oct-1946 |
|
Engineered the first man-made bacterial cell |
| Andrew J. Viterbi |
Engineer |
9-Mar-1935 |
|
Viterbi Algorithm |
| Steven Weinberg |
Physicist |
3-May-1933 |
|
Electroweak Theory |
| Victor Weisskopf |
Physicist |
19-Sep-1908 |
21-Apr-2002 |
Head of CERN, 1961-65 |
| George M. Whitesides |
Chemist |
3-Aug-1939 |
|
Harvard chemist, highest H-Index |
| Norbert Wiener |
Mathematician |
26-Nov-1894 |
18-Mar-1964 |
Cybernetics |
| Eugene Wigner |
Physicist |
17-Nov-1902 |
1-Jan-1995 |
Law of conservation of parity |
| Edward O. Wilson |
Biologist |
10-Jun-1929 |
|
Father of Sociobiology |
| William Julius Wilson |
Sociologist |
20-Dec-1935 |
|
Poverty in America's inner cities |
| Edward Witten |
Physicist |
26-Aug-1951 |
|
String theorist at Princeton |
| Robert B. Woodward |
Chemist |
10-Apr-1917 |
8-Jul-1979 |
Synthesized cholesterol, Vitamin B12, etc. |
| Sewall Wright |
Biologist |
21-Dec-1889 |
3-Mar-1988 |
Mathematics of evolution |
| Rosalyn Sussman Yalow |
Physicist |
19-Jul-1921 |
30-May-2011 |
Developed radioimmunoassay technique |
| Chen Ning Yang |
Physicist |
1-Oct-1922 |
|
Particle physicist |
| Vladimir Zworykin |
Inventor |
30-Jul-1889 |
29-Jul-1982 |
Patented color televison |
