The National Geographic Society honored six intrepid explorers this week, including two Hubbard Medal winners, an Explorer of the Year, Adventurer of the Year, and two Buffett Award winners. The awards were presented at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C., over the course of the nonprofit society's event-filled Explorers Week (meet the newest explorers).

The Hubbard Medal, named for the first president of the National Geographic Society, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, is often called National Geographic’s highest honor. It is given for lifetime achievement in the fields of research, discovery, and exploration. (Find out more about our explorers and Explorers Week here.)

Winning this year is Meave Leakey, a paleoanthropologist and Nat Geo explorer-in-residence who currently oversees research in