The Abraham Gottlob Werner Silver Medal is the highest distinction awarded by the German Mineralogical Society and recognizes exceptional contributions to mineralogical research and related disciplines. In 2018, the medal was awarded to Ulrich Bismayer in recognition of his outstanding scientific achievements and his significant contributions to the field.

His pioneering work in hard-mode Raman spectroscopy has not only substantially advanced this inelastic light scattering technique as a tool for investigating local atomic-scale reorganization phenomena, but has also greatly expanded its applications in the geosciences. His research has had a major impact on our understanding of ferroelectric memory materials, the recrystallization of radiation-damaged minerals, and the nanoparticle analysis of biominerals. Furthermore, Ulrich Bismayer has made important contributions to understanding the coupling mechanisms of order parameters during ferroic phase transitions, significantly improving the quantitative description of the thermodynamic stability of minerals. His sustained research has also advanced the application of diffuse scattering techniques for investigating structural disorder, thermally induced phase transitions, and the structural characterization of minerals altered by radioactivity.