The Royal Society presents numerous awards, lectures and medals to recognise scientific achievement. The oldest is the Croonian Lecture, created in 1701 at the request of the widow of William Croone, one of the founding members of the Royal Society. The Croonian Lecture is still awarded on an annual basis, and is considered the most important Royal Society prize for the biological sciences. Although the Croonian Lecture was created in 1701, it was first awarded in 1738, seven years after the Copley Medal, which is the oldest Royal Society medal still in use and is awarded for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science".
Awards AwardsCreatedDescriptionRecent winnersNotesArmourers and Brasiers' Company Prize1984Awarded biennially "for excellence in materials science and technology" the Armourers and Brasiers' Company Prize is sponsored by the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers and is accompanied by a £2000 gift. George Smith 2020GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Lecture1976Awarded biennially "for original contributions to medical and veterinary sciences published within ten years from the date of the award" the GlaxoSmithKline Prize and Lecture is both an award and a lecture, and is accompanied by a £2500 gift. The award was initially sponsored by the Wellcome Trust in 1986 but in 2002 was renamed the GlaxoSmithKline Prize. Andrew Hattersley 2016Michael Faraday Prize1986Awarded annually "for excellence in communicating science to UK audiences" the winner of the Michael Faraday Prize is expected to give a lecture, where he or she will be presented with the £2500 gift that accompanies the prize.David Spiegelhalter 2020Milner Award2012The Royal Society Milner Award, supported by Microsoft Research, is given annually for outstanding achievement in computer science by a European researcher. It replaces the Royal Society and Académie des sciences Microsoft Award and is named in honour of Professor Robin Milner FRS (1934–2010), a pioneer in computer science. Zoubin Ghahramani 2021 Mullard Award1967Awarded "to an individual who has an outstanding academic record in any area of natural science, engineering or technology and whose work is currently making or has the potential to make a contribution to national prosperity in the United Kingdom" the Mullard Award is aimed at scientists and engineers in the early stages of their career and is accompanied by a £2000 gift. Hagan Bayley 2019Royal Society Africa Prize 2016 To recognise research scientists based in Africa who are making an innovative contribution to the biological sciences, including basic medical science, which contributes significantly to capacity building in Africa. The winner will receive an £11,000 grant towards her research project, a bronze medal and a gift of £1,000. Steven Runo2020Royal Society Athena Prize2016Awarded biennially (in even years) for individuals and teams, working in UK academic and research communities, who have contributed most to the advancement of diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) within their communities. The recipients of the prize receive a medal and a gift of £5,000.Beth Montague-Hellen, Alex Bond2020Royal Society Prize for Science Books1988Currently known as the Royal Society Insight Investment Science Book Prize, it is awarded annually to the book judged to be the previous year's best general science writing for a non-specialist reader. The winner receives £25,000.Andrea Wulf 2016 Rosalind Franklin Award2003 Awarded annually "for an outstanding contribution to any area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)" the Rosalind Franklin Award is accompanied by a £30,000 research grant and is awarded exclusively to women. Julia Gog 2020David Attenborough Award2020 Awarded annually "to an individual for outstanding public engagement with science" the David Attenborough Award is accompanied by a gift of £2,500 Alice Roberts 2020Royal Society Hauksbee Award2022 Awarded annually "for outstanding achievements in science to an individual or team whose work is mostly ‘behind the scenes’ or in support, including technicians, research office staff or other contributors who might not normally be recognised". The award winner or winners will be presented with a medal of silver gilt and a gift of £2000 Neil Barnes 2022
Domestic lectures LectureCreatedDescriptionRecent lecturersNotesBakerian Lecture1775Given annually "on such part of natural history or experimental philosophy, at such time and in such manner as the President and Council of the Society for the time being shall please to order and appoint" the Bakerian Lecture is named after Henry Baker and is the premier lecture of the Royal Society for the physical sciences. James Hough 2020Clifford Paterson Lecture1975Given biennially "on any aspect of engineering" the Clifford Paterson Lecture was created in 1975 by a donation from the General Electric Company plc in honour of Clifford Paterson. It is aimed at early to mid-level scientists and is accompanied by a £500 gift.Jacqueline Cole 2020Francis Crick Medal and Lecture2003Given annually on a topic "in any field of the Biological Sciences, but preference will be given to the general areas in which Francis Crick himself worked: genetics, molecular biology and neurobiology" the Crick Lecture is named after Francis Crick and normally given by a scientist under the age of 40, or with a career stage similar to that of a scientist under 40.Gregory Jefferis 2019 Croonian Lecture1701Given annually on "the advancement of natural knowledge on local motion, or (conditionally) of such other subjects as, in the opinion of the President for the time being, should be most useful in promoting the objects for which the Royal Society was instituted" the Croonian Lecture is named after William Croone, a founding member of the Royal Society, and is the oldest lecture maintained by the Society; it is also the most prestigious lecture in the biological sciences. Edward Boyden 2020 Ferrier Lecture1928Given triennially "on a subject related to the advancement of natural knowledge on the structure and function of the nervous system" the Ferrier Lecture is named for David Ferrier. Raymond Dolan 2019Leeuwenhoek Lecture1948Given triennially "to recognise excellence in the [fields] of microbiology... bacteriology, virology, mycology, parasitology and microscopy" the Leeuwenhoek Lecture is named after Antonie van Leeuwenhoek and is accompanied by a £500 gift. Geoffrey L. Smith 2020Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar Lecture2005 Given annually on "some aspect of the social function of science" the Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar lecture was created as a merger of the Wilkins, Bernal and Medawar lectures previously hosted by the Royal Society. Simon Schaffer 2019
International lectures LectureCreatedDescriptionRecent lecturersNotesRutherford Memorial Lectures1952The Rutherford Memorial Lecture is an international lecture of the Royal Society created under the Rutherford Memorial Scheme in 1952. It is held at universities in various countries in the Commonwealth, with a stipulation that at least one of every three lectures must be held in New Zealand.John Sulston 2013
Medals MedalCreatedDescriptionRecent recipientsNotesBuchanan Medal1897Originally awarded every five years, this award is now made biennially in recognition of distinguished contribution to the medical sciences generally and the silver gilt medal is accompanied by a gift of £1000.Doug Turnbull 2020 Copley Medal1731Awarded annually for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science" the Copley Medal is the oldest and most prestigious award of the Royal Society and is accompanied by a gift of £25000.John B. Goodenough 2019Darwin Medal1890Awarded every second year for "work of acknowledged distinction in the broad area of biology in which Charles Darwin worked" the Darwin Medal is accompanied by a gift of £1000.Peter Holland 2019 Davy Medal1877Awarded every year "for an outstandingly important recent discovery in any branch of chemistry" the Davy Medal is accompanied by a gift of £1000. Unlike many of the medals of the Royal Society that are silver the Davy Medal is bronze. Varinder Aggarwal 2019 Gabor Medal1989Awarded every second year for "acknowledged distinction of interdisciplinary work between the life sciences with other disciplines" the Gabor Medal is accompanied by a £1000 gift and is targeted at scientists in the early or middle stages of their careers. Alison Noble 2019 Hughes Medal1902Awarded annually "in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences, particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications" the Hughes Medal is accompanied by a £1000 gift. Unlike other medals such as the Copley Medal the Hughes Medal has never been awarded to the same individual more than once.Andrew Ian Cooper 2019 Kavli Medal and Lecture2012Awarded biennially "for excellence in all fields of science and engineering relevant to the environment or energy" to a scientist in the early stages of his career, the Kavli Medal in bronze is accompanied by a £500 gift.Ian Chapman 2020King Charles II Medal1998Awarded to any foreign head of state, head of government, or holder of another position of similar eminence for their contribution to the promotion, advancement, or use of science for the benefit of society, normally at the Society on the occasion of a visit by the recipient. Nominations not invited, awarded at the discretion of Council.Tony Tan Keng Yam 2014Leverhulme Medal1960Awarded triennially "for an outstandingly significant contribution in the field of pure or applied chemistry or engineering, including chemical engineering" the Leverhulme Medal is accompanied by a £2000 gift and was created to mark the 300-year anniversary of the foundation of the Royal SocietyFrank Caruso 2019Royal Medal1826Awarded every year in threes the Royal Medal is given for two different reasons; two medals are awarded for "the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge" and one for "distinguished contributions in the applied sciences". The Royal Medal is the only Royal Society medal to be awarded multiple times per year, and is also known as the Queen's Medal. Carol Robinson, Michel Goedert,Ann Dowling2019Rumford Medal1800Awarded every second year for "an outstandingly important recent discovery in the field of thermal or optical properties of matter made by a scientist working in Europe" the Rumford Medal is accompanied by a £1000 gift. The first person awarded the medal was Count Rumford, who created it in the first place. Miles Padgett 2019 Sylvester Medal1901Awarded every second year for "the encouragement of mathematical research" the Sylvester Medal is accompanied by a £1000 gift and is targeted at scientists in the early or middle stages of their careers. Peter Sarnak 2019
Historical awards and lectures