Medalists /
Medals 2019/21
The prestigious RSE Medals are awarded for recognition of their truly exceptional contributions and achievements to their own field of science, making a vast difference to lives all over the world, can be found within our small nation.
The most prestigious prize is the RSE Royal Medal, awarded on the authority of Her Majesty The Queen. Other RSE Medals that recognise exceptional achievement in science, art, humanities, social sciences, business, education and public engagement (at early and late career stages):
- RSE Patrick Neill Medal | Early career in life sciences
- RSE Innovator’s Prize for Public Engagement | Early career
- RSE Lord Kelvin Medal | In physical sciences
- RSE Sir James Black Medal | In life sciences
- RSE Senior Prize for Public Engagement
- RSE Makdougall Brisbane Medal | Early career in physical sciences
- RSE Sir Walter Scott medal | Arts, humanities & social sciences
- RSE Adam Smith medal | Business and public service
- RSE Thomas Reid medal | Early career, arts, humanities & social sciences
- RSE Henry Duncan medal | Early career, business and public service
Awardees 2019/21
Who
What
Where

Dr Luke Graham Boulter
What
RSE Patrick Neill Medal - for their outstanding contribution identifying a series of therapeutically targetable signals that cancers use to grow
Where
University of Edinburgh

Dr Martin Lavery
What
RSE Sir Thomas Makdougall Brisbane Medal - for their outstanding contribution to photonics, working on a diverse range of ongoing experiments including free-space optical communications and underwater optical communications
Where
University of Glasgow

Dr Paul O’Mahoney
What
RSE Innovator’s Prize for Public Engagement - for their outstanding contribution on the applications of physics in Photodynamic Therapy and Photodiagnosis
Where
University of Dundee

Mr Ferry Melchels
View Case StudyWhat
RSE Dr Patrick Neill Medal - for their outstanding contribution to the field of biomaterials and tissue engineering
Where
Heriot-Watt University

Professor Alan William Hood
What
RSE Lord Kelvin Medal - for their outstanding contribution in theoretical and computational solar physics has helped to enhance understanding of the solar atmosphere
Where
University of St Andrews

Professor David F Manlove
View Case StudyWhat
RSE Lord Kelvin Medal - for their outstanding contribution to computing science, whose pioneering work in matching algorithms and software has enabled a significant increase in living kidney transplants, thereby improving public health
Where
University of Glasgow

Professor Ian David Duncan
What
RSE Sir James Black Medal - for their outstanding contribution in transforming our understanding of remyelination and laid key foundations for treatments of myelin diseases
Where
University of Wisconsin-Madison

Professor Kathryn M Rudy
View Case StudyWhat
RSE Sir Walter Scott Medal - for their outstanding contribution to art history, where her capacity for lateral thinking has meant she has been able to examine a large corpus of manuscripts in ways unexplored by previous scholars
Where
University of St Andrews

Professor Niamh Nic Daéid
What
RSE Senior Prize for Public Engagement - for their outstanding contribution across the forensic science and judicial landscape, bringing science and law together in strategic interdisciplinary conversations to find common ground and to address together
Where
University of Dundee

Professor Peter Kennedy
What
RSE Royal Medal - for their outstanding contribution in distinguishing the major human brain cell types has paved the way to significant advances in the treatment of neurological diseases and infections, as well as identification of a novel therapy for African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness)
Where
University of Glasgow

Dr Joe Marsh
What
RSE Dr Patrick Neill Medal - for their outstanding research in human genetics, which is key to the success of personalised and precision medicine
Where
University of Edinburgh

Dr Senga Robertson‐Albertyn
What
RSE Innovator’s Public Engagement Prize - for their contribution, enthusiasm, commitment and innovative approaches to public engagement
Where
University of Dundee

Dr Simon Gage OBE
What
RSE Senior Public Engagement Prize - for their contribution to science engagement and public understanding of science.
Where
Edinburgh Science

Nicola Benedetti CBE
What
RSE Royal Medal - for their work in bettering the lives of Scotland’s Children from deprived backgrounds through Sistema Scotland and its series of Big Noise Orchestras.
Where
Case Studies
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