Spotlight on Excellence Across SES Universities
Researchers from Cambridge, UCL and other SES universities have been recognised in the latest Royal Society awards for outstanding scientific achievement.
Royal Society medals and awards 2026
The annual awards celebrate “outstanding contributions to scientific discovery, public engagement and research culture.”
This year’s recipients include academics from University College London (UCL), the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, alongside researchers from across the wider UK research community. At UCL, Professor Kenneth Harris received the Ferrier Medal and Lecture for his contributions to neuroscience, while Professor Quentin Pankhurst was awarded the Mullard Medal in recognition of his pioneering work in Healthcare Biomagnetics. The awards recognise research that has transformed understanding in their respective fields and delivered significant scientific and societal impact.
Meanwhile, four academics from the University of Oxford were recognised in the 2026 awards programme. They include Professor Laura Herz (Department of Physics), who received the Rumford Medal for outstanding contributions to physics, and Professor Iain McCulloch (Department of Chemistry), who was awarded the Hughes Medal for outstanding contributions in the field of energy. Professor Ketan Patel, Director of the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, received the Buchanan Medal for distinguished contributions to the biomedical sciences, while Professor Charlotte Williams (Department of Chemistry) was awarded the Armourers & Brasiers’ Company Prize, which recognises excellence in use-inspired basic research in functional and structural materials.
At Cambridge, Professor Sarah Teichmann was awarded the Royal Society Gabor Medal for her fundamental contributions to deciphering the molecular and cellular basis of living systems by combining biophysics, genomics and data science.
Commenting on the awards, Sir Paul Nurse, President of the Royal Society, said that recipients had made “exceptional contributions to science and research culture”, helping to further our understanding of the world around us and inspire generations of scientists to come.
The success of academics from across SES universities underlines the partnership’s collective contribution to research, innovation and economic growth, and its role in addressing some of the most significant challenges facing society today.
Here is the full list of medals and awards 2026
We celebrate the achievements of colleagues across our SES partner universities
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For more information and related stories:
UCL academics awarded Royal Society prizes
Four Oxford academics honoured in the 2026 Royal Society Awards