Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., has been named a “champion of science” by a nonpartisan group that supports federal funding of fundamental scientific research.

The Science Coalition, a nonprofit organization of more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities, said on Wednesday it was bestowing the award on Hassan and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine.

Dartmouth, Brown University (Hassan’s alma mater), and Northeastern University (where she attended law school) had nominated Hassan for the award. A former governor of New Hampshire, Hassan has supported cutting-edge technological innovation, energy and climate research, and STEM education during her Senate tenure. She also participated in an EDGE Consortium summit in Washington in October that Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock helped lead.

President Beilock congratulated Hassan on the award.

“She has been a focused and effective champion for fundamental scientific research, and we at Dartmouth are grateful for her leadership,” Beilock said. “Senator Hassan has an impressive history of bolstering bipartisan legislation to increase funding for nationally and globally impactful research. She has also been a tremendous advocate for the CHIPS and Science Act, and we are proud to have her as an ally for the EDGE Consortium.”

Hassan in a statement said she was “honored to be named a 2024 Champion of Science by The Science Coalition. Supporting scientific research is the reason we have been able to outcompete the rest of the world. It is critical to our democracy, economy, and way of life.”