The Society awarded the Davy Medal to Professor Stephen Mann FRS, of the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry, as part of its annual prizes.

Professor Mann is Professor of Chemistry, Director of the Centre for Organized Matter Chemistry, Director of the Centre for Protolife Research, and Principal of the Bristol Centre for Functional Nanomaterials at the University of Bristol.

He received the Davy Medal for his distinguished contributions to the chemistry of bio-mineralization, and for pioneering the bioinspired synthesis and self-assembly of functional nanostructures and hybrid nanoscale objects.

Professor Mann said: "It is a great honour to be awarded the Royal Society Davy Medal. My deepest thanks go to my research group past and present, for their creativity and enthusiasm.  I am also indebted to many brilliant collaborators and mentors who without deliverables, milestones or impact statements have made profound contributions to the advancement and application of scientific knowledge throughout the world."

The Davy medal is named after Humphry Davy FRS, the chemist and inventor of the Davy Lamp, and was first awarded in 1877. The Davy Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding researcher in the field of chemistry.