The IRI Medal, established by the Industrial Research Institute (IRI) in 1946, recognizes and honors leaders of technology for their outstanding accomplishments in technological innovation which contribute broadly to the development of industry and to the benefit of society.IRI Medal, Industrial Research Institute, Inc., accessed May 18, 2017. One side of the medal depicts a scientist peering into a microscope as a symbol of the never-ending quest for innovation; a pegasus running in the background as a symbol of imagination; and clouds issuing from a retort revealing the practical results of humanity's ability to harness natural forces to meet its needs. The reverse side of the medal is an adaptation of the official seal of the Institute. This award is traditionally presented each spring at the IRI Annual Meeting alongside the IRI Achievement Award.
List of recipients
1946: Willis R. Whitney (General Electric)IRI Website - IRI Medal Award , Industrial Research Institute, Inc., accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1947: Charles A. Thomas (Monsanto)Thomas, Charles A. "Finding Aid for the Charles Allen Thomas Papers" , St. Louis: Washington University Archives, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1948: Games Slayter (Owens Corning)"Researchist Wins", Toledo Blade, Dec. 15, 1947, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1949: Vannevar Bush (Office of Scientific R&D)"Inventor of the Week Archive: Vannevar Bush", Lemelson-MIT: Invention Dimension, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1950: Frank B. Jewett (Bell Labs) 1951: Randolph T. Major (Merck) 1952: Roy C. Newton (Swift & Company) 1953: Eger V. Murphree (Standard Oil of N.J.) 1954: Mervin J. Kelly (Bell Labs) 1955: Ernest H. Volwiler (Abbott Laboratories) 1956: Victor Conquest (Armour) 1957: Clifford F. Rassweiler (Johns Manville) 1958: Elmer W. Engstrom (RCA) 1959: Frank K. Schoenfeld (BFGoodrich) 1960: Augustus B. Kinzel (Union Carbide) 1961: Max Tishler (Merck) 1962: Chauncey G. Suits (General Electric)"Times Union Obituary: Chauncey Guy Suits, 85; GE Vice President and Researcher" , The Times Union, Aug. 16, 1991, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1963: James B. Fisk (Bell Labs) 1964: Ray H. Boundy (Dow Chemical)Memorial Tributes: National Academy of Engineering, Vol. 7, 1994, National Academy of Engineering, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1965: Edwin H. Land (Polaroid) 1966: Paul L. Salzberg (DuPont Central Research) 1967: Emanuel R. Piore (IBM) 1968: John H. Dessauer (Xerox) 1969: Patrick E. Haggerty (Texas Instruments) 1970: William O. Baker (Bell Labs) 1971: Henri G. Busignies (International Telephone & Telegraph) 1972: Peter C. Goldmark (Goldmark Communications)Weber, Ernst. Peter Carl Goldmark, 1906-1977: A Biographical Memoir, Washington, DC: National Academy of Sciences, p. 302. 1973: William E. Shoupp (Westinghouse) 1974: Robert W. Cairns (Hercules) 1975: James Hillier (RCA) 1976: Hendrik B. G. Casimir (N.V. Philips) 1977: John J. Burns (Hoffman-La Roche) 1978: Malcolm E. Pruitt (Dow Chemical) 1979: Arthur M. Bueche (General Electric)Schenectady Museum Archives -- Box #1, Folder #36 , accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1980: Lewis H. Sarett (Merck) 1981: William H. Armistead (Corning) 1982: N. Bruce Hannay (Bell Labs) 1983: Edward E. David Jr. (Exxon R&E) 1984: Harry W. Coover (Eastman Chemical)"In Remembrance: Harry W. Coover, Jr.", AllBusiness.com, July 1, 2011, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1985: Ralph E. Gomory (IBM)IBM Archives: Ralph E. Gomory, IBM Archives, Nov. 1988, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1986: George E. Pake (Xerox) 1987: Ian M. Ross (Bell Labs)Ian M. Ross Biography, IEEE Global History Network, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1988: Abraham B. Cohen (DuPont) 1989: Roland W. Schmitt (General Electric) 1990: Edward Scolnick (Merck)Scolnick, Edward M. "Leading R&D in the pharmaceutical industry", AllBusiness.com, May 1, 2000, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1991: Mary L. Good (AlliedSignal) 1992: John S. Mayo (Bell Labs)Docstoc: John S. Mayo, Curriculum Vitae, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1993: George H. Heilmeier (Bellcore) 1994: Walter L. Robb (General Electric) 1995: John J. Wise (Mobil)"John J. Wise Awarded Industrial Research Institute Medal" , Business Wire, May 9, 1995, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1996: Robert A. Frosch (General Motors)"The Customer for R&D is Always Wrong!" Ebscohost Connection, Nov. 1996, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 1997: Donald E. Elson (Black & Decker) 1998: Arno A. Penzias (Bell Labs/Lucent) 1999: John Seely Brown (Xerox)"The Social Life of Information" -- About the Authors , Berkley Press, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2000: Gordon F. Brunner (Procter & Gamble)"Procter & Gamble Chief Technology Officer Gordon Brunner To Retire" , PRNewswire, May 4, 2000, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2001: Philip Needleman (Pharmacia)"From a twinkle in the eye to a blockbuster drug: the story of Celebrex holds lessons for R&D leaders everywhere. (The IRI Medalist's Address)", Nov. 1, 2001, 2002: Charles W. Deneka (Corning)"Dr. Charles Deneka Receives Industrial Research Institute's 2002 Gold Medalist Award", Business Wire, May 16, 2002, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2003: Lewis S. Edelheit (General Electric)"Hubspan Names Dr. Edelheit to Board" , Hubspan, Press Release, Sept. 16, 2005, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2004: John W. Miley (Milliken & Company) 2005: Paul M. Horn (IBM)"The Changing Nature of Innovation", AllBusiness.com, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2006: David O. Swain (Boeing)"David O. Swain, 2006 IRI Medalist" , Industrial Research Institute, Inc., Press Release, May 23, 2006, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2007: Nabil Y. Sakkab (Procter & Gamble)"Nabil Sakkab, Advisory Group Bio" , CreataVentures, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2008: Ralph Snyderman (Duke University & Proventys, Inc.)"Snyderman Honored with IRI Medal" , Inside Duke Medicine, June 5, 2008, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2009: Norman R. Augustine (Lockheed Martin)"Norman R. Augustine Receives Industrial Research Institute 2009 National Medal" , Industrial Research Institute, Inc., May 21, 2009, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2010: Nicholas M. Donofrio (IBM)"IBM Research Second Quarter 2010 External Honors", IBM Research: July 2010, July 20, 2010, accessed Feb. 14, 2012. 2011: Uma Chowdhry (DuPont)"DuPont Sweeps IRI's 2011 Industry Awards", R&D Magazine, May 27, 2011, accessed Feb. 8, 2012. 2012: F. Emil Jacobs, (ExxonMobil) 2013: Robert S. Langer (MIT), and George M. Whitesides (Harvard University) 2014: Joseph DeSimone, (UNC) 2015: Subra Suresh (Carnegie Mellon University) 2016: Peter H. Diamandis (XPRIZE Foundation) and Vinton G. Cerf (Google) 2017: Joi Ito (Director, MIT Media Lab) and Henry Chesbrough 2018: Yann LeCun 2019: Leroy Hood 2020: David Wineland 2021: Demis Hassabis (CEO of DeepMind)IRI Medal 2018-2021
See also Industrial Research Institute IRI Achievement Award Maurice Holland Award
References 33. ExxonMobil's Dr. F. Emil Jacobs receives 2012 IRI Medal l, Industrial Research Institute, May 10, 2012
External links Industrial Research Institute, Inc. (IRI) IRI Medal