''The Royal Society Michael Faraday Prize and Lecture'' is awarded for "excellence in communicating science to UK audiences." Named after

Michael Faraday Michael Faraday (; 22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the study of electrochemistry and electromagnetism. His main discoveries include the principles underlying electromagnetic inducti ...

, the medal itself is made of silver gilt, and is accompanied by a purse of £2500.

Background

The prize was first awarded in 1986 to Charles Taylor for "his outstanding presentations of physics and applications of physics, aimed at audiences from six-year-old primary school children to adults". It is awarded annually and unlike other Royal Society awards such as the

Hughes Medal The Hughes Medal is a silver-gilt medal awarded by the Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. T ...

, it has been presented every year since its inception. The winner is required to present a lecture as part of the Society's annual programme of public events, which is usually held in January of the following year; during the lecture, the President of the Royal Society awards the medal. Unlike other prizes awarded by the society, the committee has not always publicly provided a rationale. This has occurred five times—in 2004 to Martin Rees, in 2006 to Richard Fortey, in 2007 to Jim Al-Khalili, in 2008 to

John D. Barrow John David Barrow (29 November 1952 – 26 September 2020) was an English physical cosmology, cosmologist, Theoretical physics, theoretical physicist, and mathematician. He served as Gresham Professor of Geometry at Gresham College from 2008 t ...

and most recently in 2009 to Marcus du Sautoy. M Faraday Th Phillips oil 1842

List of recipients

References

;General * ;Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Faraday Prize, Royal Society of London Michael Awards established in 1986 Awards of the Royal Society Michael Faraday Royal Society lecture series Science communication awards Science education in the United Kingdom Science writing awards 1986 establishments in the United Kingdom Recurring events established in 1986