Robert K. Merton: Recipient of the 1997 Cooley Mead Award

On August 13, 1997, the Social Psychology Section of the American Sociological Association presented the Cooley-Mead Award to Robert K. Merton. The Cooley-Mead Award is made "in recognition of lifetime research achievements which have made a substantial and lasting contribution to social psychology, particularly from a sociological perspective." Because Professor Merton was unfortunately unable to attend and, therefore, did not present the customary winner's address, the occasion was celebrated with a discussion of his contributions, led by a panel consisting of Guillermina Jasso, Carmi Schooler, and Geoffrey Tootell. The following remarks by Piotr Sztompka, a prominent Merton scholar, continue that discussion by summarizing Merton's life, accomplishments, and intellectual contributions to sociological social psychology.