William Menelaus Medal for Engineering, Physical Sciences and Maths
About the William Menelaus Medal
Note: this medal will next be awarded in 2027. Nominations will open in March 2027.
This medal, sponsored by SWIEET, celebrates significant contributions to the discipline of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Maths by established individuals working in research or innovation.
Winners of this medal will demonstrate significant contributions in one or more of the following ways:
- Significant contribution to their discipline/area of work
- Reach and impact of their work beyond the scope of their area/discipline
- Notable outputs of their work
- Any other notable achievements, e.g. innovation, major projects, knowledge transfer, dissemination of their work etc.
Open to individuals only.
Winners will be mid to later career individuals, defined as someone who has normally, at the time of the nomination, more than ten years of experience in research or relevant professional work (ten years or ten years full time equivalent).
Who was William Menelaus and why is he associated with our ‘Medal for Social Sciences’?
William Menelaus was an engineer and iron and steel manufacturer who was General Manager of the Dowlais Iron Company in South Wales. He oversaw massive transitions in production using innovative processes which made Dowlais world leading. He founded the original South Wales institute of Engineers in 1857.
Scrutiny Committee membership
Members of the scrutiny committee will be announced shortly.
Guidance and nomination forms
Past winners
2024: Professor Stuart Taylor received the Menelaus Medal 2024 for his groundbreaking contributions to heterogeneous catalysis, influencing energy, sustainability, green chemistry, and environmental protection.
2023: Professor Aimee Morgans received the Menelaus Medal 2023 for her work on the instabilities that threaten the structure of gas turbine aero-engines.
2022: Professor Kenneth Morgan receives the Menelaus Medal 2022 for his work on computer models for engineering analysis.
2021: Dr. Drew Nelson is our Menelaus Medal 2021 winner for his work establishing South Wales as a global hub for semi-conductor technology and manufacturing.
2020: Professor Nidal Hilal, Chair in Water Processing Engineering, Swansea University, has won the Learned Society of Wales’ Menelaus Medal 2020, awarded to celebrate excellence in engineering and technology.
2019: Professor Roger Owen FREng FRS FLSW, Research Professor of Engineering, Swansea University, was awarded the medal for his ground-breaking work in the simulation of problems in science and engineering using computational methods.
2017: The 2017 Menelaus Medallist was Professor Graham Hutchings, Regius Professor of Physical Chemistry at Cardiff University.
2016: Professor Hagan Bayley FLSW FRS was the fourth recipient of the Society’s Menelaus Medal.
2015: The third recipient of the Medal in 2015 was Professor Sir John Meurig Thomas DSc ScD MAE HonFRSE HonFREng FLSW FRS.
2014: The second Menelaus Medal awarded at Swansea University in July 2014 went to Sir John Cadogan CBE DSc FRSE FRSC MAE FLSW FRS.
2013: The first recipient of the Society’s Menelaus Medal, in July 2013, was the Welsh engineer and entrepreneur, Sir Terry Matthews Kt OBE PEng FIEE FREng.