The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award was established in 1959 in honor of a scientist who helped elevate American physics to the status of world leader in the field.

The Radiation Laboratory he developed at Berkeley during the 1930s ushered in the era of "big science", in which experiments were no longer done by an individual researcher and a few assistants on the table-top of an academic lab but by large, multidisciplinary teams of scientists and engineers in entire buildings full of sophisticated equipment and huge scientific machines.

President Eisenhower agreed, saying, "Such an award would seem to me to be most fitting, both as a recognition of what he has given to our country and to mankind, and as a means of helping to carry forward his work through inspiring others to dedicate their lives and talents to scientific effort."

The Ernest Orlando Lawrence Awards honor scientists and engineers, at mid-career, showing promise for the future, for exceptional contributions in research and development supporting the U.S. Department of Energy and its mission to advance the national economic and energy security of the United States.

The nomination materials for all eligible nominees are objectively studied by independent peer review panels, one for each of eight award categories, and if worthy candidate(s) are identified in the peer review, selection recommendations based upon these findings are made by Federal Program Officials.