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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteOn October 8, 2026, President Donald J. Trump presented the National Medal of Technology and Innovation to Microsoft chairman and CEO Satya Nadella and Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell at the Science: A New Golden Age Summit, according to a White House announcement dated the same day. The same event also presented the separate National Medal of Science to four other leaders, so the two honors should be read as distinct awards. Nadella and Dell were recognized in the technology and innovation category.
The two medals presented at the summit
The White House describes both medals as the nation’s highest honors for exemplary achievement and leadership in science and technology. They serve different purposes, and the recipients named for each one differ.
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| Medal | Stated remit (White House) | First awarded or bestowed | Recipients named at this event |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Medal of Science | Outstanding contributions to science in service of the United States | Since 1963, according to the White House | Elon Musk, Sergey Brin, Jensen Huang, Lisa Su |
| National Medal of Technology and Innovation | American innovators whose vision, intellect, creativity, and determination have strengthened the economy and improved quality of life | 1985, according to the White House | Michael Dell, Satya Nadella |
The announcement treats the 1985 start date as the first year of the technology medal. It does not describe a change in the award’s eligibility rules since then, so readers should not assume how earlier recipients were chosen from the release alone.
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The White House publishes a short citation for each medalist. These are the administration’s own words, and they are the stated reasons for the awards.
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Satya Nadella
The citation credits Nadella with “transformative leadership of a critical American technology company, which led to its rejuvenation for a new era of cloud computing, and for his construction of the hyperscale infrastructure that enabled the training and global deployment of American super intelligence.” In short, the White House emphasizes Microsoft’s leadership, its cloud computing business, and the large-scale infrastructure behind it.
Michael Dell
The citation for Dell reads: “For advancing a vision of widespread adoption of personal and enterprise computing; for his technical and business management skills building a worldwide technology company; and for his support for the next generation of American scientists, engineers, and technologists.” The White House’s focus here is on making computing widely available to individuals and organizations, on building a global company, and on support for future science and technology workers.
What the administration said about the awards
Michael Kratsios, Assistant to the President and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said: “Each of these medalists has transformed their field or industry, laying the foundations for technologies we already can barely imagine living without.”
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What this announcement does and does not establish
The White House release is a primary source for what the administration announced. It is not an independent evaluation of the recipients or of the award process.
- Established by the release: the presentation date (October 8, 2026), the event (the Science: A New Golden Age Summit), the award categories, the names of all six medalists, and the stated citations.
- Not established by the release: how the medalists were nominated or selected, whether any committee record exists or was published, and any outside assessment of the companies’ or individuals’ work.
- Attribution: the rationales above are the White House’s language. This article reports them as stated reasons rather than as verified findings.
Further reading on the recipients
Two books by the medalists offer personal and company background. Neither is needed to understand the award announcement, and neither is evidence of the award itself.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Includes jump ring Size .75"
- Hit Refresh by Satya Nadella: his account of his personal journey and Microsoft’s transformation.
- Play Nice But Win by Michael Dell and James Kaplan: an account of Dell’s leadership and the history of his company.
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