Q&A: The IEEE president on the $2m Medal of Honor prize

Established in 1917, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Medal of Honor is the highest IEEE award, honouring society-changing achievements such as the creation of the internet and the development of lifesaving medical technologies including the CAT scan, MRI, ultrasound, and pacemaker. For 2025, the IEE announced that Medal of Honor monetary prize would be increased to $2 million, demonstrating its commitment to fostering critical research and recognising the efforts of valued scientists and the work they have done to benefit humanity. The Engineer caught up with IEE president and CEO Kathleen Kramer to find out more about the award and the decision to boost the prize money. 

What does the Medal of Honour celebrate?

KK: The IEEE Medal of Honour is the organisation’s highest award. It was first established in 1917 to acknowledge the significant advancements made in radio technology, then at the forefront of our technologies. For the last 108 years, the most important contributors to advances in our fields that span the modern technology world, including power, computing, and communication, have received the Medal in recognition of their critical roles in laying the foundations of modern technology.  It is now considered one of the most prestigious awards in the world.

The Medal of Honour acknowledges the outstanding contributions made to fields of science, engineering, and technology, and celebrates the impact new innovations have made to society. Previous winners have included the likes of Mildred Dresselhaus, the ‘Queen of Carbon Science,’ whose research paved the way for the rise of nanotechnology, and Vinton G. Cerf, one of the ‘Fathers of the Internet.’ It has also honoured scientific achievements such as the computed tomography (CAT) scan, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound and pacemaker.

Other awardees include Asad M. Madni, who was awarded the IEEE Medal of Honour in 2022, who transformed safety and sensing technology with his development of the GyroChip, an inexpensive inertial sensor that is essential to electronic stability-control (ESC) systems in automobiles. His inventions, which prevented rollovers and had tremendous impact on aerospace, missile systems, and Mars exploration, saved thousands of lives and are prime examples of how technology can significantly improve both safety and exploration.

Why has the IEEE decided to increase the prize money to $2 million?

KK: Increasing the prize money is a key element of a wider effort to elevate this historic award to its rightful place as one of the world’s most prestigious technology-focused awards and expanding public awareness of the significant role that engineering, science, and technology play across the globe as well as inspiring intellectual curiosity and the continued discovery of new innovations. 

Technology, engineering, and science have become integral to addressing the more pressing challenges of our time. This is a pivotal moment in IEEE’s history and in recognition of the extraordinary efforts these individuals have made in advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Hopefully, it will inspire the next generation of talent to challenge current modes of thinking and continue to innovate, shape and redefine our world.

Which areas of research were considered for the 2025 prize and how did you decide on this year’s winner?

KK: The IEEE Medal of Honour may be given to an individual or team of up to three people who have made exceptional contributions or had extraordinary careers in technology, engineering, and science. Criteria for IEEE Medal of Honour consideration include the significance of the achievement, originality, impact on society, impact on the profession, publications, and patents relating to the achievement. Beyond considering the achievement itself, a person(s) needs also to have had a career with extraordinary achievements that have significantly impacted society or the profession.

Henry Samueli is being recognised for developing and commercialising analogue and mixed signal communications systems circuits, and that led to the extraordinary growth of broadband communication, wired, and wireless networking technologies. While an electrical engineering professor, he conceived digital signal processing architectures for broadband communications chips, and, after founding Broadcom, he built the world’s first digital cable set-top-box modem chipset. This laid the foundation for at-home UltraHD, HDTV, and high-quality video streaming.

IEEE Medal of Honour Laureate Henry Samueli’s vision and communications technology innovations spurred the development of products used by nearly every person around the world. He helped revolutionise how the world is connected, fostered cultural and economic paradigm shifts of countless industries and positively changed how we do everything today.