A Penn State professor has been awarded the nation’s highest honor for achievement and leadership in science.
Richard Alley, Evan Pugh University Professor of Geosciences, received the National Medal of Science during a ceremony on Jan. 3 at the White House. Alley was one of 23 individuals and two organizations to receive the 2025 National Medals of Science and National Medals of Technology and Innovation.
A Penn State faculty member since 1988, Alley studies Earth’s oldest and largest ice sheets to help predict climate and sea level changes.
He led a team that discovered abrupt climate changes in the planet’s past that are likely to occur again. His study of 2-mile polar ice core samples in Greenland and Antarctica introduced the idea of “dials” and “switches in the climate — slow and abrupt changes — that can lead to significant environmental change.
“My piece of this story is small, but our community as a whole provides reliable, useful information that can help people, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important effort and to the National Medal of Science for highlighting it,” Alley said in a statement. “The discoveries we have brought home, together with an immense amount of information from other scientists and engineers, show clearly that if we effectively use our knowledge on climate and energy, we can build a larger economy with more jobs, improved health and national security, as well as a cleaner environment for all.”
Established by Congress in 1959, the National Medal of Science is administered by the National Science Foundation and awarded by the White House “to individuals deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, or social and behavioral sciences,” in service to the United States, according to the NSF. A committee of scientists and engineers is appointed by the president to evaluate the nominees for the award.
Alley is the fifth Penn State faculty member to receive the medal. He joins Erwin Müeller, Evan Pugh Research Professor of Physics (1977, posthumous); Calyampudi Rao, Eberly Family Chair in Statistics emeritus (2002); Nina Fedoroff, emeritus professor of biology (2007); and Stephen Benkovic, Atherton Professor and Eberly Chair in Chemistry (2010).
“Dr. Alley is the epitome of an exceptional scientist,” Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi said in a statement. “His career studying our planet’s ice sheets has shaped Earth science and climate policy throughout the world. He exemplifies the very best of our University, inspiring others through his pursuit of knowledge and his commitment to advancing solutions for a sustainable future. This honor reflects the profound impact of his research on our world and future generations.”
