Lloyd V. Berkner Award

The Lloyd V. Berkner Award was established to honor this distinguished scientist and research administrator. He started his professional career as an engineer in charge of a radio station in Minneapolis. Several years later he was weatherman on Admiral Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition. He later was instrumental in promoting the international geophysical year and was the first president of the Science Board of the National Academy of Sciences. He established the Southwest Research Institute in Dallas, Texas, and promoted that organization’s activities in research. Lloyd Berkner was the motivating force behind the 1967 AAS Meeting in Dallas on the Commercial Utilization of Space and Space Technology. In his summary of that meeting he said “How far we have come in the last ten years. Now the job of entrepreneur is to combine technology, to create a market and to find customers – because in many cases altogether new industries have to be conceived and created.”

In recognition of Lloyd Berkner’s vision and anticipation of the usefulness of space technology, the award in conferred in his name in recognition of outstanding contributions to the commercial utilization of space technology.

1967 – Austin N. Stanton, Joseph Charyk, and Alfred M. Mayo
1968 – No Award Given
1969 – Rudolf A. Hanel and David Q. Wark
1970 – Leonard Jaffe
1971 – Willard F. Rockwell, Jr.
1972 – Stanley Weiland
1973 – Allen E. Puckett
1974 – Mark Morton
1975 – Harold Rosen
1976 – No Award Given
1977 – No Award Given
1978 – No Award Given
1979 – Ted D. Smith
1980 – No Award Given
1981 – No Award Given
1982 – Wilbur L. Pritchard
1983 – No Award Given
1984 – L. J. Evans, Jr.
1985 – William R. Marshall
1986 – Maxime A. Faget
1987 – Robert J. Naumann
1988 – David W. Thompson
1989 – Richard E. Brackeen
1990 – No Award Given
1992 – Eldon D. Thompson
1993 – Courtney A. Stadd
1994 – Chester M. Lee
1995 – David R. Saucier
1996 – No Award Given
1997 – Kent M. Black
1998 – Marc C. Johansen
1999 – Bohdan “Bo” I. Bejmuk
2000 – Neal R. Pellis
2001 – Ronald J. Grabe
2002 – No Award Given
2003 – George E. Mueller
2004 – Peter H. Diamandis
2005 – No Award Given
2006 – No Award Given
2007 – No Award Given
2008 – Bradford W. Parkinson
2009 – No Award Given