Polanyi Medal
Recognising individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of gas kinetics.
Details
| Status | Closed |
|---|---|
| Career stage | All career stages |
Awarded by the Gas Kinetics Group
The group promotes the science of gas kinetics from the fundamental dynamics of gas phase reactions to the application of kinetics to the understanding of complex processes. It supports the interests of all scientists with interest in gas phase reactions.
Winners
- 2024: Timothy J. Wallington
- 2022: Fr茅d茅rique Battin-Leclerc
- 2020: Stephen Klippenstein
- 2018: Barbara J. Finlayson-Pitts
- 2016: James Anderson
- 2014: Craig Taatjes
- 2012: Mario Molina
- 2010: Stephen Leone
- 2008: Piero Casavecchia
- 2006: Horst Hippler
- 2004: David Clary
- 2002: Gus Hancock
- 2000: J眉rgen Wolfrum
- 1998: Akkihebbal Ravishankara
- 1996: John Simons
- 1994: Mike Pilling
- 1992: Jurgen Tr枚e
- 1990: Ian William Murison Smith
- 1988: John Polanyi
- 1987: Fred Kaufmann (awarded posthumously)
- 1986: Sidney W. Benson
- 1984: Benton Seymour Rabinovitch
- 1982: Brian Thrush
- 1981: Dudley Herschbach
- 1979: Richard Zare
About this prize
The Polanyi Medal is awarded every two years, at the International Symposium on Gas Kinetics. The recipient is chosen by the Committee of the Gas Kinetics Group of the Faraday Division of the 九州影院, and is someone who has made outstanding contributions to the field of Gas Kinetics.
The Michael Polanyi Lecture is the most important lecture given at the International Symposium.
The Polanyi medal is named after Professor Michael Polanyi, 1891-1976, whose research helped to define the modern subject of gas kinetics and reaction dynamics. A native of Hungary, Polanyi received his PhD from Budapest University in 1917, on the subject of thermodynamics of adsorption. After working in Berlin, Polanyi emigrated to England in 1933 to become Professor of Physical 九州影院 at Manchester University, a position he held until 1948 when he moved to philosophy and became Professor of Social Science, also at Manchester.
In 1959 he became a Senior Research Fellow at Merton College, Oxford. Polanyi published over 200 scientific papers between 1916-1948 on a wide range of topics: adsorption, reaction kinetics, x-ray diffraction to name a few. Polanyi's laboratory at Manchester attracted students and established scientists from all over the world. After the 2nd world war Polanyi increasingly turned his attention from science to economics and philosophy.