Yesterday, the White House and National Science Foundation awarded University of Michigan Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Robert Axelrod, the prestigious National Medal of Science. Axelrod was chosen “for interdisciplinary work on the evolution of cooperation, complexity theory, and international security, and for the exploration of how social science models can be used to explain biological phenomena,” according to the announcement.

Axelrod’s contributions to the field of political science are renowned. He is best known for his scientific research and also-named book, The Evolution of Cooperation—a close look at whether we evolved to be more cooperative with one another and how this could be modeled to help solve real life problems. He was the youngest political scientist ever accepted into the National Academy of Sciences. He also received a MacArthur Prize Fellowship.

Congratulations, Professor!