The medal is the Academy’s most prestigious award, established in 1914 and presented annually to honor extraordinary use of science for the public good.

During her time at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — where she worked as a professor of biology in the Center for Cancer Research for 40 years before her retirement in 2014 — Hopkins brought national attention to obstacles facing women in the scientific workforce. She joined the center as one of its first faculty members in 1973, and over the next two decades, she became aware of differences in the experiences and opportunities of tenured male and female professors. In 1994, Hopkins and 15 other tenured women joined forces to present the problem to MIT’s dean of science, describing it as marginalization and possibly undervaluation of women compared to men of equal or lesser accomplishment.

“In her use of evidence to ferret out inequality in opportunity, Nancy Hopkins has helped create pathways to success for women and minorities in science — not only for those of her own generation, but for generations to come,” said National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt. “The scientific enterprise thrives when it employs the best and brightest minds from all quarters of society, and Nancy’s work has done much to ensure that all talented scientists are given the opportunities they deserve to reach the highest echelons of scientific achievement.”