James E.
Gunn
Professor of Astronomy
Princeton University
2008
Astronomy & Space
For his brilliant design of many of the most influential telescopes and instruments in astronomy, and in particular for the crucial role those technological marvels played in the creation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, which has cataloged 200 million stars, galaxies, and quasars; discovered the most distant known quasars; and probed the epoch of formation of the first stars and galaxies.
Presented by President Barack H. Obama in the East Room of the White House on October 7, 2009.