This list of physics awards is an index to articles about notable awards for physics.The list is organized by region and country of the organization that gives the award. Awards are not necessarily restricted to people from the country of the award giver.
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International | Recognition and encouragement for scientific and technological research and development | |||
| International | Outstanding research in fluid dynamics | |||
| International | Physicists who obtain new results concerning statistical mechanics | |||
| International | Fundamental Physics Prize Foundation | Transformative advances in fundamental physics | ||
| International | Theoretical physics or mathematics | |||
| International | Theoretical physics or mathematics for young scientists | |||
| International | Outstanding computational chemist in the world under the age of 40 | |||
| International | Outstanding contributions in the fields of atoms, molecules and quantum optics, and condensed matter | |||
| International | Outstanding contributions in mathematical physics, and contributions which lay the groundwork for novel developments in this broad field | |||
| International | Contributions to the advances of the field of Low Temperature Physics | |||
| International | Young scientist, below 30 years of age, who has contributed significantly to the advancement of the aerospace science | |||
| International | Contributions to physics through research that has or could have a significant influence on the world | |||
| International | International Colloquium on Group Theoretical Methods in Physics, Group Theory and Fundamental Physics Foundation | Contributions to the understanding of physics through group theory |
See also: List of American Physical Society prizes and awards.
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Scholarly achievements in the history of physics | |||
| United States | Leadership and/or achievements of scientists in upholding human rights | |||
| United States | Achievement in computational physics research | |||
| United States | Contributions to basic research which uses lasers to advance our knowledge of the fundamental physical properties of materials and their interaction with light | |||
| United States | Mathematical physics | |||
| United States | Contributor to the field of materials physics, who is noted for the quality of his/her research, review articles and lecturing | |||
| United States | Work in atomic physics or surface physics | |||
| United States | Contributions to the field of molecular spectroscopy and dynamics | |||
| United States | Accomplishments in the field of gravitational physics | |||
| United States | Achievement in fluid dynamics research | |||
| United States | Optical research that leads to breakthroughs in the condensed matter sciences | |||
| United States | Work by physicists combining original research accomplishments with leadership in the management of research or development in industry | |||
| United States | Work in theory, experiment or observation in the areas of astrophysics, nuclear physics, nuclear astrophysics, or closely related fields | |||
| United States | Experimental advances in the field of atomic and molecular spectroscopy or chemical physics | |||
| United States | Achievements in theoretical nuclear physics | |||
| United States | Work by mid-career researchers in the field of atomic, molecular, and optical physics | |||
| United States | American Physical Society and American Chemical Society | Interdisciplinary research in chemistry and physics, in the spirit of Irving Langmuir | ||
| United States | Achievement in the science and application of new materials | |||
| United States | Contributions to the field of plasma physics | |||
| United States | Outstanding accomplishment and unusual promise in research in polymer physics | |||
| United States | Contributions in measurement techniques and equipment | |||
| United States | Theoretical statistical physics | |||
| United States | Achievements in physics by undergraduate students | |||
| United States | Accomplishments by physicists in promoting the use of physics for the benefit of society | |||
| United States | Contributions to physics | |||
| United States | Contribution to physics research by a woman | |||
| United States | Achievement in biological physics research | |||
| United States | Theoretical or experimental contributions to condensed matter physics | |||
| United States | Contributions to fluid dynamics (No longer awarded) | |||
| United States | Achievements in experimental particle physics | |||
| United States | Polymer Physics Prize | American Physical Society | Outstanding accomplishment and excellence of contributions in polymer physics research | |
| United States | Achievement in particle physics theory | |||
| United States | Experimental research in nuclear physics, including the development of a method, technique, or device that significantly contributes in a general way to nuclear physics research | |||
| Canada | Research excellence in the fields of theoretical and mathematical physics | |||
| Canada | Outstanding contribution to the field of geophysics in Canada | |||
| Canada | Significant contributions relating to the foundations of quantum mechanics and to the applications of these principles | |||
| Canada | Research in the fields of physics and chemistry | |||
| Chile | Scientist whose work in the respective field of knowledge makes him worthy of said distinction | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions to acoustics | |||
| United States | Contributions to the advancement of science, engineering, or human welfare through the application of acoustic principles or through research accomplishments in acoustics | |||
| United States | Young scientists (age 35 or younger) for their contributions to optics | |||
| United States | High achievement in theoretical physics (no longer awarded) | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions in biophysics | |||
| United States | Substantial cultural, artistic, or humanistic contributions to physics | |||
| United States | Studies in solar physics and solar-terrestrial relationships | |||
| United States | Meritorious service to science | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions to the field of rheology | |||
| United States | Quantum optics, the physics of lasers | |||
| United States | Discovery or investigation in electricity, magnetism, or radiant energy, broadly interpreted | |||
| United States | Work in astrophysics | |||
| United States | Contributions to optical engineering, primarily in the commercial and industrial sector | |||
| United States | Edward Teller Award | American Nuclear Society | Pioneering research and leadership in the use of laser and ion-particle beams to produce unique high-temperature and high-density matter for scientific research and for controlled thermonuclear fusion | |
| United States | Pioneering work empowered by scientific research to create inventions, technologies, and products in optics and imaging | |||
| United States | Society for Optical and Quantum Electronics | Significant contributions in quantum optics (no longer awarded) | ||
| United States | Some discovery in the Arts and Sciences, or for the invention or improvement of some useful machine, or for some new process or combination of materials in manufactures, or for ingenuity skill or perfection in workmanship. Now the Benjamin Franklin Medal | |||
| United States | Significant contributions to vibrational spectroscopy as judged by his or her influence on other scientists | |||
| United States | Contributions by individuals around the world to the fields of optical science and engineering education | |||
| United States | Significant advances in nanotechnology | |||
| United States | Distinction in optics | |||
| United States | Recent cutting-edge experimental NMR research with a high probability of enabling beneficial new applications | |||
| United States | Scientific research to solve a problem critical to the needs of the Air Force | |||
| United States | Investigations in astronomical physics | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions related to the fields of atomic and molecular frequency standards, and time transfer and dissemination | |||
| United States | No longer awarded | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions to the theoretical natural sciences | |||
| United States | Discovery or invention in the physical sciences, or new and important combinations of principles or methods already known | |||
| United States | Pioneering, highly significant, or continuing technical or leadership contributions to fiber optics technology | |||
| United States | Notable physicist | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions to physical optics | |||
| United States | research in the fields pertinent to American Vacuum Society | |||
| United States | Notable contributions to the teaching of physics. | |||
| United States | Technical achievements in optical engineering and contributions to society such as engineering education | |||
| United States | Outstanding theoretical or experimental work by a young scientist or engineer | |||
| United States | Outstanding contributions to quantum electronics, in either or both of the fields of fundamental research or application | |||
| United States | Technical contribution or an invention in the field of optics | |||
| United States | Physics education | |||
| United States | Notable contributions to the teaching of physics | |||
| United States | Contributions by scientists to the fields of heat and light | |||
| United States | Single, high-impact and innovative contribution in the field of nuclear magnetic resonance | |||
| United States | Early-career scientists and scholars | |||
| United States | Individual of any nationality who has advanced the science of architectural acoustics | |||
| United States | Contributions to spectroscopy |
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Future Science Prize for physical science | Future Forum | Outstanding contributions in astronomy, awarded to the physical-science related basis and applied research. | |
| Hong Kong | Shaw Prize Foundation | Outstanding contributions in astronomy, life science and medicine, and mathematical sciences | ||
| India | Astronautical Society of India | Individuals with notable lifetime contributions in the field of astronautics and aerospace technology in India | ||
| India | Awards outstanding achievements of contemporary researchers and scientists across six categories, including Physical Sciences | |||
| India | For notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and Physics. | |||
| India | Outstanding contributions in the subject of Spectroscopy in Physics | |||
| India | Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Foundation | Excellence in the areas of science and technology | ||
| India | VASVIK | Excellence in industrial research in the areas of science and technology | ||
| Israel | Prize in the disciplines of either physics or chemistry | |||
| Israel | Physics | |||
| Japan | Surface Science Society of Japan | Achievements in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnology based on surface science | ||
| Japan | Nishina Memorial Foundation | Substantial contributions in the field of physics | ||
| Pakistan | International Centre for Theoretical Physics Pakistan chapter | Chemistry, mathematics, physics, biology scientists who are resident in Pakistan, below 35 years of age |
See also: Institute of Physics Awards.
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | Scientific, technical or managerial merits in the field of photovoltaic solar energy | |||
| Europe | Scientific excellence in the area of condensed matter physics | |||
| Europe | Research contributions in the area of statistical physics, nonlinear physics, complex systems, and complex networks | |||
| Europe | Achievements in physics | |||
| Europe | Work in theoretical elementary particle physics or quantum field theory | |||
| Europe | Achievements which have shaped the plasma physics field or are expected to do so in future | |||
| Europe | Outstanding contribution to high energy and particle physics | |||
| Europe | Outstanding work in the fields of experimental, theoretical or applied nuclear science | |||
| Europe | Outstanding contributions in the application of experimental and theoretical methods of solid state physics to the study of earth sciences | |||
| Austria | Haitinger Prize | Studies in chemistry and physics that proved to be of great practical use for industrial applications | ||
| Austria | Young scientists working in the fields of molecular biology, chemistry, or physics | |||
| Austria | Outstanding achievements in theoretical physics | |||
| Denmark | H. C. Ørsted Medal | Society for the Dissemination of Natural Science | Scientific work in physics or chemistry | |
| Denmark | Particularly outstanding researcher who is working in the spirit of Niels Bohr: International cooperation and the exchange of knowledge | |||
| Denmark | Niels Bohr International Gold Medal | Engineering award | ||
| France | Outstanding research work in mathematics or physics | |||
| France | Young researchers (up to 35 years) in the field of mathematics, physics, and their non-military applications | |||
| France | Important discoveries in mathematics, physics, and biology | |||
| France | Major contributions in physics | |||
| France | Extraordinary scientific discoveries related to electricity. No longer awarded | |||
| Germany | Those who have created applied laser technology and innovations on the application or generation of laser light | |||
| Germany | Excellent research on the application or generation of laser light | |||
| Germany | Exceptional scientists and academics for their outstanding achievements in the field of research | |||
| Germany | German Ministry of Education and Research | Physics | ||
| Germany | Internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of Germany | |||
| Germany | Outstanding scientific work | |||
| Germany | Otto Klung Foundation and the Dr. Wilhelmy Foundation | Younger German scientists under the age of 40 in chemistry or physics | ||
| Germany/United Kingdom | Outstanding contributions to physics | |||
| Germany | Theoretical physics | |||
| Germany | Achievement in the field of chemistry, physics or applied engineering science | |||
| Germany | Experimental physicists | |||
| Germany | Outstanding research work of young academics in the field of solid-state physics | |||
| Hungary | Scientific achievements with practical applications, with a clear positive attitude towards international cooperation of the researchers | |||
| Italy | Top young chemist or physicist | |||
| Italy | Members of the Society who have particularly honored physics with their discoveries | |||
| Italy | Outstanding contributions to theoretical and mathematical physics | |||
| Italy | Physicists for their fundamental contributions | |||
| Italy | Achievements in physics | |||
| Netherlands | Physics | |||
| Poland | Organizing Committee | Competition for high school students | ||
| Poland | Significant contributions in physics | |||
| Russia | Young researchers in theoretical physics | |||
| Russia | Bogolyubov Prize | Outstanding contribution to theoretical physics and applied mathematics | ||
| Russia | Elementary particle physics | |||
| Russia | Achievements in natural sciences and humanities | |||
| Russia | Work in cosmology and gravity | |||
| Russia | Theoretical physics | |||
| Russia | Theoretical physics | |||
| Soviet Union | Outstanding achievements in nuclear physics and in the field of nuclear energy | |||
| Sweden | Individual contribution in the field of crystallography, including areas concerned with the dynamics of the formation and dissolution of crystal structures | |||
| Sweden | Physics | |||
| Sweden | Outstanding contributions for mankind in the field of Physics | |||
| Sweden | Prominent physicist | |||
| Switzerland | Scientific findings, works, or publications related to Albert Einstein | |||
| Switzerland | Research in gravitation and/or cosmology, | |||
| Ukraine | Outstanding contribution to theoretical physics and applied mathematics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to the application of underwater acoustics | |||
| United Kingdom | Achievements in research in any branch of science | |||
| United Kingdom | Investigations of outstanding merit in theoretical astrophysics | |||
| United Kingdom | electricity and magnetism | |||
| United Kingdom | Contributions to acoustics research or education | |||
| United Kingdom | Outstanding contributions to acoustics | |||
| United Kingdom | Important recent discovery in the field of thermal or optical properties of matter made by a scientist working in Europe | |||
| United Kingdom | Achievement and services in the field of acoustics | |||
| United Kingdom | Exceptional early career contributions to the application of physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Application of physics in an industrial, commercial or business context. Renamed Gabor Medal and Prize in 2008 | |||
| United Kingdom | Environmental, earth or atmospheric physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished work in experimental physics or in theoretical physics which is closely related to experimentation (Awarded with Société Française de Physique) | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to astrophysics, gravitational physics or cosmology | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to the application of physics in an industrial, commercial or business context | |||
| United Kingdom | Contributions to physics or its applications (Awarded with Australian Institute of Physics) | |||
| United Kingdom | Contributions to physics | |||
| United Kingdom | ||||
| United Kingdom | Sustained contributions to experimental physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to particle physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Outstanding early-career contributions to theoretical physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to applied physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Organisation or application of physics in an industrial or commercial context | |||
| United Kingdom | Promoting public awareness of the place of physics in the world, of its contributions to the quality of life and its advancement of an understanding of the physical world and the place of humanity within it | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished contributions to condensed matter physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Physicists who work in Italy (even dated years) or the UK or Ireland (odd dated years) (With the Italian Physical Society) | |||
| United Kingdom | Sustained contributions to theoretical (including mathematical and computational) physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished service to the Institute of Physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Meritorious services in various fields of endeavour which were of benefit to physics in general and the Institute in particular | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished research in theoretical, mathematical or computational physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Sustained contributions to leadership in a physics context | |||
| United Kingdom | Research in nuclear physics or nuclear technology | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished work in experimental or theoretical low temperature physics | |||
| United Kingdom | Distinguished research in the field of optics, including physics outside the visible region |
| Country | Award | Sponsor | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Leadership, research and/or applications of measurement techniques | |||
| Australia | Advancement of theoretical physics | |||
| Australia | Outstanding research in the field of physics by an Australian scientist under 40 years of age | |||
| Australia | Excellence in scientific research by an early career researcher in the physical sciences | |||
| Australia | Mathematician or physicist for his or her outstanding research accomplishments | |||
| Australia | Research in physics in Australia | |||
| New Zealand | Work of great scientific or technological merit and an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the particular branch of science |