The Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize is a gold medal awarded annually by the

Institute of Physics The Institute of Physics (IOP) is a UK-based learned society and professional body that works to advance physics education, research and application. It was founded in 1874 and has a worldwide membership of over 20,000. The IOP is the Physic ...

to "recognise contributions to the organisation or application of physics in an industrial or commercial context." The medal is accompanied by a prize of £1000.

History

At its inception in 2008, the award was named the "Business and Innovation Medal". In 2012, it was renamed the "Swan Medal and Prize" in memory of Sir

Joseph Swan Sir Joseph Wilson Swan FRS (31 October 1828 – 27 May 1914) was an English physicist, chemist, and inventor. He is known as an independent early developer of a successful incandescent light bulb, and is the person responsible for develop ...

, a chemist, physicist, and early developer of the incandescent light bulb. Since 2016, the award was renamed again to commemorate

Katharine Burr Blodgett Katharine Burr Blodgett (January 10, 1898 – October 12, 1979) was an American physicist and chemist known for her work on surface chemistry, in particular her invention of "invisible" or nonreflective glass while working at General Electric. S ...

, inventor of low-reflectance "invisible" glass ( Langmuir–Blodgett film), and the first woman to receive a degree in physics from

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

Medallists

The following have been award one of these medals:

Katharine Burr Blodgett Medal and Prize

*2019 Chris Hancock for "designing and patenting an electro-surgery platform." *2018 Michael Begg and James Ramage, Tesla Engineering, for "the transformation of Tesla Engineering Ltd from a manufacturer of conventional magnets for particle accelerators into a world leader of magnets for high-energy physics, MRI and oncology equipment." *2017 Cliff Jones,

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

, for "inventions in the area of liquid crystal displays, and his role in the founding and commercial success of Displaydata." *2016 Graeme Malcolm, M Squared Lasers for "his role in founding M Squared Lasers, and his contribution to the design and manufacture of transformative award-winning photonics products."

Swan Medal and Prize

*2015 Iain Baikie, KP Technology, for "contributions to the development of Kelvin Probe (KP) method instrumentation." *2014 Michael Christopher Payne,

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, for "development of computational techniques that have revolutionised materials design and facilitated the industrial application of quantum mechanical simulations." *2013 Stuart Parkin,

IBM Research IBM Research is the research and development division for IBM, an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, with operations in over 170 countries. IBM Research is the largest industrial research or ...

for "discoveries of the underlying physics and of novel device architectures that have established the field spintronics." *2012 Sir

David McMurtry Sir David Roberts McMurtry, (born 15 March 1940) is an Irish-British billionaire, the co-founder and executive chairman of Renishaw plc, the UK's largest supplier of metrology equipment. As of October 2021, his net worth was estimated at US$1. ...

and John Deer,

Renishaw plc Renishaw plc is a British engineering company based in Wotton-under-Edge, England. The company's products include coordinate-measuring machines and machine tool products. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE ...

, for "founding Renishaw plc and leading it to become one of the world’s principal manufacturers of metrology equipment."

Business and Innovation Medal

*2011

Graham John Batey Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

Oxford Instruments Oxford Instruments plc is a United Kingdom manufacturing and research company that designs and manufactures tools and systems for industry and research. The company is headquartered in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England, with sites in the United Ki ...

, for "sustained outstanding contribution to the application of low temperature physics in an industrial high technology environment." *2010 Sir

Michael Pepper Sir Michael Pepper (born 10 August 1942) is a British physicist notable for his work in semiconductor nanostructures. Early life Pepper was born on 10 August 1942 to Morris and Ruby Pepper. He was educated at St Marylebone Grammar School, a ...

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

, for "translating advances in semiconductor physics into the commercial arena", which included their participation in founding Toshiba Research Europe, Cambridge Laboratory, and TeraView Ltd. * 2009 Sir

Richard Friend Sir Richard Henry Friend (born 18 January 1953) is a British physicist who was the Cavendish Professor of Physics at the University of Cambridge from 1995 until 2020 and is Tan Chin Tuan Centennial Professor at the National University of Sing ...

& Dr David Fyfe,

, for "guiding the company Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) to a pre-eminent position in the development of light-emitting polymers and in the development of the technology for flat-panel displays and lighting." * 2008

Donal Denvir Donald is a masculine given name derived from the Gaelic name ''Dòmhnall''.. This comes from the Proto-Celtic *''Dumno-ualos'' ("world-ruler" or "world-wielder"). The final -''d'' in ''Donald'' is partly derived from a misinterpretation of the ...

Andor Technology Andor Technology Ltd is a developer and manufacturer of high performance light measuring solutions (scientific digital cameras). It became a subsidiary of Oxford Instruments after it was purchased for £176 million in December 2013. The company i ...

, for "founding Andor Technology, and for leading an R&D programme that has kept the company at the forefront of innovation."

References