On November 10, President Obama announced the nineteen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Included among them was economist Robert Solow, the Russell Sage Foundation’s Robert K. Merton Scholar and Institute Professor Emeritus at MIT.

“Robert Solow is one of the most widely respected economists of the past 60 years,” the White House said of the scholar, who received the Nobel Prize in economics in 1987. “His research in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s transformed the field, laying the groundwork for much of modern economics. He continues to influence policymakers, demonstrating how smart investments, especially in new technology, can build broad-based prosperity, and he continues to actively participate in contemporary debates about inequality and economic growth.”

With Alan Blinder and Andrew Lo, Solow co-edited the 2012 RSF book Rethinking the Financial Crisis, in which renowned economists share their assessments of the 2008 crisis and reconsider the way we think about the financial system and its role in the economy. He continues to write regularly for the New Republic, among other publications.

The nineteen recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom will be presented with the award in a ceremony at the White House on November 24th, 2014. Click here to see complete list of winners and read the White House’s press release.