RSE Royal Medal
RSE Royal Medals are awarded for distinction and international repute in any of the following categories: life sciences; physical, engineering and informatic sciences; arts, humanities and social sciences; business, public service and public engagement..
These Medals were instituted by Her Majesty The Queen in the year 2000. They are awarded annually, to individuals who have achieved distinction and are of international repute in any of the following categories: life sciences; physical, engineering and informatic sciences; arts, humanities and social sciences; business, public service and public engagement. Candidates for the Royal Medals need not be RSE Fellows and should, preferably, have a Scottish connection, irrespective of place of domicile.
Please note that nominations can only be made by Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- Nominations can only be made by Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
- Nominations can be made via the new online system through the member area.
- Along with the nomination form you are required to upload a CV and publication list for the candidate as well as three references.
- Full guidance notes can be found in the member area.
| Year | Name(s) | Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Professor David Leigh | For their pioneering work in methods to control molecular-level dynamics. His body of work on the synthesis of entwined and entangled molecular systems—such as threads, knots, and links—has been ground-breaking and has enabled advancement of synthetic molecular machines (nanobots). |
| 2021 | Professor Andrew Morris | For their exceptional contributions to advancing health data science in Scotland and internationally. His efforts have led to the creation of Health Data Research UK, for which he serves as inaugural Director, and the creation of the UK’s Health Innovation Gateway, which has catalysed the trustworthy use of health data for patient and public benefit. This resource is proving invaluable in, amongst other things, the fight against Covid-19 with real-time reporting to CMO Advisory Groups and SAGE. |
| 2020 | Professor Peter Kennedy CBE, FMedSci, FRSE | For his outstanding contribution in distinguishing the major human brain cell types paving 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). |
| 2019 | Nicola Benedetti CBE | For their work in bettering the lives of Scotland’s Children from deprived backgrounds through Sistema Scotland and its series of Big Noise Orchestras. |
| 2018 | Mr David Climie OBE | For their outstanding contribution to the field of Civil Engineering, particularly for his work on the Queensferry Crossing. |
| 2018 | Professor Richard Henderson CH FRS FMedSci | For their outstanding contribution to the field of Molecular Biology. |
| 2018 | Dr Thea Musgrave CBE | For their outstanding contribution to the betterment of humankind through Music. |
| 2017 | Professor Peter Boyle CorrFRSE FMedSci | For their outstanding contribution to global cancer control and public health policy. |
| 2017 | Professor Tessa Holyoake FRSE FMedSci | For their outstanding contribution to the field of life sciences through her discovery of the existence of cancer stem cells in the chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and her development of a new therapy for this condition. |
| 2017 | Dr Donald Runnicles OBE | For their outstanding contribution to the art of music at the highest international level. |
| 2016 | Professor James Hough OBE FRS FRSE | For their involvement in the pioneering research and discovery of gravitational waves. |
| 2016 | Professor Sir Angus Stewart Deaton FBA HonFRSE | For their services to research in economics and international affairs. |
| 2015 | No awards made in this year | |
| 2014 | Professor Sir Thomas W B Kibble CBE FRS | For their outstanding contribution to the research and discovery of the mechanism that gives mass to elementary particles. |
| 2014 | Professor Richard G M Morris CBE FRS FRSE FMedSci | For their outstanding contributions to neuroscience. |
| 2013 | Sir John Cadogan CBE FRS FRSE FLSW | For their outstanding contribution to organic chemistry. |
| 2013 | Professor Michael A J Ferguson CBE FRS FRSE FMedSci | For their outstanding contribution to the field of parasitology. |
| 2013 | Sir Ian Wood CBE FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to business and commerce in Scotland. |
| 2012 | Dr David Milne OBE FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to business and commerce in Scotland. |
| 2012 | Professor Sir Edwin Mellor Southern KB FRS Hon FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to molecular biology. |
| 2011 | Baroness Helena Kennedy of the Shaws QC | For their outstanding contribution to human rights and civil liberties, access to education, arts and ethics. |
| 2011 | Professor Noreen Murray CBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to our understanding of bacterial host defence systems and her leading role in the development of gene cloning technology. |
| 2011 | Professor S Desmond Smith OBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to physics research. |
| 2010 | Professor Sir Fraser Stoddart FRS HonFRSE | For their outstanding contribution to chemistry and particularly in the field of molecular nanotechnology. |
| 2010 | Dr James MacMillan CBE FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to music in Scotland and beyond through his compositions. |
| 2009 | Professor Karen Vousden FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to cancer research through her major discoveries in the area of mechanisms of oncogenesis, tumour suppressor genes and cell cycle control. |
| 2009 | Professor Wilson Sibbett CBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to physics in Scotland and public service through his Chairmanship of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee. |
| 2009 | Professor Sir James Mirrlees FBA HonFRSE | For their outstanding contribution to economic theory which has had a global impact on economic development. |
| 2008 | Professor Sir David Lane FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to cancer research through his discovery of P53 tumor suppressor gene. |
| 2008 | Professor Roger Fletcher FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to mathematics and software development. |
| 2008 | Rt Revd Richard Holloway FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to the cultural life of Scotland through his public debates on ethics and theology and by promoting, and direct involvement in, public policy issues. |
| 2007 | Professor Sir David Carter FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to life sciences as a Surgeon, a clinical academic and an outspoken leader in the field both nationally and internationally. |
| 2007 | Sir Thomas McKillop FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to business and public service in Scotland and internationally, particularly in the fields of biotechnology and finance. |
| 2007 | Professor John Laver CBE FBA FRSA FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to Humanities and Social Sciences, particularly in the field of phonetics, and his inspired academic leadership. |
| 2006 | Sir David Jack CBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to the pharmaceutical industry and his untiring work and contributions to scientific organisations concerned with drug design and development. |
| 2006 | Professor Sir John Ball FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to applied mathematics and his public service to the international mathematics community. |
| 2005 | Professor William Hill OBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to life sciences and particularly to the theory of quantitative genetics and its applications to animal breeding. |
| 2005 | Professor Sir David Edward KCMG QC FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to the legal profession in Scotland and internationally, particularly in the field of European Law. |
| 2004 | Professor Sir Philip Cohen FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to life sciences. Sir Philip’s discoveries in the role of abnormal protein phosphorylation in major diseases, particularly diabetes, have led to the development of a new scientific investigation and also to the discovery of new therapeutic drugs. |
| 2004 | Professor Robin Milner FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to software engineering which have changed the face of modern computer science. |
| 2004 | Professor Sir D Neil McCormick FBA FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to academic life in Scotland and internationally, particularly in the field of legal philosophy. |
| 2003 | Professor Sir Paul Nurse FRS HonFRSE | For their outstanding contribution to genetics research, in particular its relevance to cancer, in which he has become a leading figure nationally and internationally culminating in the Nobel Prize in 2001. |
| 2003 | Sir Michael Atiyah OM FRS HonFRSE | For their profound and beneficial effect on the development of mathematics and science in the UK and Europe. |
| 2003 | Lord MacKay of Clashfern PC KT QC FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to Scots Law and his international reputation both in law and public service. |
| 2002 | Professor Sir Alfred Cuschieri FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to the practice of medicine by pioneering developments in minimal access surgery. Sir Alfred’s surgical techniques have been adopted world-wide and have greatly reduced the time patients spend in hospital. |
| 2002 | Professor Sir Alan Peacock FBA FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to Social Science and Public Policy. He has achieved international distinction on a range of fiscal issues where he has enhanced our understanding of key problems in both taxation and public expenditure. |
| 2002 | Professor John R Mallard OBE FRSE | For their enormous contribution to medical diagnosis. He has pioneered the development of two of the most important diagnostic technologies of the 20th century, namely Nuclear Medicine and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance. |
| 2001 | Professor Sir James Black OM FRS HonFRSE | For their unique contribution to the advancement of Pharmacology and to the discovery of highly effective drugs which have revolutionised the treatment of disease and benefited untold numbers of patients throughout the world. |
| 2001 | Professor Tom Devine FBA HonMRIA FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to Scottish History, particularly the relations between Scotland and Ireland. |
| 2001 | Professor A Ian Scott FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contributions to natural product and organic chemistry over the past thirty years. Among his many achievements has been the establishment of the mechanism for the synthesis of the key life pigments chlorophyll and heme. |
| 2000 | Professor Sir Kenneth Murray FRS FRSE | For their outstanding contribution to the development of Biotechnology, both nationally and internationally, through his development of what is now known as recombinant DNA technology. |
| 2000 | The Rt. Hon The Lord Perry of Walton OBE FRS FRSE | For their outstanding career in science and education. |
| 2000 | Professor Peter Higgs FRS FRSE | For their enormous impact on the world of Physics. His work has provided a key to the problem of the origin of mass. Peter Higgs has proposed a mechanism for the generation of mass in relativistic field theories with a local symmetry, namely the Higgs boson. His work has been a crucial step towards a unified theory of the forces of Nature, and his single idea has had a huge impact on Man’s understanding of Nature. |
