In recognition of his exceptional body of work in research and theory, the Mensa Foundation, on behalf of the Research Review Committee, is proud to present its 2017 Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Howard Gardner.
Dr. Gardner is the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. A scholar, author and professor, Dr. Gardner’s “critique of the standard psychological view of intellect” — his Theory of Multiple Intelligences — has been cited by fellow researchers nearly 30,000 times. Dr. Gardner also serves as the Senior Director of Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero, an initiative to study and improve education in the arts.
His research has included many aspects related to intelligence. Over the years, Project Zero has maintained a strong research agenda in the arts while gradually expanding to include investigations into the nature of intelligence, understanding, thinking, creativity, cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural thinking, and ethics. Since the middle 1990s, Gardner has also directed The Good Project, a group of initiatives that promotes excellence, engagement, and ethics in education, preparing students to become good workers and good citizens who contribute to the overall well-being of society.
Dr. Gardner’s accolades include MacArthur (1981) and John S. Guggenheim Memorial Foundation (2000) fellowships, and he holds honorary degrees from more than thirty colleges and universities. He recently ranked 5th among top academic influencers in the 2017 Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings, which recognizes scholars who are doing the most to influence educational policy and practice.