Our most prestigious award celebrates visionary Indigenous leaders who exemplify the AISES mission through groundbreaking achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math.
This award, named for Ely S. Parker, recognizes exceptional Indigenous leaders who clearly embody the AISES mission through their achievements and contributions to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The AISES Board of Directors is responsible for selecting one award winner annually, evaluated on the following criteria:
As the most prestigious award given by AISES, the Ely S. Parker Award is considered a lifetime achievement award and thus nominees must have demonstrated achievements throughout their lifetime that clearly embody the AISES mission. Nominees not meeting the following criteria will not be considered:
The awardee is expected to accept the award in-person during the closing ceremony of the 2025 National AISES Conference on October 4, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Travel expenses to attend the ceremony are not covered by AISES.
“I am very honored to receive the Ely S. Parker Award this year from AISES. It is amazing to be this year’s honoree and in the company of so many incredible award winners from the past. I am blessed to work with so many Native American colleagues, staff, students, and most of all, community members on projects and programs that have impact to our people. I am very appreciative of the support that AISES provides to me and so many others as researchers, teachers, students, and communities.”
2023 – Marlene Watson (Navajo)
2022 – Dr. Wren Walker Robbins (Mohawk)
2021 – Rick Stephens (Pala Band of Mission Indians)
2020 – Dr. Cara Cowan Watts (Cherokee)
2019 – Dr. Roger Dube (Mohawk Turtle Clan)
2018 – Cheryl McClellan (Sac and Fox)
2017 – Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson (Navajo)
2016 – Dr. Robin Wall Kimmerer (Citizen Potawatomi Nation)
2015 – Dr. Bret Benally-Thompson (White Earth Band of Ojibwe)
2014 – Dr. Jason Younker (Coquille)
2013 – Bessie Newman Spicer (Navajo)
2012 – Dr. Henrietta Mann (Cheyenne)
2011 – Everett Chavez (Kewa Pueblo)
2010 – Dr. Robert Whitman (Navajo)
2009 – Sandra Begay-Campbell (Navajo)
2008 – Norbert S. Hill Jr. (Oneida)
2007 – Governor Joseph Garcia (Ohkay Owingeh)
2005 – George Thomas, Engineering, (Cherokee)
2004 – Jerry Elliott, Physics, (Osage/Cherokee)
2003 – Carole Gardipe, Geology, (Penobscot)
2002 – Dr. Judith Kaur, Medicine (Choctaw/ Cherokee)
2001 – Carolyn Elgin, Ed.D., Educator (Choctaw)
2000 – Jim May, Ph.D., Engineering/Business/ Library Science (Cherokee)
1999 – Robert Megginson, Ph.D., Mathematics (Lakota)
1998 – Dick French, Forestry (Yakama) – Awarded Posthumously
1997 – Jane Mt. Pleasant, Ph.D., Agronomy & Soil Science (Tuscarora)
1996 – Fred Cooper, Ph.D., Civil Engineering (Shoalwater Bay)
1995 – Cliff Poodry, Ph.D., Biology (Seneca)
1994 – Dwight Gourneau, Electrical Engineering & Physics (Chippewa)
1993 – Dr. Taylor MacKenzie, Medicine (Navajo)
1992 – Fred Begay, Ph.D., Physics (Navajo)
1990 – Dr. George Blue Spruce, Dentist (Pueblo)
1989 – Dr. Lois Steele, Medicine (Assiniboine)
1988 – Tom Dawson, Electrical Engineering (Cherokee)
1988 – Don Ridley, Aerospace Engineering (Shoshone)
1987 – Phil Lane Sr., Civil Engineering (Yankton Sioux)
1986 – Al Qöyawayma, Mechanical Engineering (Hopi)
1985 – Mary Ross, Mathematics & Aerospace Engineering (Cherokee)
1984 – Phil Stevens, Engineering (Oglala Sioux)
1983 – A T (Andy) Anderson, Chemical Engineering (Seneca) – Awarded Posthumously
