Award Ceremonies

Stephen Jay Gould, Professor of Geology at Harvard University and Curator of Invertebrate Paleontology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, is presented the 1983 Priestley Award for his contributions to the welfare of mankind, including works on paleontology, the history of science, and comparative zoology. At the ceremony, Gould gave an address titled " The Fact of Evolution and the Politics of Creationism from Scopes to Arkansas."

Peter Raven, Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Engelmann Professor of Botany at Washington University in St. Louis, was presented the 1982 Priestley Award for his contributions in the areas of systematic botany and biogeography. At the ceremony, Dr. Raven gave an address titled "Tropical Forests - Their Importance for Us."

Donald Knuth, Fletcher Jones Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Stanford University, was awarded the 1981 Priestley Award for his many creative contributions to software engineering and education, making computer science more accessable. At the ceremony, Dr. Knuth gave an address titled "Mathematical Typography."

Philip Morrison, Institute Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology was presented the 1980 Priestley Award for his contributions to theoretical astrophysics including work on supernovae, cosmic x-rays, galaxies, and quasars. At the ceremony, Dr. Morrison gave an address titled "Two Universes: Whirlpool and Hearth." 

Chemist Melvin Calvin, Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Chemical Dynamics at the University of California, Berkeley, and recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on Photosynthesis, is presented with the 1979 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Calvin gave an address titled "Photosynthesis as a Resource for Energy and Materials." 

Geologist J. Tuzo Wilson, Director General of the Ontario Science Center, known for his geophysical studies of sea floor spreading and plate tectonics, is presented the 1978 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Wilson gave an address titled "Challenges to Science."

W. Frank Blair, Professor of Zoology at the University of Texas at Austin, is presented with the 1977 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Blair gave an address titled "The State of the Biosphere."

Mathematician John Kemeny, President of Dartmouth College, is presented the 1976 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Kemeny gave an address titled "A Tribute to Albert Einstein."

Astronomer and science advocate Carl Sagan, Professor of Astronomy and Space Sciences at Cornell University, was presented the 1975 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Sagan gave an address titled "The Planetary Perspective."

Henry Eyring, distinguished professor of chemistry and metallurgy at the University of Utah, was presented the 1974 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Eyring gave an address titled "The Degenerative Diseases of Aging, Including Cancer."

Phillip H. Adelson, President of the Carnegie Institute in Washington D.C. and editor of Science Magazine, was presented the 1973 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Abelson delivered an address titled "The Emerging Energy Crisis."

Chemist George C. Pimentel, Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was presented the 1972 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Pimentel gave an address titled "The Threat and Promise of Science: Chemical Lasers as a Case History."

Anthropologist Margaret Mead, Curator Emeritus of Ethnology at the American Museum of Natural History, was presented the 1971 Priestley Award. Mead was the first woman to receive the award. At the ceremony, Mead,  gave an address titled "Man Within Nature."

George Wald, Higgins Professor of Biology at Harvard University and recipient of the 1967 Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded the 1970 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Wald gave an address titled "The Human Enterprise."

Linus C. Pauling, Research Associate at the California Institute of Technology, staff member of the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, and recipient of both the Nobel Prize in chemistry and the Nobel Peace Prize, was presented the 1969 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Pauling gave an address titled "The Origin of Scientific Ideas."

Marshall W. Nirenberg, Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemical Genetics at the National Heart Institute, was presented the 1968 Priestley Award, just months before receiving the Nobel Prize in Medicine that same year. At the ceremony, Dr. Nirenberg gave an address titled "Genes, Neurons, and Biological Codes."

George W. Beadle, President of the University of Chicago and recipient of the 1958 Nobel Prize in Medicine, was presented the 1967 Priestley Award. At the ceremony Dr. Beadle gave an address titled "Genetics and Cultural Evolution".

Charles H. Townes, Provost of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in physics for his work on lasers, was presented the 1966 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Townes gave an address titled "Lasers - A Research Case History."

Joel H. Hildebrand, Professor of Chemistry Emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, was presented the 1965 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Hildebrand gave an address titled "Order from Chaos."

Physicist Isadore I. Rabi, Higgins Professor of Physics at Columbia University and 1944 Nobel Laureate in Physics, was awarded the 1964 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Dr. Rabi gave an address titled "Science and Human Goals."

Chemist Kenneth Sanborn Pitzer, President of Rice University, was presented the 1963 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Pitzer gave an address titled "False Impossibilities."

Organic Chemist Robert Burns Woodward, professor at Harvard University, was presented the 1962 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Woodward gave an address titled "From Carbon to Chlorophyll: Construction and Creation in Chemistry."

Geophysicist and oceanographer W. Maurice Ewing, Higgins Professor of Geology at Columbia University, is presented the 1961 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Ewing gave an address titled ""Free Vibrations of the Earth."

Glenn T. Seaborg, recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for the discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements and Chancellor of the University of California, is presented the 1960 Priestley Award. At the ceremony, Seaborg gave an address titled "The New Chemical Elements."

Willard Frank Libby of the Atomic Energy Commission, developer of radiocarbon dating, was presented the 1959 Priestley Award. At the ceremony  Libby gave an address titled "Radiocarbon Dating."