ASC Awards
Recognition
The ASC offers awards to cyberneticians of distinction who have made significant contributions to the field of cybernetics in multiple ways, including:
- Prominence in transdisciplinary research for cybernetics and systems
- Impact of applications of cybernetic theory and practice
- Service to the ASC and the cybernetics professional community more broadly
- Excellence in education and pedagogy for cybernetics and systems theory and practice
- Advocacy for the cybernetics community and to advance and promote cybernetics
These awards will be made on a periodic basis as warranted: there may be years when no award is made, as well as years when several awards might be made.
Nominating instructions are below, and all are encouraged to nominate those they find worthy. Self-nominations will be given full consideration.
The ASC awards were restructured in 2024 and now comprise:
Norbert Wiener Medal is awarded for high achievement in transdisciplinary research in cybernetics and systems. The front of the medal shows a bas-relief of Norbert Wiener, and the obverse is inscribed with the name of the recipient.
Margaret Mead Prize was established in 2024 to recognize accomplishments in growing the cybernetics community through education and/or advocacy activities.
Warren McCulloch Award is offered for achieving significant impact in the community, whether externally by applying cybernetics methods and principles in real-world applications, and/or internally via service to the ASC itself. Prior to 2024, this was awarded for “young scientists”, as will the Heinz von Foerster award thereafter.
Heinz von Foerster Award is offered to a cybernetician new to the field, including both early career cyberneticians of distinction, and seasoned professionals in other fields who have come to work in cybernetics. It provides full travel support to attend the ASC annual conference, and a year’s membership in the ASC.
ASC Fellows are awarded for a lifetime career achievement in cybernetics and systems, and includes a lifetime membership to the ASC.
Nomination Process
To nominate someone for an ASC Award, please email the following to nominations (at) asc-cybernetics.org:
- Nominee’s name and contact information (email, phone). If at all possible, please send any public links to sites about the nominee, for example professional or personal web sites, Google scholar pages, Wikipedia pages, etc. This is not a requirement for a nomination, but potentially very helpful to the committee.
- Award for the nomination, please specify one of the following: Wiener Medal, Margaret Mead Prize, Warren McCulloch Award, Heinz von Foerster Award, ASC Fellows.
- Include a description of no more than 300 words with the nominee’s qualifications for the specific award.
- Your name and contact information (email, phone), and please include brief information about your connection to the nominee (if any) and about yourself (as warranted).
Each email as specified above should be for a single nominee for a single award. For multiple nominees and/or multiple awards, please send multiple such emails.
Past Awardees
Wiener Medal Holders
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Michael Arbib |
| 2024 | Raul Espejo |
| 2019 | Fred Steier |
| 2018 | Paul Weston |
| 2016 | William J. Reckmeyer |
| 2015 | Ranulph Glanville |
| 2014 | Louis H. Kauffman |
| 2011 | Robert Vallée |
| 2011 | Mary Catherine Bateson |
| 2008 | Richard Jung |
| 2008 | Ricardo Uribe |
| 2008 | Lars Löfgren |
| 2008 | Humberto Maturana |
| 2008 | Francisco Varela |
| 2007 | Stuart Umpleby |
| 2007 | Pille Bunnell |
| 2007 | Laurence Richards |
| 2007 | Charles François |
| 2005 | Ernst von Glasersfeld |
| 2001 | Klaus Krippendorff |
| 1993 | Herbert Brün |
| 1984 | Gordon Pask |
| 1983 | Heinz von Foerster |
| 1972 | Natalia Bechtereva |
| 1969 | Stuart A. Kauffman |
| 1969 | Stephen Grossberg |
| 1968 | Warren McCulloch |
| 1968 | Robert C. Wood |
Mead Prize
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Claudia Westermann |
| 2024 | Genevieve Bell |
| 2024 | Norman Gunderson |
McCulloch Award Holders
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Jasia Reichardt |
| 2024 | Roy Ascott |
| 2019 | Mark Enslin |
| 2016 | Julia Frazer and John H. Frazer |
| 2014 | Randall Whitaker |
| 2014 | Paul Pangaro |
| 2014 | Jennifer Wilby |
| 2014 | Allenna Leonard |
| 2013 | Heinz von Foerster Society |
| 2013 | Bernard Scott |
| 2012 | Susan Parenti |
| 2011 | Thomas Fischer |
| 2008 | Søren Brier |
| 2008 | Alexander Riegler |
| 1993 | Louis Kauffman |
| 1986 | Humberto Maturana |
| 1984 | Gregory Bateson |
Heinz von Foerster Award Holders
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Shantanu Tilak |
| 2021 | Dulmini Perera and Michael Munton |
| 2019 | Angelika Schanda and Mariah G. Di Stasi |
| 2018 | Andrei Cretu and Stephen Paff |
| 2016 | Sunny Sanwar |
| 2014 | Ben Sweeting |
| 2013 | Chathurika Kannangara |
| 2012 | Philip Baron |
| 2011 | Delfina Fantini |
| 2010 | Robert Helland |
| 2009 | Kate Slaymaker and Melanie Meltzer |
| 2008 | Lee Worden |
| 2004 | Elizabeth Simpson |
ASC Fellows
| Year | Name |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Allenna Leonard |
| 2024 | Pille Bunnell |
| 2019 | Warren M. Brodey |
| 2014 | Stuart Umpleby |
| 2014 | Roger C. Conant |
| 2012 | Klaus Krippendorff (1932 – 2022) |
| 2009 | Bernard Scott |
| 2009 | Graham Barnes |
| 2009 | Paul Pangaro |
| 2009 | William Reckmeyer |
| 2009 | Søren Brier |
| 2006 | Mary Catherine Bateson (1939 – 2021) |
| 2006 | Ernst von Glasersfeld (1917 – 2010) |
Special Awards
- 2014: Ranulph Glanville (Award Certificate PDF); Aartje Hulstein and Ranulph Glanville award sculptures
- 2014: Aartje Hulstein (Award Certificate PDF); Aartje Hulstein and Ranulph Glanville award sculptures
- 2011: Randall Whitaker (Award Certificate PDF)
- 2009: Barbara Dawes Vogl – “… countless ASC members have benefited from the experience of Barbara’s curiosity and invitations. Recognizing her warm demeanor, inquisitive personality, dedication, and innumerable contributions to the cybernetics community, the ASC hereby makes this Special Award to Barbara Vogl. While she has a special interest in the practice of the ‘spiritual’, it has been Barbara’s spirit that has caught our attention and imagination. We are grateful for her contributions, which will surely inform new iterations of ASC membership for years to come.”
- 1986: Stuart A. Umpleby – “In appreciation of his sustained contribution to the American Society for Cybernetics as President from 1980 to 1983 and as a primary architect of the rebuilding of the Society”
Nominations Committee
- Cliff Joslyn (chair)
- José Cabral Filho
- Jane Jorgenson
Photo credits: Margaret Mead by Smithsonian Institution Archives
