2026 IEEE Medal of Honor: Full Program

Who speaks in this episode?

• Jensen Huang (Honoree / main speaker)
• Sophie Murehead (Host)

What is discussed, and when

1. 0:00 – 3:00: ILE E, CES, Sophie Murehead
2. 3:00 – 6:00: Mary Ellen Randall, ILE E
3. 6:00 – 9:00: ILE E, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, Mary Ellen Randall
4. 9:00 – 12:00: ILE E, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor
5. 12:00 – 15:00: Jensen Huang, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, Oregon State University

Notable quotes from "2026 IEEE Medal of Honor: Full Program"

• Please welcome to the stage executive director and chief operating officer of ILE E Sophie Murehead.

  about Sophie Murehead · at 0:01

• Works together by sharing knowledge openly and setting trusted standards. ILE e members help ideas travel technologies scale and innovation deliver real world impact. We also support learning across an entire career and we help ensure that.

  about ILE E · at 2:11

• And frankly, announcing the recipient of the 2026 Medal of Honor at CES is a reminder that the future we see here is built on decades of patient work, rigorous thinking, and.

  about CES · at 3:55

• My name is Mary Ellen Randall and it is my honor to serve as president and CEO of ITLE E. We have an awesome mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity and are the world's largest.

  about Mary Ellen Randall · at 5:25

• Honor bestowed by ILE E, which is why we are gathered here today as we announce the recipient of the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor.

  about Jensen Huang · at 6:38

• The good fortune of not even deciding what university to go to. I chose to go to Oregon State University because it was our home university. And because of that lack of choice, I ended up having a lab partner.

  about Oregon State University · at 13:07

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

• Jensen Huang — Person · Honoree / main speaker · 1 mention · first at 12:30
  Announced as the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor recipient and gives the acceptance remarks, discussing NVIDIA’s impact and IEEE standards.
• Mary Ellen Randall — Person · Announcer / organizational leader · 3 mentions · first at 4:56
  Introduced as the 2026 IEEE President and CEO and formally announces Jensen Huang as the 2026 IEEE Medal of Honor recipient.
• Sophie Murehead — Person · Event host / introducer · 1 mention · first at 0:01
  Introduced as IEEE executive director and COO; opens the session at CES and frames IEEE’s mission and the Medal of Honor announcement.

Companies & orgs

• ILE E — Company · Main speaker · 13 mentions · first at 0:05
  ILE E is a global technical professional organization that advances technology for humanity, hosting the event to announce the 2026 Medal of Honor.

Places & events

• 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor — Event · Key announcement · 5 mentions · first at 6:45
  The 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor is a prestigious award recognizing individuals who have significantly advanced technology for humanity, awarded to Nvidia's founder.
  Honor bestowed by ILE E, which is why we are gathered here today as we announce the recipient of the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor.
• CES — Event · Setting · 1 mention · first at 2:48
  CES serves as the backdrop for the announcement of the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, highlighting the intersection of technology and innovation.
• Oregon State University — Place · Educational background · 1 mention · first at 13:13
  Oregon State University is mentioned as the alma mater of Nvidia's founder, Jensen Wong, where he met his future wife and lab partner.

Full transcript with timestamps

0:01 Please welcome to the stage executive director and chief operating officer of ILE E Sophie Murehead. Good afternoon everyone and welcome. Also, thank you to members of the media who have joined us for this very special announcement this afternoon. We are living in a time when technology is shaping nearly every aspect of our lives. How we connect, how we work, how we respond to global challenges. And it's during times like these that leadership in technology matters. And it really matters because it doesn't just call for innovation.

1:02 That leadership calls for responsibility, collaboration, and trust. And it's at that intersection of responsibility, collaboration, and trust where I e plays a very very unique role. ILE E is a public charity and the world's largest technical professional organization across more than 190 countries around the world. It e connects more than 500,000 members who are engineers, scientists, technologists, and other professionals. Our members conduct research, share knowledge, develop global standards, and convene across a multitude of disciplines to advance technology for the benefit of humanity.

2:04 But what makes ITLE E truly distinctive is how this global community of members works together by sharing knowledge openly and setting trusted standards. ILE e members help ideas travel technologies scale and innovation deliver real world impact. We also support learning across an entire career and we help ensure that technological progress is guided by rigor, care, and a sense of responsibility to society. We're at CES and CES is a powerful reminder of what is possible when imagination meets execution. Behind every breakthrough that we see at CES each year are years and years of careful work, collaboration, and problem solving.

3:15 and ILT E exists to create the conditions where that kind of progress can take root and thrive. Now, today provides a really special opportunity to recognize one of ITLE E's most distinguished honors, the IT E Medal of Honor. It recognizes individuals whose work has fundamentally advanced technology and delivered lasting benefits to humanity. And frankly, announcing the recipient of the 2026 Medal of Honor at CES is a reminder that the future we see here is built on decades of patient work, rigorous thinking, and breakthroughs that last. Ladies and gentlemen, the future of technology is not something that happens in a vacuum.

4:26 It is shaped by people, by our choices, and by shared purpose. And through our global community, our commitment to excellence, and our focus on serving humanity, it e will continue to guide that future. Now, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce our next speaker, the 2026 ILE E President and CEO, Marielleen Randall.

5:23 Good afternoon. My name is Mary Ellen Randall and it is my honor to serve as president and CEO of ITLE E. We have an awesome mission of advancing technology for the benefit of humanity and are the world's largest technical professional organization. For more than a century, ILTE members have helped shape significant technological advances in history, including the creation of the internet, the development of life-saving medical device technologies, semiconductors, and much much more technologies that power modern electronics and computing.

6:14 Alongside these breakthroughs, ILE E has played a critical role in advancing technology education and engagement, inspiring and equipping the minds of tomorrow. As president and CEO, one of my greatest privileges is announcing the highest honor bestowed by ILE E, which is why we are gathered here today as we announce the recipient of the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor. The ILE E Medal of Honor is the pinnacle of recognition and our most prestigious award since 1917. The ILE E Medal of Honor has recognized researchers inventors innovators and educators for making a lasting impact on the modern world.

7:22 I e's Medal of Honor recipients are responsible for today's most prolific technological advances. Recipients boldly envision the new and revolutionary and make possible what was previously considered impossible. Above all, the Medal of Honor recognizes the technology that is poised to drive society forward for the benefit of humanity. With that, I am pleased to announce that the recipient of the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor is Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Wong.

8:20 Mr. Hang's leadership and technical vision have unlocked a new era of human innovation. Upon Nvidia's founding in 1999, Mr. Hang led the development of its first GPU hardware that has driven countless advancements across manufacturing, programming medicine medicine engineering, and entertainment. He has established an infrastructure that supports and uplifts fellow technologists. His contributions have advanced science and medicine, enabled modern generative AI, and are fundamentally transforming the way people work and live. In fact, millions of people every day experience the impact of Mr. Hang's efforts, often without even realizing it. Be it shopping online, conducting research, gaming or consuming content.

9:28 His vision and subsequent development of this powerful technology is emblematic of the prestigious ILE E Medal of Honor. The 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor carries a $2 million prize. one of the largest monetary awards in technology. This recognition underscores the extraordinary impact and global significance. It's both a pleasure and a privilege to have Mr. Hang with us today. We're honored to share this announcement with the world and we look forward to celebrating official with Mr. Hong and our esteemed colleagues on April 24th in New York City.

10:24 Before we welcome Jensen Hong to the stage, here's a short video on the ILE E Medal of Honor. Unveiling what's hidden inside the human body. Connecting the world to endless possibilities. For generations, ILE E members and technologists have led the charge in solving humanity's greatest challenges. Inspiring innovation to advance technology for the good of us all. It is one of the highest callings which is why it is honored with one of the highest distinctions, the ILE E Medal of Honor. Using unmatched mastery in engineering and innovation, recipients emerge with breakthroughs that redefine our future, turning the impossible into the inevitable with extraordinary results to benefit humanity. Achievements so profound, we elevated the recognition.

11:32 Last year, we awarded $2 million to Henry Samueli, whose work in broadband communication and STEM education is reshaping how future generations learn, connect, and build the world ahead. Their breakthroughs have carried us from the unimaginable to the undeniable. Their vision has set the course for generations to come. Today we honor another ILE E leader whose work continues to shape the world. Join us in celebrating the 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor recipient.

12:15 Please welcome to the stage 2026 E Medal of Honor recipient Jensen Hang. Wow, this is an incredible honor, Mary Allen, Sophie. It's a really really incredible honor to receive this. I I went into engineering because it was math heavy and scienceheavy and uh I've always enjoyed solving math problems and science problems. I I didn't think too deeply about about the selection of of the the profession I was really going into. It was really the the challenge of the work and the technical content of the work that attracted me. And I had the good fortune of um not even deciding what university to go to. Uh I chose to go to Oregon State University because it was our our home university. And because of that lack of choice, um I ended up having a lab partner uh who today is my wife and and um we met when we were in sophomore in E fundies and we were lab partners.

13:40 I and I I had the good good wisdom of uh asking her to do homework with me every Sunday. uh which which led to uh several years of dating and and um and and it changed everything. Uh it of course was was the foundation of a a very beautiful family and a happy life and and uh and it gave me the the opportunity to go pursue uh over time endeavors that were greater and greater and more and more ambitious. Uh it's no no engineer could possibly uh imagine that their life would lead ultimately their profession would lead ultimately uh to being one of the founders of Nvidia being the CEO of Nvidia. Uh being the company that that um reinvented computing and led to this industrial revolution that we now recognize as artificial intelligence. It is it is not humanly possible uh to imagine that the company you started uh along with Chris and Curtis in a townhouse would now become the most valuable company in the

14:59 world. That's not that's not a game plan that you can reasonably imagine. It's not reasonable to to um imagine really uh that you would your company would go forward and end up reinventing the most important instrument, the single most important tool of humanity called computers. that that this this endeavor uh this life's work we call NVIDIA would go off and literally transform every single field of science and every industry in the world today. It is not it is not reasonable to imagine that. It is not reasonable to expect that. And yet here we are through the through the the good friendship um of uh of all of the employees of our company. Uh this this award is really a recognition of their of their life's work. You know, ultimately engineering is a field that that uh is about applying principles, first principles in science and math. Uh it is about learning how to solve problems. Um breaking down incredibly challenging

16:20 problems into solvable parts. uh and having the resilience, the the dedication and resilience to go solve uh and make possible what was what was nearly impossible and and this profession is the most noble of all expressed in that way to be the building blocks to be the foundation uh what builds society today and and uh I've had the benefit uh the good fortune of having a loving supporting family that made it possible for me to dedicate my life's work uh at NVIDIA. Um but mostly it it is really the incredible geniuses and the amazing people I get to work with surrounded by some of the finest engineers and scientists and researchers in the world uh to to uh to do everything that we do at NVIDIA. And so uh I'm I'm deeply humbled to receive this award. Uh I've always you know I think of it e often actually you have to think of it e when you think about 802.11 uh you have to think about it e when you

17:30 think about it e 754 uh without i 754 uh frankly we wouldn't have a global standard for how to express floatingoint numbers for computers to understand and that those foundations uh the industrial standards become become the building blocks the fabric by which the computer industry is built and uh the list of IE standards goes on and on and I I won't I won't uh impress you with my my knowledge of it e standards but but but um it is it is an essential uh ingredient an essential contribution to uh the world's technology industries and and um I want to thank the triple e for this incredible honor I want to thank my my wife, my my beautiful lab partner uh for supporting me all these years and and um I want to and for uh raising two amazing kids uh uh who are both in technology today and I'm I'm quite proud that that uh they're working at NVIDIA and um and and so anyways, I thank you for this

18:43 incredible award and I received this on behalf of all the great employees at NVIDIA. Thank you. Uh, thank you Jensen and Mary Allen and for everyone who's joined us this afternoon. If members of the press have any follow-up questions, Mary Ellen and our communications team um are available in the rear of this room. That's all for now. Thanks again for joining e for this very, very special announcement. Thank you.

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "2026 IEEE Medal of Honor: Full Program"?

Jensen Huang (Honoree / main speaker), Sophie Murehead (Host).

What is discussed in "2026 IEEE Medal of Honor: Full Program"?

In order: 0:00 ILE E, CES, Sophie Murehead; 3:00 Mary Ellen Randall, ILE E; 6:00 ILE E, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, Mary Ellen Randall; 9:00 ILE E, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor; 12:00 Jensen Huang, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, Oregon State University.

What is mentioned in this IEEEorg episode?

7 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Jensen Huang, ILE E, 2026 ILE E Medal of Honor, Mary Ellen Randall, Sophie Murehead, CES. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "2026 IEEE Medal of Honor: Full Program"?

The episode runs 20 min; the transcript is about 2,014 words in 18 timestamped sections.

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