these are just amazing moment wes love to get to all watch in awe at the white house. this is the medal of freedom ceremony that will begin any moment now where as we keep mentioning these are -- this is the highest award for a civilian in this country. president obama, it's a packed house, awarding 21 architects and scientists, musicians, 5th leets the nation's highest civilian honor. among this megalist you have hollywood hot shots robert de niro and top hanks, nba all stars michael jordan and kareem abdul-jabbar, and legendary entertainers like diana ross and bruce springsteen. cnn's susanne malveaux gets to be there. how many of the people on the list will be there to receive the award?

>> reporter: it's packed inside the east room and everyone is here. we've seep some people already take their seats but most of them are going to make the procession in just a few minutes and we are talking about superstars. you can't believe the number of press and people and guests -- the excitement is palpable. s ellen degeneres is being honored. she couldn't make it into the white house because she didn't have her i.d. so she tweeted out a photo waiting until somebody gotten a i.d. and she was able to come in. but security as you can imagine is pretty tight, it always is here at the white house. but then she went back to the reception room and did a mannequin challenge with all the other honorees and they posted that on twitter so you can imagine there's a lot of fun people are having. but we've -- philanthropists bill and melinda gaits, sici ze

cecily tyson, kareem abdul-jabbar, michael jordan. then we saw "snl" creator lorne michaels who was here. we'll try to get a question to see how he's feeling about trump and twitter and the political season and how that's been playing out. also as well los angeles dodgers broadcast earver vin scully is . just giants in their fields of the profession. it used to be back in the day, brooke, when i was covering bill clinton that they set up a big tent on the south lawn and i remember them honoring muhammad ali and liz taylor and that was outside but this is a smaller venue and 21 people, it's a big number. it's not usually the number of honorees but president obama more than any other president has decided he was going to

bestow this on people who represent our country and have achieved that extraordinarily high level so it's just an exciting time to be here and to hear what some of the best in the business. and their families are here, too. we see tom hank's son sitting. we see ellen's wife portia who is about three rows in and just luminaries from the administration as well. attorney general loretta lynch and she's by the side of secretary of state john kerry, susan rice, professor henry louis gates is in the front row. a dynamic group of people rubbing elbows and taking a pause just to celebrate some extraordinary people we have in our country. >> i'll let you take a breath, phenomenal color from you and to think ellen degeneres couldn't get her in because she left her

i.d. at home just makes her all the more human and looks like she got in. you eluded to this when you mentioned lorne michaels. when we see these faces pass across the screen, they didn't keep secret their feelings about this past administration. i think robert de niro for one in that video and what he said about punching trump. it's interesting, there are political leanings and they're all there together today. >> well it's a great point, brooke, because we did look at the list and we did digging just to see and i would say half the group certainly were very vocal in the campaign about their inner criticism of president-elect trump and we did hear de niro say -- he called trump a pig, a dog, said he wanted to punch him in the face, ellen called him a bully an even the boss got in, call him a toxic narcissist. so these are not necessarily

trump fans but trump is probably not fans of -- these are not his fans and he's not a fan of them, either. as you know lorne michaels and the big twitter battle he's having over alec baldwin's impression of him on "snl," they are going back and forth. kareem abdul-jabbar, we saw him at the dnc and they have a spat going on. kareem abdul-jabbar wrote an op-ed very critical of trump and trump returned the favor by literally printing out the op-ed and writing -- handwriting on top of it and sending it to jabbar saying that he didn't know anything about making america great and so they have an ongoing political spat themselves so there's a bit of that underlying political dynamic but when it's said and done -- we're getting a hush because i think it's about to begin -- people are taking the moment just to honor and

celebrate the diversity and achievements here, we're also talking about architecture and science and software, people whose names you might not have heard of but certainly are part of the mix as well getting very quiet here. >> suzanne, hasn't the president broken the record on the number of presidential medal of freedom recipients? >> he has. he has. and the truth is, brooke, he doesn't have to -- there is no limit to how many people he can award and it was earlier today at the press briefing we asked josh earnest, the press secretary, why 21 more because it wasn't long ago he was honoring people here at the white house. and he said "we looked at the list of luminaries who had not gotten this distinction and we knew we had to do it again." so here we are in the east room with just an incredible group of people being honored. >> we see the picture, we will take a quick break, suzanne

malveaux, you're phenomenal. quick break, we'll be right back to watch the presidential medal of freedom ceremony from the east room.

>> here we go, we'll take you to the east room of the white house and you'll see this one after another outstanding recipient of of the presidential medal of freedom. >> accepting on behalf of louis covel. [ applause ] ellen degeneres. [ applause ] robert de niro. [ applause ] richard berwyn.

bill and melinda gates. [ applause ] frank gary. [ applause ] margaret helmeton. [ applause ] tom hanks. [ applause ] debra marie accepting on behalf of grace hopper. [ applause [ applause ] michael jackson. [ applause ]

maya lin. [ applause ] lorne michaels. [ applause [ applause ] newt minot. eduardo padron. robert redford. [ applause ] diana ross. [ applause ] vin scully. [ applause ]

bruce springsteen. [ applause ] cecily tyson. [ applause ]

ladies and gentlemen, the vice president of the united states. >> ladies and gentlemen the president of the united states. and mrs. michelle obama. [ applause ]

>> thank you so much. thank you, everybody, please have a seat. we've got some work to do here. [ laughter ] this is not all fun and games. welcome to the white house, everybody. today we celebrate extraordinary americans who have lifted our spirits, strengthened our union, pushed us towards progress. i always love doing this event but this is a particularly impressive class. [ laughter ] we've got innovators and artists, public servants,

rabble-rousers. [ laughter ] athletes, renown character actors like the guy from "space jam." [ laughter ] [ applause ] we pay tribute to those distinguished individuals with our nation's highest civilian honor, the presidential medal of freedom. now, let me tell you a little bit about each of them. first we came close to missing out on a bill and melinda gates incredible partnership because bill's opening line was "do you want to go out two weeks from this coming saturday?" [ laughter ]

[ laughter ] he's good with computers but -- fortunately melinda believes in second chances and the world is better for it. for two decades, the gates foundation has worked to provide life saving medical care to millions. boosting clean water supplies, improving education for our children rallying aggressive international action on climate change. cutting childhood mortality in half. these two have donated more money to charitable causes than anyone ever. many years ago, melinda's mom told her an old saying, to no even one life has breathed easier because you lived, that is success. few in human history have been more successful than these two impatient optimists.

frank geary has never let popular impulse defy convention. "i was an outsider from the beginning" he says "so for better or worse i thrived on it." the child of poor jewish immigrants in los angeles and he embraced the city defined by an open horizon he rethought shapes and mediums, seemingly the force of gravity itself. the idea of what architecture could be he decided to upend every material available from titanium to paper towel tubes. he's inspiring our next generation through his advocacy for arts education in our sch l schools from the guggenheim to chicago's millennium park to his home in santa monica which i

understand caused korns nation among his neighbors -- [ laughter ] -- frank teaches us that buildings can soar and broaden our horizons. when an undergraduate from rural appalachia set foot on the national mall many years ago she was trying to figure out a way to show war is not just a victory or loss but about individual lives. she considered how the landscape might shape that message rather than the other way around. the project maya lin designed for her college class earned her a b plus. [ laughter ] and a permanent place in american history. [ laughter ] so all of you b plus students out there -- [ laughter ] . the vietnam veterans memorial has changed the way we think about monuments but also about how we think about sacrifice.

and patriotism and ourselves. maya's sculptures, chapters homes are physical acts of poetry reminding us that the most important element of art or architecture is human emotion. three minutes before armstrong and aldrin touched down on the moon, "apollo" 11's lunar lander alarms triggered. red and yellow lights across the board. our astronauts didn't have much time, but thankfully they had margaret hamilton, a young m.i.t. scientist and a working mom in the '60s, margaret led the team that created the on-board flight software that allowed the eagle to land safely. keep in mind at this time software engineering wasn't a field yet. there were no textbooks to follow so, as margaret says, there was no choice but to be

pioneers. luckily for us, margaret never stopped pioneering and she symbolizes that generation of unsung women who send into space. this speaks of the spirit of american discovery that exists in every little girl and boy who know that somehow to look beyond the hef vans is to look deep within ourselves and figure out what is possible. if right is flight and edison is light then hopper is code. born in 1906, rear admiral grace murray hopper followed her mother into mathematic, earned her ph.d. from yale and set out on a long and storied career. at age 37 and a full 15-pounds below military guidelines -- [ laughter ] -- >> the gutsy and colorful grace joined the navy and was sent to

work on one of the first computers harvard's mark 1. she saw beyond the boundaries of the possible and invented the first compiler which allowed programs to be written in regular language and translated for computers to understand. while the women who pioneered software were often overlooked, the most prestigious award for young scientists bear her name. from cell phones to cyber command we can thank grace hopper for opening programming to millions more people, helping to usher in the information age and profoundly shaping our digital world. speaking of really smart people -- [ laughter ] --? the summer of 1950, a young university of chicago physicist found himself at los alamos national laboratory. dick garwin was there because the faculty was paid for nine

months but his family eight for 12. he created the hydrogen bomb and then for the rest of his life dedicated himself to reducing the threat of nuclear war. ever since dick was a cleveland kid tinkering with his father's movie projectors, he never met a problem he didn't want to solve. reconnaissance satellites, the mri, gps technology the touch screen all bear his fingerprints. he patented a mussel washer for shellfish which that i haven't used. the other stuff i have. [ laughter ] s where he? [ laughter ] dick has advised nearly every president since eisenhower, often rather bluntly, enrico fermi is said to have called

dick the only genius he's ever met. i do want to see this mussel washer. [ laughter ] along with these scientists, artists, a and thinkers we honor those who shaped our culture from stage and screen. in her long and extraordinary career cicely tyson has not only succeeded as an actor, she shaped the course of history. cicely was never the likeliest of hollywood stars, the daughter of immigrants from the west indies she was raised by a hard-working and religious mother who cleaned houses and forbade her children to attend the movies. but once she got her education and broke into the business, cicely made a conscious decision not just to say lines but to speak out. "i would not accept roles" she said "unless they projected us, particularly women, in a realistic light and dealt with us as human beings. and from "sounder" to "the trip to bountiful" to "the out biography of miss jane pitman"

cicely's convictions and grace have helped for us to see the dignity of every single beautiful member of the american family. and she's just gorgeous. [ laughter and applause ] in 1973 a critic wrote of robert de niro, "this kid doesn't just act, he takes off into the vapors." and it was true, his characters are iconic. a sicilian father turned new york mobster, a mobster who runs a casino, a mobster who needs therapy. [ laughter ] a father in law scarier than a mobster, al capone, a mobster. [ laughter ] . robert combines dramatic precision and it turns out

comedic timing with his signature eye for detail. while the name de niro is man? mouse with tough guy, he brings sensitivity to his roles. he didn't stop at becoming one of the world's great actors, he's a director, a philanthropist, co-founder of the tribeca film festival. of his tireless preparation from learning the saxophone to remaking his body, he once said "i feel i have to earn the right to play a part. and the result is honest and authentic art that reveals who we really are. in 1976 lorne michaels implored the beatles to reunite on his brand new show. [ laughter ] in exchange he offered them $3,000. [ laughter ] then he told them they could share it equally or they could give ringo a smaller cut.

[ laughter ] which was early proof that lorne michaels has a good sense of humo humor. on "saturday night live" he's created a world where a band of no names become the biggest stars, where our friends the cone heads and cheerleaders and land sharks and basement deadbeats and motivational speakers and an unfrozen caveman lawyer show up and tom hanks is on "black jeopardy." [ laughter and applause ] after four decades even in this fractured media culture we've got "snl" remains appointment viewing, a mainland into not just our counter culture but our culture. still a challenge to the powerful, especially folks like me yet after all these years

lorne jokes his tombstone should bear a single word often found in the show's reviews "uneven." [ laughter ] [ laughter ] as a current u.s. senator would say "doggone it, lorne, that's why people like you." [ laughter ] he's produced a senator, too. that's impressive. ellen degeneres has a way of making you laugh about something rather than at someone. except when i danced on her show. she laughed at me. b it's hard to understand now on this day and age how much

courage was required for ellen to come out on stage 20 years ago. just how important it was not just to the willing bth community but to all of us, to see somebody so full of kindness and light, somebody we liked so much who could be our neighbor or colleague or sister challenge our own assumptions, remind us that we have more in common than we realize, push our country in the direction of justice. what an incredible burden that was to bear. to risk your career like that. people don't do that very often. then to have the hopes of millions on your shoulders. but it's like ellen says, "we all want a tortilla chip that can support the weight of guacamole." [ laughter ] which really makes no sense to me. [ laughter ] but i thought that would break the mood because i was getting kind of choked up.

[ laughter ] and she did pay a price. we don't remember this. i hadn't remembered that. she did. for a pretty long stretch of time. even in hollywood. and yet today, everyday, in each way, ellen counters what too often divides us with the countless things that bind us together, inspired us to be better, one joke, one dance at a time. when the candidate wins his race in the iconic 1972 film of the same name which continues, by the way, for those of you who haven't seen it -- and many of you are too young to be perhaps the best movie about what politics is actually like ever. he famously asks his campaign

manager, the reflective and revealing question "what do we do now?" [ laughter ] and like the man he played in that movie, robert redford has figured it out. and applied his talent and charm to achieve success. we admire bob not just for his remarkable acting but for having figured out what to do next. he created a platform for independent filmmakers with the sun dance institute. he has supported our national parks and national resources as one of the foremost conservationists of our generation. he's given his unmatched charisma to unforgettable characters like roy hobbs, nathan muir and of course the sun dance kid, entertaining us for more than half a century. as an actor, director, producer and as an advocate he has not stopped and apparently drives so fast he had breakfast in napa and dinner salt lake. [ laughter ] at 80 years young, robert

redford has no plans to slow down. according to a recent headline, the movie "sully" was the last straw, we should never travel with tom hanks. [ laughter ] think about it, you have pirates, plane crashes, marooned, airport purgatory, volcanos, something happens with tom hanks. and yet somehow we can't resist going where he wants to take us. he's been an accidental witness to history, a crusty woman's baseball manager, an everyman who fell in love with meg ryan three times. [ laughter ] made it seem natural to have a volleyball as your best friend. [ laughter ] from a philadelphia courtroom to normandy's beachheads to the dark side of the moon, he has introduced us to america's unassuming heroes.

tom says he just saw ordinary guys who did the right thing at the right time. well, it takes one to know one. and america's dad has stood up to cancer with his beloved wife rita, he's championed our veterans, supported space exploration, and the truth, is tom has always saved his best roles for real life. he is a good man. which is the best title you can have. so we've got innovatorinnovator entertainers, three more folks who've dedicated themselves to public service. in the early 1960s, thousands of cuban children fled to america seeking an education they'd never get back home. and one refugee was a 15-year-old named eduardo padron whose life changed when he enrolled at miami-dade college. that decision led to a bachelor's degree, then a master's degree, then a ph.d. then he had a choice. he could go to corporate america or give back to his alma mater and eduardo made his choice to

create more stories just like his. as miami-dade's president since 1995 dr. padron has built a dream factory for one of our nation's most diverse student bodies. 165,000 students in all. he is one of the world's preeminent education leaders, thinking out of the box, supporting students throughout their lives, embodying the belief that we're only as great as the doors we open. eduardo's example is one we can all follow -- a champion of those who strive for this same american dream that first drew him to our shores. when elouise cobell filed a lawsuit for recover land and money for her people, she didn't set out to be a hero, she said "i just wanted to give justice to people that didn't have it." and her life long quest to address the mismanagement of american indian lands,

resources, trust funds, wasn't about special treatment but the equal treatment at the heart of the american promise. she fought for almost 15 years across three presidents, seven trials, 10 appearances before a federal appeals court. all the while she traveled the country some 40 weeks a year telling the story of her people. and in the end, this graduate of a room-room schoolhouse became a mcarthur genius. she was a proud daughter of montana's blackfeet nation, reached ultimately a historic victory for all native americans through sheer force of will and a believe the truth will win out. elouise cobell believed what was worth fighting for was worth it. every media critic in the room knows the phrase newt minow coined, the vast waste land.

but the two words he prefers we remember from his speech to the nation's broadcasters are these -- public interest. that's been the heart beat of his life's work, advocating for residents of public housing, advising a governor and supreme court justice, cementing presidential debates as our national institution, leading the fcc. when newt helped launch the first communications satellites, making nationwide broadcasts possible and eventually gps possible and cell phones possible he predicted it would be more important than the moon landing. "this will launch ideas into space" he said. and ideas last longer than people. as far as i know, he's the only one of today's honorees who was present on my first date with michelle. [ laughter ] imagine our surprise when we saw newt, one of our bosses that summer, at the movie theater. [ laughter ] it was "do the right thing."

so he's also been vital to my personal interests. [ laughter ] and finally we honor five of the all-time greats in sports and music. the game of baseball has a handful of signature sounds. you hear the crack of the bat. you have to crowd singing in the seventh inning stretch. and you have the voice of vin scully most fans listen when they can't be at the ballpark. generations of dodgers fans brought their radio into the stans because you didn't want to miss one of vin's stories. most play by play announcers partners with an analyst in the booth to chat about the action. vin worked alone since jackie robinson started at second base, vin taught us the game and introduced us to its players, he

narrate it had improbable years, the impossible heroics, turned contests into conversations. with when he heard about this honor he asked with characteristic humility "are you sure? i'm just an old baseball announcer." and we had to to americans of all ages you are an old friend. in fact i thought about him doing all these citations, which would have been very cool. [ laughter ] i thought we shouldn't make him sing for his supper like that. [ laughter ] [ as vin scully ] "up next --" [ laughter and applause ] here's how great kareem abdul-jabbar was. 1967 he had spent a year

dominating college basketball, the ncaa bans the dunk. they didn't say it was about kareem, but it was about kareem. [ laughter ] when a sport changes its rules to make it harder just for you, you are really good. [ laughter ] [ applause ] and yet despite the rule change, he was still the sport's most unstoppable force. it's a title he'd hold for more than two decades, winning nba finals mvps a staggering 14 years apart. bless you. and as a surprisingly similar-looking co-pilot, roger murdoch once said in the movie airplane -- i mean, we've got great actors here. "space jam," "airplane."

[ laughter [ laughter ] he did it all while dragging walton and lanier up and down the court for 48 minutes. but the reason we honor kareem is more than just a pair of goggles and the sky hook. he stood up for his muslim faith when it wasn't easy and it wasn't popular. he's as comfortable sparring with bruce lee as he is advoc e advocating on capitol hill or writing with extraordinary eloquence about patriotism. physically, intellectually, spiritually, kareem is one of a kind, an american who illuminates our most basic freedoms and our highest aspirations. when he was five years old, michael jordan nearly cut off his big toe with an ax. [ laughter ] back then his hand holds needed a little work. but think, if things had gone differently, air jordans might

never have taken flight. [ laughter ] i mean, you don't want to buy a shoe with, like, one toe missing. [ laughter ] we may never have seen him switch hands in midair against the lakers or drop 63 in the garden or gut it out in the flu game or hit the shot three different times over georgetown, over russell. we might not have seen him take on larry bird in horse. or lift up the sport globally along with the dream team. yet mj is still more than those moments, more than just the best player on the two greatest teams of all time, the dream team and the 1996 chicago bulls. [ laughter ] he's more than just a logo, more than just an internet meme. [ laughter ] he's more than just a charitable

donor or business owner committed to diversity. there is a reason you call somebody the michael jackson of. michael jackson of neurosurgery. the michael jackson of rabbis. [ laughter ] the michael jackson of out rigger canoeing. they know what you're talking about. because michael jackson is the michael jackson of greatness. he is the definition of somebody so good at what they do that everybody recognizes him. that's pretty rare. as a child, diana ross loved singing and dancing for family friends, but not for free. [ laughter ] she was smart enough to pass the hat. and later in detroit's brewster housing projects she met mary wilson and florence ballard. their neighbor smokey robinson put them in front of barry gordy

and the rest was magic. music history. the supremes earned a permanent place in the american sound track. along with her honeyed voice, her soulful sensibility, diana exuded glamour and grace and filled stages that helped to shape the sound of motown. on top of becoming one of the most successful recording artists of all time, raised five kids, somehow found time to earn an oscar nomination for acting. today from the hip-hop that samples her to the young singers who've been inspired by her, to the audiences that still cannot get enough of her, diana ross' influence is as inescapable as ever. he was sprung from a cage out on highway 9. [ laughter ] quiet kid from jersey. just trying to make sense of the

temples of dreams and the mystery that dotted his hometown, pool halls, bars, girls, and cars, altars and assembly lines. and for decades, bruce springsteen has brought us all along on a journey consumed with the bargains between ambition and injustice and pleasure and pain, the simple glor reis and scattered heart break of everyday life in america. to create one of his biggest hits he once said "i wanted to craft a record that sounded like the last record on earth. the last one you'd ever need to hear. one glorious nice, then the apocalypse." every restless kid in america was given a story "born to run." he didn't stop there. once he told us about himself, he told us about everybody else. steelworker in youngtown, the vietnam vet in "born to run -- born in the usa." the sick and marginalized on

"the streets of philadelphia." the firefighter carrying the weight of a resilient nation on the rising. the young soldier reckoning with devils and dust in iraq. the communities knocked down by recklessness and greed in "the wrecking ball." all of us with our faults and our failings, every color and class and creed bound together by one defiant restless train rolling toward the land of hope and dreams. these are all anthems of our america, the reality of who we are and the reverie of who we want to be. the hallmark of a rock 'n roll band, bruce springsteen once said, is that the narrative you tell together is bigger than anyone could have told on your own. and for decades alongside the big man, little steven, a jersey girl named patti and all the men and women of the e street band, bruce springsteen has been carrying the rest of us on his journey, asking us all what is

the work for us to do in our short time here? i am the president, he is the boss. [ laughter ] pushing 70, he's still laying down four-hour live sets. if you have not been at them, he is working. fire-breathing rock 'n roll. so i thought twice about giving him a medal named for freedom because we hope he remains in his words a prisoner of rock 'n roll for years to come. so i told you this is like a really good class. [ laughter ] ladies and gentlemen, i want you all to give it up for the recipients of the 2016 presidential medal of freedom. [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ] we've got a good group group.

now we've got to actually give them medals so please be patient. we are going to have my military aide rethe citations. each one of them will come up and receive the medals and we'll wrap up the program. >> kareem abdul-jabbar. >> this one is going to be tough. [ laughter ] [ laughter ] >> an iconic basketball player who revolutionized the sport with his all-around play and signature sky hook, kareem abdul-jabbar is a 19-time all

star, a six-time world champion, and the leading scorer in nba history. adding to his achievements on the court, he also left hiss mark off of it, advocating for civil rights, cancer research, science education and social justice. in doing so, kareem abdul-jabbar leaves a towering legacy of compassion, faith, and it was so others, a legacy based not only on the strength and grace of his athleticism but on the sharpness of his mind and the size of his heart. [ applause [ cheers and applause ]

kirk cobell, accepting on behalf of his mother, lel ourk-- elois cobell, yellow bird woman. a member of the black feet nation, she defied the odds and worked on behalf of her people. as a young woman, she was told she wasn't capable of understanding accounting, so she mastered the field and used her expertise to champion a lawsuit whose historic settlement has helped restore tribal homelands to her beloved black feet nation and many other tribes. today her tenacious and unwaivering spirit lives on in the thousands of people and hundreds of tribes for whom she fought and in all those she taught to believe it is never too late to right the wrongs of the past and help shape a better future. [ applause ]

ellen degeneres. [ applause ] [ clapping continues ] [ laughter ] in a career spanning three decades, ellen degeneres haas lifted our spirits and brought joy to our lives as a standup comic, actor and television star. in every role, she reminds us to be kind to one another and to treat people as each of us wants to be treated. at a pivotal moment, her courage and candor helped change the hearts and minds of millions of americans, accelerating our nation's constant drive toward equality and acceptance for all. again and again, ellen degeneres has shown us that a single individual can make the world a more fun, more open, more loving place so long as we just keep

swimming. [ applause ] [ applause ] robert dinero. [ applause ] for over 50 years he has delive everied one of the most gifted actors in the generation and from the god father part two and deer hunter to midnight run and heat, the work is legendary for the range and depth. committed to the craft, de niro

reflects the heart of the human experience regardless of genre or era, he continues to demonstrate the extraordinary scale that's made him one of the most influential artists. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> richard l.garwin. [ applause ] >> one of the most renowned scientific minds of our time. dr. garwin has answered the call to answer problems. had he has the work in defense and technologies with leadership

that underscores the urgency to control the spread of nuclear arms. with the advice dating to president iz hower, the research and his inventions that power technologies that drive our modern world, richard garwin has contributed to the quality of life for people all over the world. >> william h. gates and melinda

gates. [ applause ] >> few people have had the profound impact of bill and milinda gates. they have demonstrated how the most capable and fortunate among us have to responsibility to use the resources to tackle. to helping woman and girls to lift out of poverty, they have transformed lives with the generousty and they continue to inspire us with the impatient optimism that together we can make the world as it should be. [ applause ] [ applause ]

frank gehry. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> never limited by the conventional materials, styles or processes, franks bold and thoughtful structures demonstrate the power to reduce, wonder and revitalize communities. a creative mind from an early age, he created with homes and cities with scrap material from his grandfather's hardware home. he results in some of the 20th century iconic buildings. from the use of technology to the dozens of all inspiring sites that deliver his style to

public service as a citizen artist through his work with the turn around artist, thank has a scholar of american innovation. [ applause ] >> margaret hamilton. [ applause ] [ applause ] a pioneer in technology, margaret hamilton defined new forms of software engineering. her software architecture lead to giant leads for human kind and helping americans set foot on the moon.

she broke barriers with her software businesses and inspiring countless woman to participate in stem field. her love of innovation and exploration, are the source code of the american spirit and she has thought those to reach for the stars. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> thomas j. hanks. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> throughout a distinguished film kreerks he has revealed the

character of america through his own and portraying war heros, a ship cartoon, a cartoon cowboy, a young man growing up too fast and dozen of others, he has allowed us to see ourself as we are and not. he has honored the sacrifice of those that served the nation, called on us all to think big and believe and inspired a new generation of young people to reach for the sky! [ applause ] [ applause ] >> deborah murray expecting on behalf of o her grant aunt grace

murray hopper. [ applause ] >> as a child that loved to disarm alarm clocks she had a ph.d in math mematics from yale and served in the navy and becoming one of the first programmers and known as the queen of code, she worked to help the coding language more practical and accessible. she convicted the first translator and a fundamental element of our now world. amazing grace was committed to making the computer language more fundamentally. today we honor her and the sense of responsibility and the sense of young people. [ applause ] [ applause ]

>> michael j. jordan. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> powered by a drive to compete that earned him every major award in basketball and six nb aa championship, five valuable player, michael jordan has a name that's a synonym for excellence. the wagging tongue redefine the game and making him a global super star that transcended basketball and shaped the broader culture. from the courts in wilmington,

his life has inspired millions of americans to strive to be like mike. [ applause ] [ applause ]