The James Watt Medal is an award for excellence in engineering established in 1937, conferred by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in the United Kingdom. It is named after Scottish engineer James Watt (1736–1819) who developed the Watt steam engine in 1781, which was fundamental to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both his native Great Britain and the rest of the world.
The James Watt International Gold Medal is awarded by the British to an outstanding mechanical engineer.
To commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of James Watt on 19 January 1736 - an event which was destined to bring about a revolution in the utilisation of power - the Institution of Mechanical Engineers award every two years a Gold Medal to an engineer of any nationality who is deemed worthy of the highest award the Institution can bestow and that a mechanical engineer can receive. In making the award, the Institution has sought the co-operation and advice of engineering Institutions and Societies in all parts of the world.To be worthy to receive a medal struck in commemoration of one who was at one and the same time a scientist, an inventor and a producer, the recipient himself should be an engineer who has achieved international recognition both by his works as a mechanical engineer and by the ability with which he has applied science to the progress of mechanical engineering.[1]
Recipients of the James Watt International Gold Medal are:[2]
| Year | Recipient | Nominated by | Achievement | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | The Institution of Mechanical Engineers | Locomotive designer | |||
| 1939 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1941 | Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects, Czechoslovakia Society of Engineers, Engineering Institute of Canada | Steam turbine engineer | |||
| 1943 | Institution of Engineers, Australia, South African Institute of Engineers, Engineering Institute of Canada | ||||
| 1945 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1947 | Swiss Society of Mechanical Engineers and Architects | ||||
| 1949 | Swedish Society of Engineers | ||||
| 1951 | Danish Society of Engineers | ||||
| 1953 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1955 | American Society of Engineers | ||||
| 1957 | Verein Deutscher Ingenieure | ||||
| 1959 | Institution of Engineers, Australia, Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1961 | American Society of Engineers | ||||
| 1963 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | English mechanical engineer and locomotive designer | |||
| 1965 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1967 | Academy of Sciences of the USSR | ||||
| 1969 | Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers | Chief engineer of Tōkaidō Shinkansen high speed train | |||
| 1971 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1973 | Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects | ||||
| 1975 | Professor Dr-Ing | Verein Deutscher Ingenieure | |||
| 1977 | New Zealand Institution of Engineers | ||||
| 1979 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1981 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | Professor emeritus and former head of the department of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology | |||
| 1983 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1985 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1987 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1989 | Fellowship of Engineering | ||||
| 1991 | Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1993 | Comitedes Applications Académie des Sciences, France | Aero and space engineer, head of ISAE and Arianespace | |||
| 1995 | Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1997 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 1999 | Institution of Engineers of Ireland | ||||
| 2001 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2003 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2005 | American Society of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2008 | Professor Emeritus John Spence | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | |||
| 2010 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2012 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2014 | Institution of Mechanical Engineer | ||||
| 2016 | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | ||||
| 2019 | Sir David McMurtry | Institution of Mechanical Engineers | For a lifelong emphasis on research and development | ||
| 2021 | Prof. Emeritus Izhak Etsion | Technion - Israel Institute of Technology | For outstanding contributions in the field of Tribology |
The James Watt Medal is also a lesser known award of the British Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) for energy engineers. From the Institution of Civil Engineers website:[3]
The James Watt Medal is awarded for papers having a substantial mechanical engineering content. The medal, named after James Watt, the Scottish mechanical engineer and inventor who died in 1819, was introduced by Robert Stephenson (President of ICE in 1855-1856) who recommended Council to acquire the dies of the medal from Joseph S Wyon in 1858.
Recipients of the James Watt Medal of the Institution of Civil Engineers include: