BCS Lovelace Medal
Celebrating exceptional education and research contributions, in honour of pioneering computer programmer Ada Lovelace.
Established in 1998, the BCS Lovelace Medal recognises people who have made exceptional contributions to either the understanding and advancement of computing, or to computing education. Winners are presented with a Lovelace Medal award, and their contribution and achievements are celebrated at a special event.
Previous winners include Demis Hassabis CBE, Jane Hillston MBE, Tom Crick MBE, Sir Tim Berners-Lee, and Karen Spärck Jones.
Who's eligible to receive the medal?
The Lovelace Medal celebrates people from academia, industry or education who have had major, notable impact in their field. They will have furthered knowledge or public understanding or driven transformational change in their discipline, made significant breakthroughs or advanced the efficacy or availability of computing education.
2024 BCS Lovelace Medal Winners
Three winners were selected to receive the BCS Lovelace Medal in 2024. Aggelos Kiayias and Philippa Gardner received the BCS Lovelace Medal for Research and Sue Sentance received the BCS Lovelace Medal for Education.
Read about the BCS Lovelace and Society Medal 2024 presentation event here.
Find out more about the selection criteria
Guide to nominating
Our guidance for nominators has advice on making a good quality nomination. Offline copies of the nomination form are available for download, to assist with preparing your nomination.
When you are ready to make your nomination, you can copy and paste the information from your offline copy to the online nomination form.
Prepare Lovelace Education nomination
Prepare Lovelace Research nomination
Thank you for helping us to highlight and appreciate extraordinary people and their exceptional contributions to computing.
Previous winners
View the previous winners of the medal below.
About Ada Lovelace
Augusta Ada King-Noel, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), was an extraordinary mathematician, scientist, and writer, whose legacy had a great impact on the world of computing. She is best known for her work on Charles Babbage's proposed mechanical general-purpose computer, the Analytical Engine.
Ada Lovelace’s work really was ahead of her time. She’s often credited with writing the world's first computer program, as she developed an algorithm for the Analytical Engine that envisioned the potential of these machines to perform tasks beyond just calculation, even though the machine was never actually built during her lifetime. Her contributions to the field and her recognition of the potential for computers to go beyond basic calculations, have rightfully earned her a place in history as a revolutionary figure in computer science.