Nobel Awards, 2023
< General Studies Home Page
Content
Introduction
Nobel prizes are regarded as most prestigious awards given for intellectual achievement in the world. These are a set of six international awards.
- The will of Swedish Scientist Alfred Nobel established these prizes in 1895 and the first Nobel prize in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Peace were awarded in 1901.
- In 1968, Sweden’s Central Bank Sveriges Riksbank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which although not being a Nobel Prize, has become commonly known as the Nobel Prize in Economics.
About Alfred Nobel:
- He is a 19th century businessman and chemist from Sweden. He held more than 300 patents. His most popular invention was dynamite which he created by mixing nitroglycerine with a compound that made the explosive more stable. The dynamite soon started getting used in construction as well as defence industry which made Nobel very rich.
- It perhaps also made him think about his legacy, because towards the end of his life he decided to use his vast fortune to fund annual prize “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind”.
- For reasons that are not entirely clear, Nobel decided that peace prize should be awarded in Norway and other prizes in Sweden. Nobel historians suspect that Sweden’s history of militarism may have been a factor.
Who awards these prizes?
- The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the Nobel Prize in Physics, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
- The Nobel Assembly, consisting of 50 professors at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden awards the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- The Swedish Academy grants the Nobel Prize in Literature.
- The Norwegian Nobel Committee awards the Nobel Peace Prize.
Nobel Prizes in 2023:
- In Physiology or Medicine, the prize has gone to scientists Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman, whose work enabled the development of mRNA vaccine against COVID-19.
- In Physics, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to Anne L’Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc Krausz in the field of attophysics for developing flashes of light short enough to take snapshots of electrons.
- In Chemistry, the Nobel Prize has gone to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, and Alexei I. Ekimov for the discovery and synthesis of Quantum Dots.
- The Nobel prize in Literature has been awarded to Job Fosse, “for his innovative plays and prose which give voice to the unsayable”.
- The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded to Claudia Goldin for research on the workplace gender gap.
- The Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 has been awarded to Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for here relentless fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her unwavering commitment to promoting human rights and freedom.
Prizes:
- $1 million; 18-carat gold medal; and diploma.