Dalton Conley Becomes First Sociologist to Receive the National Science Board’s Prestigious Alan T. Waterman Award

Washington, DC, May 25, 2005—The National Science Foundation (NSF), the independent federal agency that supports much of the nation’s fundamental research across nearly all fields of science, recognized sociology professor Dalton C. Conley, New York University (NYU), as one of the country’s top young scientists. The 35-year-old Conley received the 30th annual Alan T. Waterman Award, named for NSF’s first director, at a formal, black-tie event, at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, DC. It is the first time a sociologist has received this honor.

The third article in a series highlighting ASA's upcoming 2005 centennial meeting in Philadelphia

“It’s a 19th-century city, and it works!” That is what a delighted British historian said about Philadelphia the first time I showed him around. What’s more, Philadelphia is simultaneously a 18th-, an 19th-, and a 20th-century city, all while becoming a 21st-century city.

At this time 100 years ago . . . Americans worked an average of 57.7 hrs/week, earning $3.75/hr,* and life expectancy was 48.7 years. Mean-while, the American Sociological Society was born, as C.W.A. Veditz, the first ASA secretary, gathered a group to determine “the desirability and feasibility of forming some sort of an organization of sociologists.” (1905)