Definition: National Medal of Technology

The highest honor the U.S. can give to a person or company for contributing to the technical progress of the United States. The National Medal of Technology was created by the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. In 1985, twelve people and one company (AT&T) were the first to receive the Medal. Among the individuals were Apple co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak. In 2026, Michael Dell (Dell Technologies) and Satya Nadella (Microsoft) were awarded the Medal.