Physics:Isaac Newton Medal
| Isaac Newton Medal and Prize | |
|---|---|
| Sponsored by | Institute of Physics |
| Country | |
| Reward(s) | Gold medal, £1000 |
| First awarded | 2008 |
| Website | Official website |

The Isaac Newton Medal and Prize is a gold medal awarded annually by the Institute of Physics (IOP) accompanied by a prize of £1,000.[2] The award is given to a physicist, regardless of subject area, background or nationality, for outstanding contributions to physics. The award winner is invited to give a lecture at the institute. It is named in honour of Sir Isaac Newton. The award is recognized as the most prestigious award of the IOP.[3]
The first medal was awarded in 2008 to Anton Zeilinger, having been announced in 2007.[4] It gained national recognition in the UK in 2013 when it was awarded for technology that could lead to an 'invisibility cloak'.[5][6] By 2018 it was recognised internationally as the highest honour from the IOP.[7] In 2020, a citation study identified it as one of the five most prestigious prizes in physics, ranking third.[8]
Recipients
| Year | Name | Rationale (for) |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Anton Zeilinger | "his pioneering conceptual and experimental contributions to the foundations of quantum physics, which have become the cornerstone for the rapidly-evolving field of quantum information"[4][9] |
| 2009 | Alan Guth | "his invention of the inflationary universe model, his recognition that inflation would solve major problems confronting then-standard cosmology, and his calculation, with others, of the spectrum of density fluctuations that gave rise to structure in the universe"[10] |
| 2010 | Edward Witten | "his many profound contributions that have transformed areas of particle theory, quantum field theory and general relativity"[11][12] |
| 2011 | Leo Kadanoff | "inventing conceptual tools that reveal the deep implications of scale invariance on the behavior of phase transitions and dynamical systems"[13] |
| 2012 | Martin Rees | his outstanding contributions to relativistic astrophysics and cosmology[14][15] |
| 2013 | John Pendry | “seminal contributions to surface science, disordered systems and photonics”[16][5][17][6] |
| 2014 | Deborah S. Jin | "pioneering the field of quantum-degenerate Fermi gases"[18][19][20] |
| 2015 | Eli Yablonovitch | "visionary and foundational contributions to photonic nanostructures"[21][22][23] |
| 2016 | Tom Kibble | "outstanding lifelong commitment to physics" (posthumously)[24] |
| 2017 | Charles L. Bennett | "leadership of the Microwave Anisotropy Probe, a satellite experiment that revolutionized cosmology, transforming it from an order-of-magnitude game to a paragon of precision science"[25][26] |
| 2018 | Paul Corkum | "his outstanding contributions to experimental physics"[7][27][28][29] |
| 2019 | Michael Pepper | "the creation of the field of semiconductor nanoelectronics and discovery of new quantum phenomena"[30][31][32][33][34] |
| 2020 | Nader Engheta | "groundbreaking innovation and transformative contributions to electromagnetic complex materials and nanoscale optics, and for pioneering development of the fields of near-zero-index metamaterials, and material-inspired analogue computation and optical nanocircuitry" |
| 2021 | David Deutsch | "founding the discipline named quantum computation and establishing quantum computation's fundamental idea, now known as the ‘qubit’ or quantum bit"[35] |
| 2022 | Margaret Murnane | "pioneering and sustained contributions to the development of ultrafast lasers and coherent X-ray sources and the use of such sources to understand the quantum nature of materials"[36] |
| 2023 | James Binney | "advancing the science of stellar dynamics and using strong physical intuition to widen and deepen our understanding of how galaxies are structured and formed."[37] |
| 2024 | Richard Friend | "for pioneering and enduring work on the fundamental electronic properties of molecular semiconductors and in their engineering development."[38] |
| 2025 | Michael Berry | "for groundbreaking work on the geometrical Berry phase of quantum states in topological physics and seminal contributions to mathematical physics in quantum chaos, catastrophe theory and singular optics."[39] |
See also
- University of Glasgow Isaac Newton Medal[40]
- Institute of Physics Awards
- List of physics awards
- List of awards named after people
References
- ↑ King, Henry C. (1955). The History of the Telescope. Courier Corporation. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-486-43265-6. https://books.google.com/books?id=KAWwzHlDVksC&q=history+of+the+telescope. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
- ↑ "Isaac Newton Medal and Prize". Institute of Physics. http://www.iop.org/about/awards/newton/page_38399.html.
- ↑ "2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture" (in en). https://www.iop.org/about/awards/2024-isaac-newton-medal-and-prize.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Anton Zeilinger scoops first Isaac Newton medal". Physics World. 3 October 2007. https://physicsworld.com/a/anton-zeilinger-scoops-first-isaac-newton-medal/.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Palmer, Jason (June 30, 2013). "Cloaking pioneer nets physics prize". BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-23081852.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Silverman, Rosa (July 1, 2013). "'Invisibility cloak' scientist wins Isaac Newton Medal". https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/10152577/Invisibility-cloak-scientist-wins-Isaac-Newton-Medal.html.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Canadian physicist Paul Corkum is recipient of the highest medal awarded by the UK Institute of Physics". Canadian Association of Physicists. 12 July 2018. https://www.cap.ca/publications/cap-news/canadian-physicist-paul-corkum-recipient-highest-medal-awarded-uk-institute-physics/.
- ↑ Meho, Lokman I. (2020-05-04). "Highly prestigious international academic awards and their impact on university rankings". Quantitative Science Studies: 1–25. doi:10.1162/qss_a_00045. ISSN 2641-3337. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00045.
- ↑ Quantum Aspects of Life. Imperial College Press. 2008. pp. 378. ISBN 9781848162679.
- ↑ "Alan Guth bags Isaac Newton medal". Physics World. 1 July 2009. https://physicsworld.com/a/alan-guth-bags-isaac-newton-medal/.
- ↑ "Edward Witten wins Newton medal". Physics World. 29 June 2010. https://physicsworld.com/a/edward-witten-wins-newton-medal/.
- ↑ "UK's Institute of Physics Announces 2010 Winners". SC ONLINE NEWS. https://www.supercomputingonline.com/latest/academia/54472-uk-s-institute-of-physics-announces-2010-winners.
- ↑ "2011 Isaac Newton Medal of the Institute of Physics". Institute of Physics. http://www.iop.org/about/awards/international/page_51315.html.
- ↑ Randall, Ian (19 July 2012). "Institute of Physics announces award winners". European Physical Society. http://www.epsnews.eu/2012/07/iop-award-winners/.
- ↑ "Institute of Physics announces 2012 award winners". 2 July 2012. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/iop-iop070212.php.
- ↑ Jackson, Caroline (1 July 2013). "IOP awards". Imperial College London. https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/124826/iop-awards/.
- ↑ Keir, Emily (July 10, 2013). "Invisibility Cloaks: No Longer Exclusive to the Wizarding World". Foreign Office Blogs. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. https://blogs.fco.gov.uk/emilykeir/2013/07/10/invisibility-cloaks-no-longer-exclusive-to-the-wizarding-world/.
- ↑ "2014 Isaac Newton medal – Deborah Jin". September 6, 2017. https://www.nist.gov/about-us/nist-awards/2014-isaac-newton-medal-deborah-jin.
- ↑ "Isaac Newton Medal goes to American physicist". July 1, 2014. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/isaac-newton-medal-goes-to-american-physicist/2014300.article.
- ↑ "Deborah Jin Awarded Isaac Newton Medal". University of Colorado. July 8, 2014. https://www.colorado.edu/physics/2014/07/08/deborah-jin-awarded-isaac-newton-medal.
- ↑ "Yablonovitch Wins the IOP Isaac Newton Medal". Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, University of California. 1 July 2015. https://e3s-center.berkeley.edu/news-item/yablonovitch-wins-iop-isaac-newton-medal/.
- ↑ "Photonic crystals, graphene, and metamaterials bring Institute of Physics awards". LaserFocusWorld. 1 July 2015. https://www.laserfocusworld.com/optics/article/16558138/photonic-crystals-graphene-and-metamaterials-bring-institute-of-physics-awards.
- ↑ "IOP Awards Isaac Newton Medal to Professor Eli Yablonovitch for Photonic Nanostructures Research". AZoOptics. July 1, 2015. https://www.azooptics.com/News.aspx?newsID=21134.
- ↑ "IOP awards Isaac Newton Medal posthumously to Sir Tom Kibble". Institute of Physics. http://www.iop.org/news/16/jun/page_67632.html. 30 June 2016
- ↑ "Chuck Bennett receives Isaac Newton Medal & Prize from the Institute of Physics". Johns Hopkins University. 30 June 2017. https://physics-astronomy.jhu.edu/2017/06/30/chuck-bennett-awarded-isaac-newton-medal-prize-from-the-institute-of-physics/.
- ↑ "Physics and Astronomy Alumnus Charles Bennett Receives 2018 Breakthrough Prize". University of Maryland. 5 December 2017. https://umdphysics.umd.edu/about-us/news/department-news/1326-physics-and-astronomy-alumnus-received-2018-breakthrough-prize.html.
- ↑ "Ultrafast laser pioneer Corkum wins IOP's Isaac Newton medal". https://optics.org/news/9/7/14.
- ↑ "Careers and people". Physics World 31 (8): 49. August 8, 2018. doi:10.1088/2058-7058/31/8/41. Bibcode: 2018PhyW...31h..49.. https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2058-7058/31/8/41.
- ↑ "Dr. Paul Corkum ('65) Awarded Isaac Newton Medal and Prize by UK Institute of Physics – Acadia University". Acadia University, Canada. 13 July 2018. https://www2.acadiau.ca/home/news-reader-page/dr-paul-corkum-65-awarded-isaac-newton-medal-and-prize-by-uk-institute-of-physics.html.
- ↑ "2019 Institute of Physics Awards — Department of Physics". University of Cambridge. 10 July 2019. https://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/news/2019-institute-of-physics-awards.
- ↑ "Physicist behind new quantum phenomena and T-ray detection of cancer receives highest Institute of Physics accolade — Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division". University of Oxford. 5 July 2019. https://www.mpls.ox.ac.uk/news/physicist-behind-new-quantum-phenomena-and-t-ray-detection-of-cancer-receives-highest-institute-of-physics-accolade.
- ↑ "TeraView's founder, Sir Michael Pepper, receives highest Institute of Physics accolade". Cambridge Network. https://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/teraview%E2%80%99s-founder-sir-michael-pepper-receives-highest-institute-physics-accolade.
- ↑ "Professor Sir Michael Pepper receives the 2019 Issac Newton Medal and Prize from the IoP". London Centre for Nanotechnology. https://www.london-nano.com/news-events/professor-sir-michael-pepper-receives-2019-issac-newton-medal-and-prize-iop.
- ↑ "Sir Michael Pepper receives highest Institute of Physics accolade". 18 July 2019. https://teraview.com/2019/07/18/sir-michael-pepper-receives-highest-institute-of-physics-accolade/.
- ↑ "2021 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize". Institute of Physics. https://www.iop.org/about/awards/2021-isaac-newton-medal-and-prize.
- ↑ 2022 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize. iop.org
- ↑ 2023 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize. iop.org
- ↑ 2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture. iop.org
- ↑ 2025 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture. iop.org
- ↑ "The University of Glasgow Story :: Awards :: Isaac Newton Medal". University of Glasgow. https://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/award/?id=250.
External links
