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.
| Isaac Newton Medal and Prize | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | World-leading contributions to physics by an individual of any nationality. |
| Sponsored by | Institute of Physics |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Presented by | Institute of Physics  |
| Reward(s) | Gold medal, £1000 |
| First awarded | 2008 |
| Website | Official website |
The first medal was awarded in 2008 to Anton Zeilinger, having been announced in 2007.[3] It gained national recognition in the UK in 2013 when it was awarded for technology that could lead to an 'invisibility cloak'.[4][5] By 2018 it was recognised internationally as the highest honour from the IOP.[6] In 2020, a citation study identified it as one of the five most prestigious prizes in physics.[7]
Recipients
edit| 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"[3][8] |
| 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"[9] |
| 2010 | Edward Witten | "his many profound contributions that have transformed areas of particle theory, quantum field theory and general relativity"[10][11] |
| 2011 | Leo Kadanoff | "inventing conceptual tools that reveal the deep implications of scale invariance on the behavior of phase transitions and dynamical systems"[12] |
| 2012 | Martin Rees | his outstanding contributions to relativistic astrophysics and cosmology[13][14] |
| 2013 | John Pendry | “seminal contributions to surface science, disordered systems and photonics”[15][4][16][5] |
| 2014 | Deborah S. Jin | "pioneering the field of quantum-degenerate Fermi gases"[17][18][19] |
| 2015 | Eli Yablonovitch | "visionary and foundational contributions to photonic nanostructures"[20][21][22] |
| 2016 | Tom Kibble | "outstanding lifelong commitment to physics" (posthumously)[23] |
| 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"[24][25] |
| 2018 | Paul Corkum | "his outstanding contributions to experimental physics"[6][26][27][28] |
| 2019 | Michael Pepper | "the creation of the field of semiconductor nanoelectronics and discovery of new quantum phenomena"[29][30][31][32][33] |
| 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"[34] |
| 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"[35] |
| 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."[36] |
| 2024 | Richard Friend | "for pioneering and enduring work on the fundamental electronic properties of molecular semiconductors and in their engineering development."[37] |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ King, Henry C. (1955). The History of the Telescope. Courier Corporation. p. 74. ISBN 978-0-486-43265-6. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
- ^ "Isaac Newton Medal and Prize". Institute of Physics. Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2015-04-24.
- ^ a b "Anton Zeilinger scoops first Isaac Newton medal". Physics World. 3 October 2007.
- ^ a b Palmer, Jason (June 30, 2013). "Cloaking pioneer nets physics prize". BBC News.
- ^ a b Silverman, Rosa (July 1, 2013). "'Invisibility cloak' scientist wins Isaac Newton Medal" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ a b "Canadian physicist Paul Corkum is recipient of the highest medal awarded by the UK Institute of Physics". Canadian Association of Physicists. 12 July 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Quantum Aspects of Life. Imperial College Press. 2008. p. 378. ISBN 9781848162679.
- ^ "Alan Guth bags Isaac Newton medal". Physics World. 1 July 2009.
- ^ "Edward Witten wins Newton medal". Physics World. 29 June 2010.
- ^ "UK's Institute of Physics Announces 2010 Winners". www.supercomputingonline.com. SC ONLINE NEWS.
- ^ "2011 Isaac Newton Medal of the Institute of Physics". Institute of Physics.
- ^ Randall, Ian (19 July 2012). "Institute of Physics announces award winners". European Physical Society.
- ^ "Institute of Physics announces 2012 award winners". EurekAlert!. 2 July 2012.
- ^ Jackson, Caroline (1 July 2013). "IOP awards". Imperial College London.
- ^ Keir, Emily (July 10, 2013). "Invisibility Cloaks: No Longer Exclusive to the Wizarding World". Foreign Office Blogs. Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
- ^ "2014 Isaac Newton medal – Deborah Jin". NIST. September 6, 2017.
- ^ "Isaac Newton Medal goes to American physicist". Times Higher Education (THE). July 1, 2014.
- ^ "Deborah Jin Awarded Isaac Newton Medal". University of Colorado. July 8, 2014.
- ^ "Yablonovitch Wins the IOP Isaac Newton Medal". Center for Energy Efficient Electronics Science, University of California. 1 July 2015.
- ^ "Photonic crystals, graphene, and metamaterials bring Institute of Physics awards". LaserFocusWorld. 1 July 2015.
- ^ "IOP Awards Isaac Newton Medal to Professor Eli Yablonovitch for Photonic Nanostructures Research". AZoOptics. July 1, 2015.
- ^ "IOP awards Isaac Newton Medal posthumously to Sir Tom Kibble". Institute of Physics. 30 June 2016
- ^ "Chuck Bennett receives Isaac Newton Medal & Prize from the Institute of Physics". Physics & Astronomy. Johns Hopkins University. 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Physics and Astronomy Alumnus Charles Bennett Receives 2018 Breakthrough Prize". University of Maryland. 5 December 2017.
- ^ "Ultrafast laser pioneer Corkum wins IOP's Isaac Newton medal". optics.org.
- ^ "Careers and people". Physics World. 31 (8): 49. August 8, 2018. Bibcode:2018PhyW...31h..49.. doi: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.
- ^ "2019 Institute of Physics Awards — Department of Physics". University of Cambridge. 10 July 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "TeraView's founder, Sir Michael Pepper, receives highest Institute of Physics accolade". Cambridge Network.
- ^ "Professor Sir Michael Pepper receives the 2019 Issac Newton Medal and Prize from the IoP". London Centre for Nanotechnology.
- ^ "Sir Michael Pepper receives highest Institute of Physics accolade". TeraView. 18 July 2019.
- ^ "2021 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize". Institute of Physics.
- ^ 2022 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize. iop.org
- ^ 2023 Isaac Newton Medal and Prize. iop.org
- ^ 2024 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture. iop.org
- ^ "The University of Glasgow Story :: Awards :: Isaac Newton Medal". University of Glasgow.