Leading researchers and educators championed as winners of 2026 Founders’ Awards for Excellence.
Chancellor Sandie Okoro OBE, with the winners of the Founders' Awards 2026, and Professor Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham has announced the winners of the 2026 Founders’ Awards for Excellence, including the University’s Medal of Honour.
The awards celebrate the very best of world-leading research, teaching and innovation that make a lasting impact locally, nationally, and globally.
In addition to four annual award categories, this year sees the presentation of the Medal of Honour, awarded for exceptional and sustained contributions. Exceptionally, two recipients have been recognised in 2026.
Named after some of our city’s most influential figures, these awards display some of the best research and education our university has to offer. All the nominees and winners demonstrate why Birmingham is going from strength to strength...
Vice Chancellor and Principal, Professor Adam Tickell, said: “I am delighted to announce the winners of the Founders’ Awards. Named after some of our city’s most influential figures, these awards display some of the best research and education our university has to offer. All the nominees and winners demonstrate why Birmingham is going from strength to strength, not only in QS, but in the National Student Survey results and the latest Complete University Guide.
“It was wonderful to celebrate the fantastic work our academics do every day and the outstanding contributions they make to the University, both on a local and international scale. Many congratulations to all the nominees and winners.”
The winners of the 2026 Founders’ Awards for Excellence are:
The Medal of Honour is awarded for exceptional and sustained contributions that have had a transformative impact on academia, society, and global challenges.
Winner: Professor Paul Moss, Deputy Head of College of Medicine and Health and Professor of Haematology, College of Medicine and Health
Professor Paul Moss has advanced understanding in clinical and translational haematology, including immune therapies, viral control in transplantation, anti-tumour immunity, and infectious disease. He pioneered approaches such as the use of CMV-specific T cells in transplant patients and led the UK Coronavirus Immunology Consortium during the COVID-19 pandemic, shaping national understanding of immune responses to the virus.
Winner: Professor Karen Guldberg, Head of the School of Education and Professor of Autism Studies and Director of the Autism Centre for Education and Research, College of Social Sciences
Professor Karen Guldberg has made a sustained and exceptional impact on inclusive education in the UK. For more than 20 years, she has led research, policy and practice that has transformed how neurodivergent children and young people are understood, taught, and supported. She led the development of the Autism Education Trust framework, which has informed national training programmes reaching over 400,000 educators.
The Florence Price Award recognises the work of a researcher whose work has international significance and breaks new boundaries, placing their research at the global forefront of their discipline.
Winner: Dr Sophie Pain, Assistant Professor in Sustainable Materials, 125th Anniversary Fellow, College of Engineering and Physical Sciences
Dr Sophie Pain is an emerging international leader in sustainable energy materials, transforming photovoltaic design for full lifecycle sustainability. Her work uses atomic-scale manufacturing techniques to enable solar panels to be fully dismantled and recycled at end of life.
Her Royal Academy of Engineering Fellowship focuses on atomic layer deposition methods to create recyclable solar technologies, helping position the UK at the forefront of next-generation photovoltaics while addressing the environmental challenges associated with renewable energy production.
The Joseph Chamberlain Award for Educational Advancement celebrates the work of an outstanding academic whose contribution to the education of the University’s undergraduate or postgraduate students has had a major impact on student outcomes and experience.
Winner: Professor Julia Myatt, Professor in Collaborative Education and Academic Director of Sustainability Education, College of Life and Environmental Sciences
Professor Julia Myatt has led a step change in embedding sustainability across education at the University of Birmingham. As Inaugural Academic Director of Sustainability Education, she has driven institution-wide transformation, ensuring sustainability is integrated across disciplines.
Her work has enhanced student learning, strengthened staff capability, and contributed to the University’s global reputation in sustainability education. Her programmes include the Sustainability in Action course and internship schemes that have engaged over a thousand students in applied sustainability projects.
The Josiah Mason Award for Academic Advancement recognises activity that has significantly advanced understanding within a specific academic area and has had national or international reach.
Winner: Professor Karen Yeung, Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics, College of Arts and Law
Professor Karen Yeung is at the forefront of advancing understanding of the regulation and governance of emerging technologies. She has pioneered Law and Technology as a sub-discipline of legal scholarship.
Her research on algorithmic regulation and hypernudge systems has inspired international debates on how artificial intelligence influences behaviour and raises challenges for human rights and democratic governance, informing policy discussions across the world.
The Rose Sidgwick Award for External Engagement and Impact is given for academic activity that has created meaningful change at a civic, national or international level by delivering economic, social, environmental or cultural societal benefits.
Winner: Professor Richard Butler, on behalf of the Palaeobiology research group, College of Life and Environmental Sciences
Professor Richard Butler and the University of Birmingham Palaeobiology research group deliver world-leading research with local to global impact. Their work reaches billions, shaping policy while enhancing the social, cultural and economic value of fossil heritage and inspiring engagement with Earth’s history.
Major discoveries such as the Dinosaur Highway excavation and new fossil species have generated global media attention and contributed to conservation policy and heritage initiatives.
The Founders’ Awards recognise the very best of academic achievement across the University and are a tribute to the outstanding contributions of the academic community. To find out more about the winners and their work, please visit the Founders’ Awards page.
These awards follow the news that the University of Birmingham has risen eight places in this year’s QS World University Rankings to 68th, its highest position in a decade.
Thanks to its growing global reputation and outstanding research strengths, Birmingham has improved its standing among the world's best universities for the fourth successive year, rising 23 places globally since 2023.
For more information, please contact Ellie Hail, Communications Officer, University of Birmingham at e.hail@bham.ac.uk or alternatively on +44 (0)7966 311 409. You can also contact the press office on +44 (0) 121 414 2772.
Deputy Head of College of Medicine and Health
Professor Moss is Professor of Haematology at the University of Birmingham and Deputy Head of the College of Medicine and Health. He is an NIHR Senior Investigator.
Head of the School of Education and Professor of Autism Studies
Professor Karen Guldberg is Head of the School of Education and chairs a government Neurodivergence Task and Finish Group
Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics
Academic profile of Professor Karen Yeung, Interdisciplinary Professorial Fellow in Law, Ethics and Informatics at Birmingham Law School and the School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham
Assistant Professor in Sustainable Materials
Dr Sophie Pain is an Assistant Professor in Sustainable Materials in the Schools of Engineering, and Metallurgy and Materials. She is both a 125th Anniversary Fellow and a Royal Academy of Engineering Research Fellow.
Professor of Palaeobiology
Richard is a vertebrate palaeontologist with expertise in the systematics, evolution and biogeography of late Palaeozoic to Mesozoic reptiles.
Professor in Collaborative Education & Academic Director of Sustainability Education
Professor Julia Myatt's research interests include morphology-behaviour-habitat interfaces in non-human great apes and the collective behaviour of group-living animals
