Rumford Medal

The Rumford Medal is an award bestowed by the Royal Society for "outstanding contributions in the field of physics". The award is named in honour of British scientist Sir Benjamin Thompson, Count Rumford, who is noted for his works on thermodynamics and for establishing the Royal Institution. The award was created in 1796 after Thompson transferred £1,000 to the Royal Society in stocks, instructing the latter to grant the awardee the fund's interest as a premium. Thompson was awarded the inaugural award in 1800.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite journal</ref>

The award initially consisted of two medals, one each in silver and gold, struck in the same die.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This was later replaced with a single medal made of silver gilt. The medal is awarded with a cash prize of £2,000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> British painter Robert Smirke created the original design of the medal. The diameter of the medal is 3 inches (7.62 cm). The obverse featured a tripod altar with a flame upon it, circumscribed by a Latin inscription from Lucretius' poem De rerum natura "Noscere quae vis et causa". The reverse had the Latin inscription "Proemium optime merenti ex instituto Benj. a Rumford, S.R.I. Comitis: adjudicatum a Reg. Soc. Lond." surrounded by an ornamental border of leaves.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This design was discontinued in 1863. As of 2024, the obverse of the medal has a portrait of Thompson, surrounded by the Latin inscription "Beniamin Ab Rvmford S. Rom. Imp. Comes Institvit" ("Benjamin Rumford, Count of the Holy Roman Empire, founded this"), with the Roman numeral MDCCXCVI (1796) on the exergue. The reverse has the Latin inscription "Optime In Lvcis Caloqisqve Natvra Exqvirena Merenti Adivdicat Soc: Reg: Lond." ("The Royal Society of London awards this to one outstandingly deserving in investigating the nature of light and heat") inscribed within a wreath of oak and laurel leaves bound with ribbons.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

All citizens or residents of the Commonwealth of Nations or the Republic of Ireland for more than three years are eligible for the medal. Candidates for the medal are selected by the Royal Society Council on the recommendations of the Physical Sciences Awards Committee.<ref name=":3" /> Ten times during the early 19th century, no medals were awarded due to the unavailability of suitable candidates or political considerations of the Royal Society Council.<ref name=":2" /><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Since its inception, the medal has been granted to 108 scientists. It has been awarded to citizens of the United Kingdom sixty-seven times,Template:Efn France fourteen times, Germany seven times,Template:Efn the Netherlands seven times, Sweden four times, the United States thrice, Italy twice, Hungary twice,Template:Efn and once each to citizens of Australia, Belgium, Luxembourg, Mexico and New Zealand. The medal has been awarded to multiple individuals twice: in 1896, to Philipp Lenard and Wilhelm Röntgen and in 1918, to Charles Fabry and Alfred Perot. From 1800 to 2018, the medal was awarded biennially; since then it has been awarded annually. The most recent recipient is British physicist Tony Bell, who received it in 2024. British academic and engineer Polina Bayvel is the only female recipient.<ref name=":4" />

List of recipients

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Year	Portrait	Name	Nationality	Rationale	Notes
1800		Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco American Template:Flagdeco British	"For his various Discoveries respecting Heat and Light"	Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1802	No award
1804	Black-and-white portrait of Sir John Leslie	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Experiments on Heat, published in his Work, entitled an Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Propagation of Heat."	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1806	No award
1808	Portrait of William Murdoch	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his publication of the employment of Gas from Coal, for the purpose of illumination"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1810	Portrait of Étienne-Louis Malus	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his discoveries of certain new Properties of Reflected Light, published in the Second Volume of the Mémoires d'Arcueil"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1812	No award
1814	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Essay on Dew, published in the course of the preceding (1815) year"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1816	Portrait of Sir Humphry Davy	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Papers on Combustion and Flame, published in the last volume of the Philosophical Transactions"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1818	Portrait of Sir David Brewster	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Discoveries relating to the Polarisation of Light"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1820	No award
1822	No award
1824	Black-and-white portrait of Augustin Jean-Fresnel	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his development of the undulatory theory as applied to the phenomena of polarized light, and for his various important discoveries in Physical Optics"	Template:Efn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1826	No award
1828	No award
1830	No award
1832	Portrait of John Frederic Daniell	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his paper, entitled, 'Further Experiments with a new Register Pyrometer, for measuring the Expansion of Solids,' published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1831"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1834	Portrait of Macedonio Melloni	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Parmesan	"For his discoveries relevant to radiant heat"	Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite thesis</ref>
1836	No award
1838	Black-and-white photographic portrait of James David Forbes	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his 'Experiments on the Polarization of Heat,' published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1840	Black-and-white lithographic portrait of Jean-Baptiste Biot	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his researches in, and connected with, the circular Polarization of Light"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1842	Photographic portrait of William Fox Talbot	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his discoveries and improvements in photography"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1844	No award
1846	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Michael Faraday	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his discovery of the Optical Phenomena developed by the action of Magnets and Electric Currents in certain Transparent Media, published in the Philosophical Transactions for 1846"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1848	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Henri Victor Regnault	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his 'Experiments to determine the Laws and the numerical data which enter into the calculation of Steam-EnginesTemplate:' "	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1850	Portrait of François Arago	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his 'Experimental Investigations on Polarized Light,' the concluding memoirs on which were communicated to the Academy of Sciences of Paris during the last two years"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1852	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir George Gabriel Stokes	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his 'Discovery of the Change in the Refrangibility of LightTemplate:' "	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1854	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Dr. Neil Arnott	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For the successful construction of a new smoke-consuming and fuel-saving fire-grate, described in the Journal of the Society of Arts of May 12, 1854"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1856	Photo of Louis Pasteur	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his discovery of the nature of racemic acid, and its relations to polarized light, and for the researches to which he was led by that discovery"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1858	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Jules Jamin	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his various Experimental Researches on Light"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1860	Black-and-white photographic portrait of James Clerk Maxwell	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Researches on the Composition of Colours, and other Optical papers"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1862	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Gustav Kirchhoff	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Prussian	"For his researches on the fixed lines of the solar spectrum, and on the inversion of the bright lines in the spectra of artificial light"	<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>
1864	Black-and-white photographic portrait of John Tyndall, photographed by Lock & Whitfield	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches on the absorption and radiation of heat by gases and vapours"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1866	Black-and-white portrait of Hippolyte Fizeau	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his Optical Researches, and especially for his investigations into the Effect of Heat on the Refractive Power of Transparent Bodies"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1868	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Balfour Stewart	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches on the qualitative as well as quantitative relation between the emissive and absorptive powers of bodies for heat and light, published originally in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and the Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, and now made more generally accessible by the publication in 1866 of his treatise on heat"	<ref name=":0" />
1870	Black-and-white portrait of Alfred Des Cloizeaux	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his researches in Mineralogical Optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1872	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Anders Jonas Angström	Template:Sort	Template:Flagdeco Swedish	"For his Researches on Spectral Analysis"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1874	Black-and-white portrait of Sir Norman Lockyer	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his spectroscopic researches on the sun and on the chemical elements"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1876	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Jules Janssen, photographed by Nadar	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his numerous & important researches in the radiation and absorption of light, carried on chiefly by means of the spectroscope"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1878	Photographic portrait of Marie Alfred Cornu, photographed by Nadar	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his various optical researches, and especially for his recent re-determination of the velocity of propagation of light"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1880	Portrait of Sir William Huggins, created by John Collier	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his important researches in astronomical spectroscopy, and especially for his determination of the radial component of the proper motions of stars"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1882	Black-and-white portrait of Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his Photographic Researches and his discovery of the method of photographing the less refrangible part of the spectrum, especially the infra-red region; also for his Researches on the absorption of various compound bodies in this part of the spectrum"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1884	Black-and-white portrait of Tobias Robertus Thalén	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Swedish	"For his spectroscopic researches"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1886	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Samuel Pierpont Langley	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco American	"For his researches on the spectrum by means of the Bolometer"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1888	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Pietro Tacchini	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Italian	"For important and long-continued investigations, which have largely advanced our knowledge of the physics of the sun"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1890	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Heinrich Hertz	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German	"For his work in electro-magnetic radiation"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1892	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Nils Christoffer Dunér	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Swedish	"For his Spectroscopic Researches on Stars"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1894	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir James Dewar	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches on the properties of matter at extremely low temperatures"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1896	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Philipp Lenard	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Hungarian	"For their investigation of the phenomena produced outside a highly exhausted vacuum tube through which electrical discharge is taking place"	Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Wilhelm Röntgen, photographed by German photographer Nicola Perscheid in 1915	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German
1898	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Oliver Lodge	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches in radiation and in the relations between matter and ether"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1900	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Henri Becquerel	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For his discoveries in radiation proceeding from Uranium"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1902	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Charles Algernon Parsons	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his success in the application of the steam turbine to industrial purposes, and for its recent extension to navigation"	<ref>Template:Cite newspaper The Times</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1904	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Ernest Rutherford	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco New Zealander	"For his researches on radio-activity, particularly for his discovery of the existence and properties of the gaseous emanations from radio-active bodies"	Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1906	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Hugh Longbourne Callender	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his experimental work on heat"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1908	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Hendrik Lorentz	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"On the ground of his investigations in optical and electrical science"	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1910	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German	"For his researches on radiation, especially of long wave-length"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1912	Black-and-white photograph of Heike Kamerlingh Onnes	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his researches at low temperatures"	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1914	Black-and-white photographic portrait of John William Strutt	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his numerous researches in optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1916	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir William Henry Bragg	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches in X-ray radiation"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1918	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Charles Fabry	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco French	"For their contributions to optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Alfred Perot	Template:Sortname
1920	Black-and-white photograph of Robert John Strutt with his son	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches into the properties of gases at high vacua"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1922	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Pieter Zeeman	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his researches in optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1924	Portrait of Sir Charles Vernon Boys by John Collier	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his invention of the gas calorimeter"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1926	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Arthur Schuster	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German Template:Flagdeco British	"For his services to physical science, especially in the subjects of optics and terrestrial magnetism"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1928	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Friedrich Paschen	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German	"For his contributions to the knowledge of spectra"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1930	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Peter Debye	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his work relating to specific heats and X-ray spectroscopy"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1932	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Fritz Haber	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German	"For the outstanding importance of his work in physical chemistry, especially in the application of thermodynamics to chemical reactions"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1934	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Wander Johannes de Haas	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his researches on the properties of bodies at low temperatures, and in particular, for his recent work on cooling by the use of adiabatic demagnetisation"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1936	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his researches on the use of polarized light for investigating directly the stresses in transparent models of engineering structures"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1938	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Robert W. Wood	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco American	"In recognition of his distinguished work and discoveries in many branches of physical optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1940	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Manne Siegbahn	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Swedish	"For his pioneer work in high precision X-ray spectroscopy and its applications"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1942	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his outstanding work on the physics of the upper air and its application to meteorology"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1944	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Harry Ricardo	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his important contributions to research on the internal combustion engine, which have greatly influenced the development of the various types"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1946	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his leading part in the application of modern physical chemistry to many technological problems of pressing importance"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1948	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Francis Simon	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his outstanding contributions to the attainment of low temperatures and to the study of the properties of substances at temperatures near the absolute zero"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1950	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Sir Frank Whittle	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his pioneering contributions to the jet propulsion of aircraft"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1952	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Frits Zernike	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his outstanding work in the development of phase-contrast microscopy"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1954	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his distinguished contributions to the technique for the production of high vacua and to the development of the reflecting microscope"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1956	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Australian	"For his distinguished work on the nature of friction"	Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1958	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his distinguished researches in spectroscopy and optics"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1960	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Alfred Gordon Gaydon	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his distinguished work in the field of molecular spectroscopy and particularly its application to the study of flame phenomena"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1962	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his distinguished contributions to chemical engineering"	<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1964	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Hendrik van de Hulst	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Dutch	"For his distinguished work on the scattering processes in the interplanetary medium and his prediction of the 21 cm spectral line from interstellar neutral hydrogen"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1966	Black-and-white photographic portrait of William Penney	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his distinguished and paramount personal contribution to the establishment of economic nuclear energy in Great Britain"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1968	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Dennis Gabor	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Hungarian Template:Flagdeco British	"For his contributions to optics, especially by establishing the principles of holography"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1970	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his outstanding contributions to engineering and of his leadership of engineering design teams in the chemical and atomic energy industries and in electricity generation"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1972	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to meteorology, particularly the physics of clouds"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1974	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his contributions to physical metallurgy and particularly in extending knowledge of the role of dislocation in the fracture of metals"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1976	Black-and-white photograph of Viscount Ilya Prigogine	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Belgian	"In recognition of his distinguished contributions to the theory of irreversible thermodynamics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1978	Black-and-white photographic portrait of George Porter	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his distinguished studies of very fast chemical reactions by flash photolysis"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1980	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his discovery of the quantum of circulation in superfluid helium and his development of new techniques for precise measurements within liquid helium"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1982	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his unique contribution to the design of optical instruments ranging from large telescopes to bubble-chamber optics"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1984	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his many contributions to the theory and design of optical instruments, especially of a wide variety of important new medical instruments which have made a major contribution to clinical diagnosis and surgery"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1986	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his contributions to scientific developments in the gas industry"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1988	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Czech Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his pioneering work on optical diagnostics and electrical aspects of combustion and his fundamental studies of flame problems associated with jet engines and furnaces"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1990	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German	"For discovering and applying techniques for depositing and characterising thin films of high quality amorphous silicon and for demonstrating that these can be doped to give useful electronic devices, such as cost-effective solar cells and large arrays of thin film transistors, now used in commercial, flat-panel, LCD colour TV screens"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1992	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his wide-ranging and imaginative contributions to applied mathematics and statistical physics, especially in the physical properties of liquids and the development of the Temperley-Lieb algebra"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1994	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his contributions to polymer science, in particular his elucidation of the basis of polymeric crystallization, a fundamental ingredient in many materials, to methods of making strong fibres and to the understanding of polymer solutions which underlie this technology"	<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
1996	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his work on the 40Ar/39Ar method of dating developing this technique to a sophisticated level and one which is widely used for dating extraterrestrial and terrestrial rocks"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1998	Photographic portrait of Sir Richard Friend	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his leading research in the development of polymer-based electronics and optoelectronics leading to a very rapid growth of development activities aimed at plastic electronic displays, with advantages of very low cost, flexibility, and the option of curved or flat surfaces"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1" />
2000	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his research on ultra-short pulse laser science and technology."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2002	Photographic portrait of Sir David King	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco South African Template:Flagdeco British	"For outstanding contributions to our fundamental understanding of the structure and dynamics of reaction processes on solid surfaces"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"In recognition of his many contributions to molecular spectroscopy and to the dynamics of molecular photodissociation"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>
2006	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Luxembourger	"For his pioneering work on molten salts and dense plasmas that has led the way to a quantitative understanding of the structure and dynamics of strongly correlated ionic liquids"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2008	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his extensive and highly innovative work in ultra-cold matter"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2010	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his outstanding work into novel types of quantum matter using innovative instrumentation and techniques"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2012	Photographic portrait of J. Roy Taylor	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his outstanding contributions to tunable ultrafast lasers and nonlinear fibre optics, including fibre Raman, soliton and supercontinuum laser sources, which translated fundamental discoveries to practical technology"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2014	Black-and-white photographic portrait of Jeremy Baumberg	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his outstanding creativity in nanophotonics, investigating many ingenious nanostructures, both artificial and natural to support novel plasmonic phenomena relevant to Raman spectroscopy, solar cell performance and meta-materials applications."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2016	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco German Template:Flagdeco British	"For his pioneering work in active nano-plasmonics and optical metamaterials with quantum gain."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018	—	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For pioneering work in the quantum control of light and matter on ultrashort timescales, especially the invention and application of new techniques for characterization of quantum and classical light fields."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019	Photographic portrait of Miles John Padgett	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For world leading research on optical orbital momentum including an angular form of the Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen"	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2020	Photographic portrait of Patrick Gill	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his development of optical atomic clocks of exquisite precision, of ultra-stable lasers and of frequency standards for fundamental physics, quantum information processing, space science, satellite navigation and Earth observation."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2021	Photograph of Carlos Frenk	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco Mexican Template:Flagdeco British	"For revealing via elaborate computer simulations, how small fluctuations in the early universe develop into today’s galaxies."	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2022	Photograph of Raymond Pierrehumbert	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco American	"For his wide-ranging contributions to atmospheric physics, employing fundamental principles of physics to elucidate phenomena across the spectrum of planetary atmospheres."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023	Photographic portrait of Polina Bayvel	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For pioneering contributions to the fundamental physics and nonlinear optics, enabling the realisation of high capacity, broad bandwidth, multi-wavelength, optical communication systems that have underpinned the information technology revolution."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2024	Image of Tony Bell	Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For his seminal contributions to theoretical developments of cosmic ray acceleration and origins."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2025		Template:Sortname	Template:Flagdeco British	"For contributions to relativistic astrophysics, the detection of gravitational radiation and education."	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

• Awards, lectures and medals of the Royal Society
• List of physics awards

External links

• Template:Commons-inline