
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC1881]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                 CHAPTER 16--NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
 
Sec. 1881. Award of National Medal of Science


(a) Recommendations

    The President shall from time to time award the medal, on the basis 
of recommendations received from the National Academy of Sciences or on 
the basis of such other information and evidence as he deems 
appropriate, to individuals who in his judgment are deserving of special 
recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in 
the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, behavioral or 
social sciences.

(b) Number

    Not more than twenty individuals may be awarded the medal in any one 
calendar year.

(c) Citizenship

    An individual may not be awarded the medal unless at the time such 
award is made he--
        (1) is a citizen or other national of the United States; or
        (2) is an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for 
    permanent residence who (A) has filed an application for petition 
    for naturalization in the manner prescribed by section 1445(b) of 
    title 8 and (B) is not permanently ineligible to become a citizen of 
    the United States.

(d) Ceremonies

    The presentation of the award shall be made by the President with 
such ceremonies as he may deem proper, including attendance by 
appropriate Members of Congress.

(Pub. L. 86-209, Sec. 2, Aug. 25, 1959, 73 Stat. 431; Pub. L. 96-516, 
Sec. 22(a)(1), Dec. 12, 1980, 94 Stat. 3010.)

                          Codification

    Section was not enacted as part of the National Science Foundation 
Act of 1950 which comprises this chapter.


                               Amendments

    1980--Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96-516 inserted applicability to 
behavioral and social sciences.

 Ex. Ord. No. 11287. Award and Presentation of National Medal of Science

    Ex. Ord. No. 11287, eff. June 28, 1966, 31 F.R. 8995, as amended by 
Ex. Ord. No. 11502, eff. Dec. 22, 1969, 34 F.R. 20171; Ex. Ord. No. 
11734, July 30, 1973, 38 F.R. 20433, provided:
    By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Act of August 25, 
1959, entitled ``An Act To Establish a National Medal of Science To 
Provide Recognition for Individuals Who Make Outstanding Contributions 
in the Physical, Biological, Mathematical, and Engineering Sciences,'' 
73 Stat. 431 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) [42 U.S.C. 1880, 
1881], and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows:
    Section 1. Award of Medal. (a) The President shall award the 
National Medal of Science (hereinafter referred to as the Medal) 
established by the Act, the specifications of which are prescribed by 
Executive Order No. 10910 of January 17, 1961, as amended, on the basis 
of recommendations received by him in accordance with the provisions of 
this Order to individuals who in his judgment are deserving of special 
recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in 
the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences.
    (b) The following-described criteria shall govern the award of the 
Medal--
    (1) Not more than twenty individuals shall be awarded the Medal in 
any one calendar year.
    (2) No individual shall be awarded the Medal unless, at the time 
such award is made, he:
    (A) is a citizen or other national of the United States; or
    (B) is an alien lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent 
residence who (i) has filed a petition for naturalization in the manner 
prescribed by Section 334(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [8 
U.S.C. 1445(b)], and (ii) is not permanently ineligible to become a 
citizen of the United States.
    (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of this 
subsection, the Medal may be awarded posthumously, but only to 
individuals who, at the time of their death, met the conditions set 
forth in paragraph (2). The Medal shall not be awarded to any individual 
after the fifth anniversary of the day of his death.
    (c) Each Medal awarded shall be suitably inscribed. Each individual 
awarded the Medal shall also receive a citation descriptive of the 
award.
    (d) The presentation of the Medal shall be made in accordance with 
Section 2(d) of the Act.
    Sec. 2. The President's Committee. (a) There is hereby established 
the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science (hereinafter 
referred to as the Committee), which shall be composed of twelve 
appointive members and two ex officio members and shall assist the 
President, as provided in this order, in connection with the carrying 
out of the Act.
    (b) Each appointive member of the Committee shall be appointed by 
the President from among appropriately qualified citizens of the United 
States. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (e) of this Section, 
each such member shall be so appointed for a term of three years or for 
the balance of the unexpired term of his predecessor, whichever is 
appropriate. Members may be reappointed to serve one additional term of 
three years. As nearly as practicable, the appointive members of the 
Committee shall comprise a cross section of the major fields of science 
and engineering.
    (c) The following shall be ex officio members of the Committee:
    (1) The Science Adviser.
    (2) The President of the National Academy of Sciences.
    (d) The President shall from time to time designate one of the 
members of the Committee as Chairman thereof.
    (e) Of the persons first designated as members of the Committee 
under the provisions of subsection (b) of this Section, four shall be 
designated to serve until December 31, 1966, four shall be designated to 
serve until December 31, 1967, and four shall be designated to serve 
until December 31, 1968.
    Sec. 3. Preliminary Procedure. (a) The Committee shall receive, on 
behalf of the President, (1) the recommendations made by the National 
Academy of Sciences respecting the award of the Medal pursuant to the 
provisions of Section 2(a) of the Act [subsec. (a) of this section], and 
(2) such similar recommendations as may be made by any other nationally 
representative scientific or engineering organization or other qualified 
source. Each such recommendation shall include or be accompanied by such 
appropriate supporting material as the Committee may from time to time 
specify.
    (b) On the basis of such criteria, information, and evidence as it 
may deem appropriate, and subject to the provisions of Section 1 of this 
Order, the Committee shall designate, from among the individuals who are 
recommended in accordance with Section 3(a) of this Order, those 
individuals whom the Committee recommends for the award of the Medal and 
shall transmit the names of those individuals to the President, together 
with its recommendations. In so transmitting its recommendations, the 
Committee (1) shall include expressions of its views concerning, and 
such other information as may be pertinent to, its recommendations, and 
(2) may arrange the names of all or some of the recommended individuals 
in a sequence deemed by it to indicate the order of precedence in which 
the individuals involved deserve to receive the Medal.
    (c) Each recommendation respecting the award of the Medal to an 
individual which is transmitted to the President by the Committee shall 
be accompanied by a draft of a citation describing the contributions 
which are being recognized by the award.
    Sec. 4. Time of Awards and Recommendations. (a) Unless otherwise 
directed by the President, announcement of the award of the Medal shall 
be made during the last sixty days of each calendar year and ceremonies 
for presentation of the Medal shall be held during the first ninety days 
of the calendar year following the announcement of the award.
    (b) Recommendations for awards of the Medals shall be submitted to 
the Committee, pursuant to Section 3(a) of this Order, by the first day 
of July of the year in which it is proposed that they be announced by 
the President. Recommendations of the Committee shall be delivered to 
the President by the fifteenth day of October of the year in which it is 
proposed that they be announced. Awards of the Medal may be based upon 
recommendations of the Committee or upon such other information and 
evidence as the President deems appropriate.
    Sec. 5. Services and Expenses. (a) The National Science Foundation 
is authorized to provide such assistance as may be necessary and 
appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Order.
    (b) The members of the Committee shall serve without compensation, 
but the National Science Foundation is authorized to reimburse them for 
travel expenses and to pay them per diem in lieu of subsistence as 
authorized for persons serving without compensation (5 U.S.C. 73b-2) 
[see 5 U.S.C. 703].
    Sec. 6. Prior Orders. (a) Subject to the provisions of this Order, 
the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science established 
by Section 2 of this Order shall be deemed to constitute a continuation 
of the Committee of the same name established by Executive Order No. 
10961 of August 21, 1961. The latter Order is hereby revoked.
    (b) Executive Order No. 10910 of January 17, 1961, is hereby amended 
by deleting from its title the words ``AND AWARD'', and by deleting the 
last two sentences of Section 1, and all of Section 2, thereof.


  Extension of Term of President's Committee on the National Medal of 
                                 Science

    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Dec. 31, 1978, by Ex. Ord. No. 11948, Dec. 20, 1976, 41 
F.R. 55705, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5, Government 
Organization and Employees.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Dec. 31, 1982, by Ex. Ord. No. 12258, Dec. 31, 1980, 46 
F.R. 1251, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1984, by Ex. Ord. No. 12399, Dec. 31, 1982, 48 
F.R. 379, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1985, by Ex. Ord. No. 12489, Sept. 28, 1984, 49 
F.R. 38927, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1987, by Ex. Ord. No. 12534, Sept. 30, 1985, 50 
F.R. 40319, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1989, by Ex. Ord. No. 12610, Sept. 30, 1987, 52 
F.R. 36901, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1991, by Ex. Ord. No. 12692, Sept. 29, 1989, 54 
F.R. 40627, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1993, by Ex. Ord. No. 12774, Sept. 27, 1991, 56 
F.R. 49835, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1995, by Ex. Ord. No. 12869, Sept. 30, 1993, 58 
F.R. 51751, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1997, by Ex. Ord. No. 12974, Sept. 29, 1995, 60 
F.R. 51875, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 1999, by Ex. Ord. No. 13062, Sec. 1(j), Sept. 
29, 1997, 62 F.R. 51755, formerly set out as a note under section 14 of 
the Federal Advisory Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
    Term of the President's Committee on the National Medal of Science 
extended until Sept. 30, 2001, by Ex. Ord. No. 13138, Sept. 30, 1999, 64 
F.R. 53879, set out as a note under section 14 of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act in the Appendix to Title 5.
