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Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture

The Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture is awarded annually for world-leading contributions to physics by an individual of any nationality. It recognises groundbreaking physicists and is the most prestigious award of the IOP, one of the largest physical societies in the world. 

Nominations for the 2025 Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture are now open. 

Start your nomination now.

Nominations close on 31 January 2025.
 

 

About Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton was an iconic English physicist and mathematician most famous for having discovered the universal law of gravitation. He also:

•    founded the field of classical mechanics
•    developed infinitesimal calculus
•    made groundbreaking contributions to optics

This medal comes with a prize of £1,000 and a certificate. 

Find out more about the work of previous winners

Eligibility

  • Nominees should have made world-leading contributions to physics and can be from any nationality. 
  • Nominees, nominators and external validators do not need to be members of the IOP. 
  • Nominees, nominators and external validators cannot be current members of Council, IOP employees, people under contract to the IOP, the Awards Committee, or members of any other IOP Awards judging panel.

Nominations process

The 2025 IOP Medals and Prizes will call for nominations towards the end of 2024.

The following information is provided for reference:

  • The Isaac Newton Medal and Lecture is open for both nomination and self-nomination. All nominations will be judged in the same way regardless of the method of nomination.  
  • If you are nominating someone else, you should inform the nominee as you will need to provide their contact details and they will be contacted following submission to complete an EDI monitoring form.

Nominators must submit:

  • Details of the nominee
  • Short citation (up to 30 words) 
  • Long citation (up to 400 words) 
  • A CV (up to 1,000 words)
  • Contact details for one external validator to validate the nomination (they must, at the minimum, be of the same seniority level as the nominee)

You can find more information on the nominations process in our FAQs and application guidance. 

Please email [email protected] if you have any questions about the awards or your submission.

External validator

We no longer require references to be submitted for Medals and Prizes. Nominators will now be required to seek the support of an independent expert to validate the information in the nomination. 

You can find out more information on external validators in our FAQs and application guidance.