President Donald Trump at the launch of America.gov at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C., 29 September 2026 Credit: Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok Six technology leaders received the country’s highest honours for science and technology from President Donald Trump on Thursday, the White House said. Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang and Lisa Su got the National Medal of Science. Michael Dell and Satya Nadella got the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.
Trump presented the medals at the Science: A New Golden Age Summit in Washington. Michael Kratsios, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, joined him on stage. The six citations Musk’s citation honours his engineering work in space exploration, intelligent systems and communications, and in American manufacturing. Brin’s citation names his foundational algorithms for information retrieval and data processing.
Huang’s citation credits him with turning the graphics processing unit into a general-purpose computing architecture. Su’s names her work on processor architecture and chiplet-based integration, which powered the world’s first exascale supercomputer. Dell’s citation credits him with advancing personal and enterprise computing and building a worldwide technology company. Nadella’s citation names Microsoft’s renewal for the cloud era and the hyperscale infrastructure behind American super intelligence.
Super intelligence is the administration’s term for AI since a September executive order. “Innovators like these six awardees are the architects of the future,” Kratsios said. Presidents have given the National Medal of Science since 1963, and the technology medal since 1985. Past winners of the science medal have mainly been academics and research scientists, the Associated Press reported. What Trump said Trump called the group “national treasures”, AP reported.
He compared them to his uncle, John Trump, an MIT professor who received the National Medal of Science in 1983. “We live in an age of American wonders and technological marvels, and with the help of the brilliant men and women here today, we will always be on top,” Trump said, according to NBC News. He called Musk “our modern-day Thomas Edison”, The Hill reported. Each of the six has given money in some form to Trump or to Republican campaigns and causes, CNBC reported. Five of the six were born outside the US, AP reported.
Musk was born in South Africa, Brin in Russia, Huang and Su in Taiwan, and Nadella in India. Dell was born in Texas. “I was an immigrant, and my parents brought us here to pursue the American dream,” Huang told NBC News. Hours after Microsoft’s suspension Hours before the ceremony, Vice President JD Vance announced that the Labor Department was suspending Microsoft from the PERM programme. PERM is the first step in sponsoring foreign workers for green cards.
AP reported that Vance was asked about the timing. “We’re going to continue to support Microsoft and have a great relationship with Microsoft,” Vance said. Nadella and Dell both thanked Trump on X. Dell wrote that he started his company 42 years ago with $1,000 in his dorm room. “I’m humbled to stand alongside so many giants of American innovation,” Nadella wrote. At the same summit, AI companies pledged $2.4bn in credits and AI tools for federal science, including Nvidia’s $1bn commitment. “These recipients are helping ensure America keeps leading the world in innovation,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston said.
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