This award recognizes:

Initiatives or new inventions that have had recent impact on or hold particular promise for satellite communications and society, and stand as distinguished examples of innovative thinking.

The recipient would normally be an individual who is 40 or below in age.

This award recognizes an individual, a group or an entity that exemplifies the values and accomplishments of Sir Arthur's life. The award honors substantial and enduring contributions that relate the sciences and arts in meeting the challenges of contemporary life and the needs of tomorrow.

To submit a nomination for either award, please send the Foundation a letter. Please indicate whether the nomination is for the "Innovator's Award" or the "Lifetime Achievement Award." The letter should describe in detail the justifications in support of the nomination, and include a curriculum vita for the nominee or the nominees. Each submission should be signed by two nominators.

Nominations are evaluated by an independent selection committee that includes: Takashi Iida, Director General of the Communications Research Lab of Japan; and Conny Kullman, Chairman of Intelsat. The awards are made possible through generous donations from corporations and individuals around the world.:

The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation sponsors an annual lecture that explores fundamental concepts and ideas pertaining to satellite communications and other technologies and their profound meaning for contemporary and future society. These signature lectures are delivered in conjunction with the award of the Sir Arthur C. Clarke Prizes. (the text of past lectures are available in the
Archives).

Dr. Burton Edelson was a very long term serving member of the Board of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation. Among his accomplishments was his service on the White House Staff in support of the National Space Council, his Directorship of the Communications Satellite Corporation Laboratories and his leadership as Associate Director of the NASA Office of Space Sciences and Applications. Under his direction at NASA, the following key projects were successfully achieved: the Hubble Space Telescope, the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS), the Galileo Project and the Explorer mission that confirmed the Big Bang theory. During the last years of Dr. Edelson's career, he headed the Institute for Applied Space Research (IASR) at George Washington University. Accordingly on his death in 2002, the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation took the lead in organizing the Burton I. Edelson scholarship that is awarded to a meritorious student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University. The first of these awards is to be made in the Fall of 2004. (Anyone wishing to learn more about this scholarship or to contribute to this scholarship fund should contact the Foundation via our web site.)

Dr. John L. McLucas was the Chairman of the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation from 1983 to 2003. He served as the first chairman beginining from when it was first announced at the White House as a part of the World Communications Year celebrations in 1983. Dr. McLucas during his career was Secretary of the Air Force, FAA Administrator, Director of the National Reconnaisance Office, President of the AIAA, and President of the Comsat General Corporation. In light of his strong interest in space and space exploration and aviation and space safety, the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation in collaboration with the Space Shuttle Childrens' Fund has created a series of awards that go to students or student teams that develop the best new ideas in the field of safety with regard to human space exploration and development. These annual awards are currently made through the International Space University of Strasbourg, France and the Universities Space Research Association. (Anyone wishing to learn more about this scholarship or to contribute to the McLucas awards should contact the Foundation via our web site.)

In 2008, the foundation inaugurated this Prize at Huish College (Taunton, Somerset, United Kingdom). Sir Arthur, who grew up in Somerset, had special affection for the college, which he attended in the 1930s. The honor is to recognize a Huish student who is following “in the footsteps of Arthur C. Clarke,” by demonstrating outstanding qualities of innovation and imagination through excellence in the sciences and arts. The winning student receives a trophy (modeled after the monolith in 2001) and a cash award.