President Barack Obama has given the nation's highest honor for achievement in science and technology to a University of Michigan political science and public policy professor.
Obama presented Robert Axelrod with the National Medal of Science on Thursday during a ceremony at the White House. The president selected him and nine others last month for the medal.
During the National Medals of Technology and Innovation Award Ceremony at the White House, Axelrod was commended for his work:
"Rober Axelrod, University of Michigan, for interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, complexity theory, and international security, and for the exploration of how social science models can be used to explain biological phenomena."
Axelrod wrote The Evolution of Cooperation, which deals with de-escalating conflict.
Axelrod also has received a MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" and has been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences.
The medals have been awarded annually since 1959.
You can watch Axelrod receive the award in this video. Scroll to 19:45 to see him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMC3qefVktc
- Ari Sandberg, Michigan Radio Newsroom
