Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE FRS
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell DBE FRS was awarded the 2015 Royal Medal for her pivotal contribution in observing, analysing and understanding pulsars, one of the most important astronomical discoveries of the 20th century.
It has been a delight to see how pulsar research has gone from strength to strength, and even now, almost 50 years later, is delivering major dramatic discoveries. It is also a great delight to receive this award from the Royal Society.
Dr Elizabeth Blackburn AC FRS
Dr Elizabeth Blackburn AC FRS was awarded the 2015 Royal Medal for her work on the prediction and discovery of telomerase and the role of telomeres in protecting and maintaining the genome.
I am honored to receive this prestigious award.
Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith
Sir Christopher Llewellyn Smith FRS was awarded the 2015 Royal Medal for his major contributions to the development of the Standard Model, particularly his success in making the case for the building the LHC.
I am delighted that my role in the development of the standard model and in the construction of the LHC has been recognised by this award
Professor Terence Tao FRS was awarded the 2014 Royal Medal for his many deep and varied contributions to mathematics, including harmonic analysis, prime number theory, partial differential equations, combinatorics, computer science, statistics, representation theory, and much more.
Professor Tony Hunter FRS was awarded the 2014 Royal Medal for his discovery of tyrosine phosphorylation by src protein kinase that revolutionised our understanding of cellular signal transduction.
Professor Howard Morris FRS was awarded the 2014 Royal Medal for his pioneering work in biomolecular mass spectrometry including strategy and instrument design and for outstanding entrepreneurship in biopharmaceutical characterisation.
See full list of all past winners of the Royal Medal.
The award
The three Royal Medals, also known as the Queen’s Medals, are awarded annually by the Sovereign on the recommendation of the Council of the Society. Frederick Sanger FRS, Max Perutz FRS and Francis Crick FRS are among those who have been awarded a Royal Medal.
Each year two medals are awarded for the most important contributions “to the advancement of Natural Knowledge” in the physical and biological sciences respectively. A third medal is awarded for distinguished contributions in the applied sciences.
The Royal Medals were founded by HM King George IV in 1825. Between 1826 and 1964 two medals were awarded each year. In 1965 the third medal, covering the applied sciences, was introduced on behalf of HM The Queen. The three medals are of silver gilt and are accompanied by a gift of £10,000.
Nominations
The call for nominations is now closed. The next call for nominations will open in November 2015.
The recipient is chosen by the Council of the Royal Society on the recommendation of the Premier Awards Committee. The committee will consider the nomination a maximum of 3 times, before the nomination is retired. Re-nomination is possible after 1 round has passed.
The award is open to citizens of a Commonwealth country or of the Irish Republic or those who have been ordinarily resident and working in a Commonwealth country or in the Irish Republic for a minimum of 3 years immediately prior to being proposed.
