Leverhulme Medal (Royal Society)

The premises of The Royal Society, who award the medal

The Leverhulme Medal is awarded by the Royal Society every three years "for an outstandingly significant contribution in the field of pure or applied chemistry or engineering, including chemical engineering".^[1] It was created in 1960 after a donation by the Leverhulme Trust to mark the 300-year anniversary of the foundation of the Royal Society, and is accompanied by a £2000 gift. The most recent winner was John Knott in 2008, who was awarded the medal "for the discovery and characterisation of novel materials exhibiting potential for catalysis and storage".^[1] Since its creation it has been awarded 17 times, and unlike other Royal Society medals such as the Royal Medal, it has never been awarded to a woman or to the same person multiple times. Citizens of the United Kingdom have won the medal 16 out of the 17 times; the only foreign recipient was Man Mohan Sharma, an Indian citizen who was awarded the medal in 1996 "for his work on the dynamics of multi-phase chemical reactions in industrial processes". Two of the Leverhulme Medal winners also won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry: Archer John Porter Martin, who won the medal in 1963 for "his distinguished and fundamental discoveries in chromatography and its application" and the Nobel Prize in 1952,^[2] and Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, who won the medal in 1960 for "his outstanding contributions to physical chemistry" and the Nobel Prize in 1956.^[2]

List of recipients

Year	Name	Rationale	Notes
1960	Hinshelwood, Cyril NormanCyril Norman Hinshelwood	"for his outstanding contributions to physical chemistry"	[3]
1963	Martin, Archer John PorterArcher John Porter Martin	"for his distinguished and fundamental discoveries in chromatography and its application"	[4]
1966	Issigonis, AlecAlec Issigonis	"for his distinguished contributions to the design of motor cars, particularly the Morris Minor and Austin and Morris Mini"	[5]
1969	Kronberger, HansHans Kronberger	"for his many distinguished contributions to nuclear reactor research and development and for outstanding leadership in all branches of his field"	—
1972	Adams, JohnJohn Adams	"for his many distinguished work in development of particle accelerators, and plasma physics"	—
1975	Rose, FrankFrank Rose	"for his distinguished contributions to the application of chemical science to industry"	—
1978	Warner, FrederickFrederick Warner	"for his outstanding work as consulting engineer both nationally and internationally in many branches of chemical engineering, particularly control of pollution"	[6]
1981	Hooker, StanleyStanley Hooker	"for his work on superchargers of the Merlin engines, the development of the first Rolls Royce jet engines, then Bristol engines including that for the jump jet and, later, the final development of the Rolls Royce RB211 engine"	—
1984	Davidson, John FrankJohn Frank Davidson	"for his distinguished contributions to chemical engineering, in particular the use of fluidised beds."	—
1987	Gray, George WilliamGeorge William Gray	"for his many contributions to the technologically important field of liquid crystals"	[7]
1990	Freeman, RayRay Freeman	"for introducing new techniques in high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, particularly the development of two-dimensional Fourier transform methods"	[8]
1993	Rowlinson, JohnJohn Rowlinson	"distinguished for his contributions to thermodynamics, in particular to an understanding of the physical chemistry of gas-liquid interfaces and surfaces"	[9]
1996	Sharma, Man MohanMan Mohan Sharma	"for his work on the dynamics of multi-phase chemical reactions in industrial processes"	[10]
1999	Baldwin, JackJack Baldwin	"in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the field of organic chemistry including his work on natural products synthesis and biosynthesis, particularly for his research in the b-lactam antibiotic field, initially contributing to biosynthetic problems which paved the way to the study of the enzymology of the process and eventually culminating in the determination of the crystal structure of isopenicillin N synthase"	[11]
2002	Handy, NicholasNicholas Handy	"for his pioneering contributions to the development of the modern methodology of quantum chemistry, which has had an enormous impact on chemistry and molecular biology"	[12]
2005	Knott, JohnJohn Knott	"for his distinguished contributions to the quantitative scientific understanding of fracture processes in metals and alloys and its engineering applications"	[1]
2008	Cheetham, AnthonyAnthony Cheetham	"for the discovery and characterisation of novel materials exhibiting potential for catalysis and storage"	[13]
2010	Poliakoff, MartynMartyn Poliakoff	"for his outstanding contributions in the fields of Green Chemistry and supercritical fluids by the application of chemistry to advance chemical engineering processes"	[14]
2013	Novoselov, KonstantinKonstantin Novoselov	"for revolutionary work on graphene, other two‐dimensional crystals and their heterostructures that has great potential for a number of applications, from electronics to energy."	[15]

References

General

• "Leverhulme previous winners 2005-1960". Royal Society. Retrieved 2009-01-27.

Specific

1. "The Leverhulme Medal (1960)". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
2. "All Nobel Laureates in Chemistry". The Nobel Prize Foundation. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
3. "Sir Cyril Hinshelwood - Biography". Nobel Prize Foundation. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
4. "Archer J.P. Martin - Biography". Nobel Prize Foundation. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
5. The Beaulieu Encyclopedia of the Automobile. Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
6. "Papers and correspondence of Sir Frederick Warner". Mimas. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
7. "The Scientist: Royal Society Medals and Awards". The Scientist. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
8. "Annual Report: Awards, Prizes and Appointments". Cambridge University. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
9. Sleeman, Elizabeth. The International Who's Who 2004. Routledge. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
10. "Prof. Man Mohan Sharma". University of Auckland. Archived from the original on January 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
11. "Oxford University Gazette, Thursday 11 November 1999". Oxford University. 11 November 1999. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
12. "International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science - Members - Nicholas C. Hardy". International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science. Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
13. "Functional Inorganics and Hybrid Materials: Anthony K. Cheetham resume". University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2009-01-27.
14. "The Leverhulme Medal (1960)". The Royal Society. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
15. "The Leverhulme Medal (1960)". The Royal Society. Retrieved 12 September 2013.