Washington DC [US], October 9 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Thursday (local time) honoured six leading American innovators, including Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, Lisa Su, Michael Dell and Satya Nadella, with the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, describing the recipients as "national treasures" helping pioneer an "incredible future for America".
Trump presented the medals at the White House's “Science: A New Golden Age Summit”, where he said the honours represented the highest recognition for achievements in science and technology.
“Today we honour six more national treasures who are helping pioneer an incredible future for America by awarding them the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. That's the highest you can get,” Trump said.
The National Medal of Science was presented to Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and AMD CEO Lisa Su. The National Medal of Technology and Innovation went to Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
Trump said his administration had taken action from the beginning of his term to strengthen American leadership in science and technology.
“From day one, my administration has taken decisive action to ensure that America continues to dominate the frontiers of science and technology,” Trump said.
Trump began the ceremony by recalling his uncle, Dr John Trump, who served as a scientist and professor at MIT for 52 years and contributed to the development of radar during World War II.
Trump said his uncle served on the National Defence Research Committee and advised on the use of radar during D-Day.
“For his achievements in the production and use of radiation in medical and industrial applications, Dr. John Trump was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Ronald Reagan in 1983,” Trump said.
Following a brief video tribute to Dr John Trump, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios presented Trump with the medal originally awarded to his uncle.
“Mr. President, we have been able to find the medal from your uncle, and we here want to present it to you in a beautiful frame,” Kratsios said.
Before presenting the medals, Trump praised the six recipients for their contributions to science and technology.
“Sergey Brin is a visionary computer scientist who permanently changed the way the world finds information and put all human knowledge at our fingertips,” Trump said.
He said Brin had also helped pioneer web applications, smartphones and cloud computing and had returned to Google to drive progress in superintelligence.
“Sergey, congratulations on receiving the National Medal of Science. Congratulations. Fantastic job,” Trump said.
Brin was recognised “for the development of foundational algorithms for information retrieval and data processing that revolutionised how the world accesses information across science, commerce, and in the course of everyday life.”
Trump described Lisa Su as an “industry trailblazer” who revolutionised computer performance and highlighted her work in semiconductor engineering and her leadership at AMD.
“She transformed AMD into an industry powerhouse with the Zen microarchitecture and chiplets, ultimately propelling the company's value from under $2 billion to over $1 trillion,” Trump said.
"Lisa was the first woman to receive the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robert N. Noyce Medal, the highest honour for work in semiconductors. Lisa, congratulations on receiving the highest and most important medal of its kind anywhere in the world, the National Medal of Science. Congratulations. Great job. Well, amazing," he added.
Su was recognised for "a lifetime of leadership in semiconductor engineering and high-performance computing through innovations in processor architecture and chiplet-based integration that powered the world’s first exascale supercomputer and opened new frontiers in computational performance.”
Praising NVIDIA co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, Trump said his determination had helped lay the foundations for the growth of superintelligence and put the US at the forefront of the race.
“Jensen designed microprocessors and AMD and graphic chips at LSI Logic before co-founding NVIDIA to develop graphics processing units and for video games,” Trump said.
He said Huang later recognised that NVIDIA's chips had applications beyond video games and described the company's chips as the backbone of frontier superintelligence.
“NVIDIA chips run most of the largest semi computers and supercomputers on the planet, and they are the backbone of frontier superintelligence. They are the absolute backbone. He's years and years ahead of other people and other companies. The entire world is now running on NVIDIA. And Jensen, we are honoured to give you the highest award of its kind again anywhere in the world. There's nothing like it, the National Medal of Science, and you truly deserve it. Congratulations. Really good,” Trump said.
Huang was recognised for "advancing the graphics processing unit into a general-purpose computing architecture through innovations in processor design and software, transforming massively parallel computation and powering breakthroughs in scientific computing and super intelligence.”
Trump also honoured Michael Dell with the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, recalling how Dell started with USD 1,000 and an idea in his University of Texas dorm room and went on to transform personal computing.
Trump highlighted Dell's role in building Dell Computer Corporation and his philanthropic work with his wife Susan.
He said the couple had made a USD 6.25 billion contribution to fund Trump Accounts for 25 million American children.
“And I just want to say that, Michael, what you've done for so many children, they're going to grow up and they're going to turn 18 or 21 and they're going to be rich because of you,” Trump said.
“So we want the whole country thanks you. Thank you very much, you and Susan,” he added.
Dell was honoured for "advancing a vision of widespread adoption of personal and enterprise computing; for his technical and business management skills building a worldwide technology company; and for his support for the next generation of American scientists, engineers, and technologists.”
Trump also praised Microsoft Nadella and Musk.
Musk was honoured “for engineering achievements of extraordinary ambition and scale that have pushed the frontiers of space exploration, intelligent systems, communications, and beyond, renewing American technological leadership and opening a new chapter in American manufacturing.”
Nadella received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation “for his transformative leadership of a critical American technology company, which led to its rejuvenation for a new era of cloud computing, and for his construction of the hyperscale infrastructure that enabled the training and global deployment of American super intelligence.”
According to the White House, the National Medal of Science has been awarded by US presidents since 1963 to individuals recognised for outstanding contributions to science in service of the United States.
The National Medal of Technology and Innovation, first awarded in 1985, recognises American innovators whose vision, intellect, creativity and determination have strengthened the US economy and improved quality of life.
The White House said Trump is seeking to restore US global scientific and technological leadership for a “New Golden Age”, including by harnessing superintelligence for scientific discovery, ushering in a nuclear renaissance, ensuring American space superiority and strengthening the country's quantum advantage.
It said the six medalists had pioneered breakthroughs in science and engineering for the new age of superintelligence, including advances in general-purpose parallel computing, semiconductor design and the development of hyperscale infrastructure in the US, around the world and into space.
The White House said their work had advanced American global technology leadership in the 21st century and laid the foundation for a “new Golden Age of Science”.
Kratsios said the six recipients had transformed their respective fields and laid the foundations for technologies that have become integral to modern life.
“Each of these medalists has transformed their field or industry, laying the foundations for technologies we already can barely imagine living without,” he said.
“While we in government work to deliver the efforts a New Golden Age of Science will require, we know that scientific progress and technological innovation depend on the insight and character of individuals. Innovators like these six awardees are the architects of the future,” Kratsios added.
The White House said the “Science: A New Golden Age” report, released in July 2026 by Kratsios, was the first comprehensive rethinking of the US science and technology enterprise since Vannevar Bush's 1945 “Science: The Endless Frontier”.
According to the White House, the report examined changes in the way scientific discovery takes place, including the increased role of industry in research and development and the closer integration of applied and foundational research.
It provides recommendations for government, industry, academia and philanthropy to accelerate scientific discovery and empower the US scientific community.
The recommendations include strengthening support for early-career scientists, reviving the national pursuit of ambitious scientific missions, launching new funding and organisational models for transformative research, building metascience infrastructure to improve the research enterprise, and scaling superintelligence-driven scientific discovery through the Genesis Mission.
The “Science: A New Golden Age Summit” brings together leading scientists and innovators to examine these changes and translate the report's ideas into the next chapter of American scientific progress.
The White House said the Trump administration would make major announcements during the summit, in coordination with private-sector partners and research institutions, to advance the vision outlined in “Science: A New Golden Age” and the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science. (ANI)
Trump honours six tech giants with National Medals of Science, Technology and Innovation
