Department of Energy Announces 2021 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award Call for Nominations

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a call for nominations for the 2021 Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, one of the longest running and most prestigious science and technology awards given by the U.S. Government. The Lawrence Award is presented by the Secretary of Energy to honor mid-career U.S. scientists and engineers for exceptional contributions and achievements in research and development supporting the broad missions of DOE and its programs to advance the national, economic, and energy security of the United States.

“E.O. Lawrence was a giant in the field of physics and played a central role in establishing American world leadership in science following World War II,” said Dr. Steve Binkley, Acting Director of DOE’s Office of Science.  “This award, in Lawrence’s honor, recognizes our most brilliant, original, and productive scientists at mid-career.”

Awards will be considered in each of the following nine categories: Atomic, Molecular, and Chemical Sciences; Biological and Environmental Sciences; Computer, Information, and Knowledge Sciences; Condensed Matter and Materials Sciences; Energy Science and Innovation; Fusion and Plasma Sciences; High Energy Physics; National Security and Nonproliferation; and Nuclear Physics.

Each Lawrence Award category award winner receives a citation signed by the Secretary of Energy, a gold-plated medal bearing the likeness of Ernest O. Lawrence, and an honorarium.

Nominations are due by August 24^th, 2021, at 5:00 pm Eastern. The DOE encourages nominations of individuals from underrepresented groups, and is committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work, research, and funding environments. Read the Office of Science’s Statement of Commitment for more information on this commitment. Further information on eligibility requirements, award category descriptions, and the selections process can be found at the Lawrence Award website.

The Lawrence Award was established in 1959 to honor the memory of the late E.O. Lawrence, who won the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics for his invention of the cyclotron (a particle accelerator) and after whom two DOE national laboratories, one in Berkeley and the other in Livermore, California, are named.  The Lawrence Award is administered by DOE’s Office of Science.

To learn more about the recently honored 2020 Laureates and watch the 2020 Award Ceremony, visit the DOE YouTube Channel. A complete list of previous winners can also be found on the Lawrence Award website.