1999 National Medal of Science Recipients

Updated June 26, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

David Baltimore, Nobel laureate and professor of biology and president, California Institute of Technology, for far-reaching, fundamental discoveries that dramatically altered the field of study in virology, molecular biology, and immunology, for excellence in building scientific institutions, and for fostering communication between scientists and the general public.

Jared Diamond, professor of physiology, UCLA School of Medicine, for seminal research in applying Darwinian evolutionary approaches to the disparate fields of physiology, ecology, conservation biology, and human history, and for outstanding efforts in communicating science.

Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the structure and evolution of living cells, and for extraordinary abilities as a teacher and communicator of science to the public.

Stuart A. Rice, Frank P. Hixon, Distinguished Service Professor, The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, for changing the very nature of modern physical chemistry through his research, teaching, and writing, and for using imaginative approaches to both experiment and theory that have inspired a new generation of scientists.

John Ross, professor of chemistry, Stanford University, for his enormous impact in physical chemistry, especially in molecular studies, statistical mechanics, and nonlinear kinetics, and for opening up new fields in chemical science.

Susan Solomon, senior scientist, Aeronomy Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Boulder, Colorado, for key insights into explaining the cause of the Antarctic ozone “hole” that changed the direction of ozone research and for providing exemplary service to worldwide public policy on ozone research.

Robert M. Solow, Nobel laureate and Institute Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for creating the modern framework for analyzing the effects of investment and technological progress on economic growth, which has greatly influenced economics and economic policy worldwide.

Kenneth N. Stevens, C. J. LeBel Professor of Electrical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for pioneering contributions to the theory, mathematical methods, and analysis of acoustics in speech production, and establishing the contemporary foundations of speech science.

Felix E. Browder, Professor, Rutgers University, Piscataway, N.J., for pioneering mathematical work in the creation of nonlinear functional analysis, opening up new avenues in nonlinear problems, and for being a leader in the scientific community in broadening the range of interactions among disciplines.

Ronald R. Coifman, Phillips Professor of Mathematics, Yale University, for fundamental contributions to the field of harmonic analysis and for adapting that field to produce a family of fast, robust computational tools that have substantially benefited science and technology.

James W. Cronin, Nobel laureate and University Professor Emeritus, The Enrico Fermi Institute, The University of Chicago, for fundamental contributions to the fields of elementary particle physics and astrophysics and for leading an international effort to determine the unknown origins of very high-energy cosmic rays.

Leo P. Kadanoff, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Distinguished Service Professor, The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, for leadership in fundamental theoretical research in statistical, solid-state, and nonlinear physics, which has led to numerous and important applications in engineering, urban planning, computer science, hydrodynamics, biology, applied mathematics, and geophysics.