award_received m. j. whelan
Venkatraman " Venki " Ramakrishnan ( born 1952 ) is an Indian - American - British structural biologist of Indian origin . He is the current President of the Royal Society , having held the position since November ___MASK26___ . In 2009 he shared the ___MASK50___ with Thomas A . Steitz and Ada Yonath , " for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome ". An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy ( as special scientific institution ) dedicated to sciences that could be or not state funded . Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal ( in case of the United Kingdom i . e . Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge ) as a form of honor . The other types of academy is an academy of arts ( see Academy of Arts ) or combination of both ( i . e . ___MASK14___ ). The ___MASK36___ , also known as The Queen ' s Medal , is a silver - gilt medal awarded each year by the Royal Society , two for " the most important contributions to the advancement of natural knowledge " and one for " distinguished contributions in the applied sciences " made within the Commonwealth of Nations . The ___MASK88___ was created by George IV and first awarded in 1826 . Initially there were two medals awarded , both for the most important discovery within the last year , a time period which was lengthened to five years and then shortened to three . The format was supported by William IV and Victoria , who had the conditions changed in 1837 so that mathematics was a subject for which a ___MASK36___ could be awarded , albeit only every third year . The conditions were changed again in 1850 so that : "... the Royal Medals in each year should be awarded for the two most important contributions to the advancement of Natural Knowledge , published originally in Her Majesty ' s dominions within a period of not more than ten years and not less than one year of the date of the ___MASK88___ , subject , of course , to Her Majesty ' s approval . ... in the ___MASK88___ of the Royal Medals , one should be given in each of the two great divisions of Natural Knowledge ." Michele Karen Dougherty FRS ( born 1962 ) is a ___MASK33___ of Space Physics at Imperial College London . She is leading unmanned exploratory missions to Saturn and Jupiter and is Principal Investigator for J - MAG - a magnetometer for the JUpiter ICy moons Explorer ( JUICE ) of the European Space Agencies ( ESA ) due for launch June 2022 . ___MASK69___ of the Royal Society ( FRS , ForMemRS & HonFRS ) is an award and ___MASK69___ granted by the Royal Society of London to individuals the society judges to have made a " substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge , including mathematics , engineering science and medical science ". The ___MASK43___ is awarded by the Royal Society of London " in recognition of an original discovery in the physical sciences , particularly electricity and magnetism or their applications ". Named after David E . Hughes , the medal is awarded with a gift of £ 1000 . The medal was first awarded in 1902 to J . J . Thomson " for his numerous contributions to electric science , especially in reference to the phenomena of electric discharge in gases ", and has since been awarded over one - hundred times . Unlike other Royal Society medals , the ___MASK43___ has never been awarded to the same individual more than once . A recent recipient was Michele Dougherty , who was awarded the medal " for innovative use of magnetic field data that led to discovery of an atmosphere around one of Saturn ' s moons and the way it revolutionised our view of the role of planetary moons in the Solar System ". ___MASK27___ Joseph John Thomson ( 18 December 1856  30 August 1940 ) was an English physicist . He was elected as a ___MASK12___ of London and appointed to the Cavendish Professorship of Experimental Physics at the Cambridge University ' s Cavendish Laboratory in 1884 . In 1965 , with Hirsch , Whelan , Pashley and Nicholson , he published the seminal text " Electron Microscopy of Thin Crystals ". He was elected to the Royal Society in 1978 and awarded their ___MASK36___ in 1999 . In 1992 he was awarded the Guthrie Medal and Prize . He was head of the Cavendish Laboratory from 1989 - 1997 . Michael J . Whelan FRS ( born 2 November 1931 ) is a British scientist . He and Archibald Howie won the 1988 ___MASK43___ of the Royal Society `` for their contributions to the theory of electron diffraction and microscopy , and its application to the study of lattice defects in crystals '' . He also received the 1998 Distinguished Scientist ___MASK88___ in Physical Sciences from the Microscopy Society of America and the 1965 C . V . Boys Prize from the Institute of Physics . As of 2011 , Whelan is Emeritus ___MASK33___ in the Department of Materials at the University of Oxford , England , and an Emeritus ___MASK66___ of Linacre College , Oxford . The President , Council and Fellows of the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge , commonly known as the Royal Society , is a learned society for science and is possibly the oldest such society still in existence . Founded in November 1660 , it was granted a royal charter by King Charles II as " The Royal Society ". The Society is the United Kingdom ' s and Commonwealth of Nations ' Academy of Sciences and fulfills a number of roles ; promoting science and its benefits , recognising excellence in science , supporting outstanding science , providing scientific advice for policy , fostering international and global cooperation , education and public engagement . The society is governed by its Council , which is chaired by the Society ' s President , according to a set of statutes and standing orders . The members of Council and the President are elected from and by its Fellows , the basic members of the society , who are themselves elected by existing Fellows . As of 2016 , there are about 1 , 600 fellows , allowed to use the postnominal title FRS ( ___MASK12___ ), with up to 52 new fellows appointed each year . There are also royal fellows , honorary fellows and foreign members , the last of which are allowed to use the postnominal title ForMemRS ( Foreign Member of the Royal Society ). The Royal Society President is Venkatraman Ramakrishnan , who took up the post on November 30 , 2015 .