The Alan T. Waterman Award recognizes an outstanding early career researcher in any field of science or engineering supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The annual award is the nation's highest honor for early-career scientists and engineers. In addition to a medal, the awardee receives a grant of $1,000,000 over a five-year period for scientific research or advanced study in the science and engineering disciplines supported by the National Science Foundation at the institution of their choice. Congress established the award in August 1975 to mark NSF's 25th anniversary and to honor the agency's first director.