Howard Gardner is John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard Graduate School of Education and co-founder and senior director of Project Zero.  He is internationally known for his theory of multiple intelligences, which profoundly transforms the field of education in authentic assessment, teacher development, human potential, and curriculum design and implementation.  His interdisciplinary research program, including Project Zero and the Good Project, has advanced groundbreaking understanding on student creativity and engagement.  His research contributions have been recognized by the MacArthur Prize Fellowship, the John S. Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, and numerous prestigious fellowships and awards.  

This award is given to honor a meritorious contributor to educational research; its purpose is to publicize, motivate, encourage, and suggest models for educational research at its best.

From 1964 through 1973 the award was given jointly with Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) and was known as the AERA-PDK Awards. After 1974 AERA took sole responsibility for making the selection.