A total of 11 people were honored and awarded for their different kinds of success within the six different fields eligible for Nobel Prizes.
The Nobel Prize, founded by Alfred Nobel in the late 1800s, was established to recognize those who had extraordinary achievements in six different fields: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Nobel didn’t just invent the Nobel Prize; he also invented dynamite in 1867. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, five years after the death of Nobel.
Each year, the nomination process begins during the month of September. The six different fields have slightly different criteria when it comes to nominations, yet self-nominations are not allowed in any field.
A single prize winner receives 11 million Swedish kronor (SEK), which translates to about one million U.S. dollars. If multiple people are awarded the prize in the same field, they must share the money equally among themselves.
This year’s physics laureates are John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret and John M. Martinis. According to the Nobel Prize website, they were given this award “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”
Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson and Omar M. Yaghi are this year’s chemistry laureates. The website recognizes them “for the development of metal-organic frameworks.”
The medicine laureates this year include Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell and Shimon Sakaguchi. They were awarded “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance,” according to the website.
The literature laureate this year is László Krasznahorkai. He was given the award “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art,” as per the website.
Lastly, this year’s peace laureate is Maria Corina Machado. The website notes that she was acknowledged “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Each year, the Nobel Prize continues to honor the outstanding achievements that will continue to benefit humanity and inspire progress.
