I write with thrilling news—that the White House has just announced the most recent National Medal of Science winners and that our own Robert Axelrod, the Walgreen Professor for the Study of Human Understanding here at the Ford School, is among them.

This is a rare honor for any scientist, but rarer still in the social sciences. Of the 487 winners of the National Medal of Science since the award was established in 1959, less than two-dozen have been social and behavioral scientists. Fewer still have worked in the field of political science.

This is a well-deserved honor for Bob, who has made paradigm-shifting contributions to our understanding of conflict and cooperation.

The full White House announcement is attached.

Bob is in Washington, DC this semester, serving as a Jefferson Science Fellow in the State Department.

Sincerely,
Susan M. Collins
Joan and Sanford Weill Dean
Professor of Public Policy and Economics
Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy