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Awards & Honors

MIT community members have received numerous accolades. The MIT Excellence Awards celebrate the extraordinary efforts made by members of our community toward fulfilling the goals, values, and mission of the Institute. The Collier Medal honors the memory of Officer Sean Collier, who gave his life protecting the MIT community. As of October 2024, there have been 452 MIT Excellence Award and 11 Collier Medal recipients. The MIT Staff Award for Distinction in Service was introduced in 2022, with three recipients to date.

The MIT Student Awards honor students who have made outstanding contributions to the shared life of the Institute. The awards recognize excellence in academics, public service, community building, diversity and inclusion, achievements in the arts and athletics, leadership, and entrepreneurship.

The title of Institute Professor is an honor bestowed by the faculty and administration on a faculty colleague who has demonstrated exceptional distinction through leadership, accomplishment, and service in the scholarly, educational, and general intellectual life of the Institute or wider academic community.

Several of the most notable honors and awards won by MIT community members over the years are highlighted below, with winners currently on faculty and staff listed.

  • 63 Institute Professors
    The current Institute Professors are Daron Acemoglu (2019), Suzanne Berger (2019), Arup K. Chakraborty (2021), Sallie W. Chisholm (2015), Ann M. Graybiel (2008), Paula T. Hammond (2021), Robert S. Langer (2005), Thomas L. Magnanti (1997), and Marcus A. Thompson (2015).

  • 105 Nobel Prizes
    Faculty members Daron Acemoglu, economics (2024); Joshua Angrist, economics (2021); Abhijit Banerjee, economics (2019); Moungi G. Bawendi, chemistry (2023); Esther Duflo, economics (2019); H. Robert Horvitz, medicine/physiology (2002); Simon Johnson, economics (2024); Wolfgang Ketterle, physics (2001); Robert C. Merton, economics (1997); Susan Solomon, peace (co-chair of IPCC Working Group One recognized under Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2007); Samuel C. C. Ting, physics (1976); Susumu Tonegawa, medicine/physiology (1987); Frank Wilczek, physics (2004); and staff member Jean Marcel Tirole, economics (2014).

  • 64 National Medals of Science
    Faculty members Angela M. Belcher (2025), Emery N. Brown (2025), Sallie W. Chisholm (2012), Ann M. Graybiel (2001), Rudolf Jaenisch (2011), Robert S. Langer (2006), Susan Solomon (1999), and Robert A. Weinberg (1997).

  • 35 National Medals of Technology and Innovation
    Faculty members James G. Fujimoto (2023), Paula T. Hammond (2025), Robert S. Langer (2012), and Feng Zhang (2025).

  • 84 MacArthur Fellows
    Faculty members Isaiah Andrews (2020), Regina Barzilay (2017), Angela M. Belcher (2004), James J. Collins (2003), Erik D. Demaine (2003), Junot Díaz (2012), Esther Duflo (2009), Amy Finkelstein (2018), Danna Freedman (2022), Linda G. Griffith (2006), Dina Katabi (2013), Laura Kiessling (1999), Eric Lander (1987), Nergis Mavalvala (2010), Sendhil Mullainathan (2002), John A. Ochsendorf (2008), David C. Page (1986), J. Taylor Perron (2021), Daniela L. Rus (2002), Sara Seager (2013), Peter W. Shor (1999), Marin Soljačič (2008), Joshua B. Tenenbaum (2019), Jack Wisdom (1994), Yukiko Yamashita (2011), and staff members Amy B. Smith (2004), and George Zweig (1981).

  • 21 John Bates Clark Medals
    Faculty members Daron Acemoglu (2005), Isaiah Andrews (2021), Esther Duflo (2010), Amy Finkelstein (2012), Parag Pathak (2018), and staff member Melissa Dell (2020).

  • 17 A. M. Turing Awards
    Staff members Butler W. Lampson (1992) and Michael Stonebraker (2014).

  • 6 Pulitzer Prizes
    Faculty member Junot Díaz (2008) and staff member Deborah Blum (1992).

  • 2 Millennium Technology Prizes
    Faculty member Robert S. Langer (2008).

  • 712 National Academy of Engineering Members

  • 302 National Academy of Sciences Members

  • 87 National Academy of Medicine Members

  • 219 Guggenheim Fellows

  • 160 Fulbright Scholars