DPP was established in 1959. The first elected Chair was Melvin B. Gottlieb, Princeton University. Each year since 1975 the James Clerk Maxwell Prize for Plasma Physics (est. 1975) is presented at the Annual Meeting, along with the Award for Excellence in Plasma Physics Research (est. 1981), and the Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis in Plasma Physics Award (est. 1985 as the Simon Ramo Award). The Nicholson Medal for Humanitarian Service was established in 1994 by DPP and the Forum on Physics and Society, and is presented at an APS meeting annually.