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Copley Medal

The Copley Medal is the Society’s oldest and most prestigious award. The medal is awarded for sustained, outstanding achievements in any field of science.

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  • Closing date

  • Winners announcement

The award

The Copley Medal is the Society’s oldest and most prestigious award. The medal is awarded for sustained, outstanding achievements in any field of science.

First awarded in 1731 following donations from , it was initially awarded for the most important scientific discovery or for the greatest contribution made by experiment. The Copley Medal is thought to be the world's oldest scientific prize and it was awarded 170 years before the first Nobel Prize. Notable winners include Benjamin Franklin, Dorothy Hodgkin, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin. The medal is of silver gilt, is awarded annually, alternating between the physical and biological sciences (odd and even years respectively), and is accompanied by a a gift of £25,000.

Eligibility

The Copley Medal is open to international citizens. It is restricted to senior scientists and nominations will remain valid and shall be considered by the award selection committee throughout three nomination cycles. Teams or groups may now be nominated for this award. In 2026, the Copley Medal will be awarded for the biological sciences.

Nominations are closed

Nominations are closed and will reopen on 30 November 2026.

2025 winner

  • Professor Sir John Pendry FRS

    Professor Sir John Pendry FRS

    The Copley Medal 2025 is awarded to Professor Sir John Pendry FRS for work on the concept and designs of metamaterials that represent the greatest advance in electromagnetism since Faraday and Maxwell.

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Past winners

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    Awarded in 2012

    Sir John Walker FMedSci FRS

    For his ground-breaking work on bioenergetics, discovering the mechanism of ATP synthesis in the mitochondrion.
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    Awarded in 2011

    Dan McKenzie

    For his seminal contributions to the understanding of geological and geophysical phenomena including tectonic plates.
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    Awarded in 2010

    Tomas Lindahl

    For his seminal contributions to the understanding of the biochemistry of DNA repair.
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    Awarded in 2010

    David Cox

    For his seminal contributions to the theory and applications of statistics.
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    Awarded in 2009

    Martin Evans

    For his seminal work on embryonic stem cells in mice, which revolutionised the field of genetics.
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    Awarded in 2008

    Roger Penrose

    For his beautiful and original insights into many areas of mathematics and mathematical physics. Sir Roger has made outstanding contributions to general relativity theory and cosmology, most notably for his work on black holes and the Big Bang.
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    Awarded in 2007

    Robert May

    For his seminal studies of interactions within and among biological populations that have reshaped our understanding of how species, communities and entire ecosystems respond to natural or human created disturbance.
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    Awarded in 2006

    Stephen Hawking

    For his outstanding contribution to theoretical physics and theoretical cosmology.
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    Awarded in 2005

    Paul Nurse

    For his contributions to cell biology in general, and to the elucidation of the control of cell division.
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    Awarded in 2004

    Harold Kroto

    In recognition of his seminal contributions to understanding the fundamental dynamics of carbon chain molecules, leading to the detection of these species (polyynes) in the interstellar medium by radioastronomy.
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    Awarded in 2003

    John Gurdon

    For his unique range of groundbreaking discoveries in the fields of cell and developmental biology.
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    Awarded in 2002

    John Pople

    For his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry. His work transformed density functional theory into a powerful theoretical tool for chemistry, chemical physics and biology.