2018 Nobel Prize in Physics

Arthur Ashkin was awarded the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics “for the optical tweezers and their application to biological...
Posted by Nobel Prize on Monday, September 16, 2019

Coming up

2019 Nobel Prize announcements

Physiology or Medicine - Monday 7 October, 11:30 a.m. at the earliest
Physics - Tuesday 8 October, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest
Chemistry - Wednesday 9 October, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest
Literature - Thursday 10 October, 1:00 p.m. at the earliest
The Swedish Academy will announce the Nobel Prize in Literature for both 2018 and 2019.
Peace - Friday 11 October, 11:00 a.m.
Economic Sciences - Monday 14 October, 11:45 a.m. at the earliest
Times listed are local time in Sweden and Norway.
All announcements will be streamed live here.

Nobel Prize Series

Teaching and Learning

11-13 September 2019, Punjab and Delhi, India.

Learn more

Alfred Nobel - Established the Nobel Prizes

Scientist and inventor

Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 265 million dollars) to fund the Nobel Prizes.

Alfred Nobel's early years

When Alfred was five years old his father Immanuel, an inventor and builder, moved to St. Petersburg. Alfred joined him a few years later.

Inventing dynamite

Based on Alfred’s work and patents a whole new industry developed. Within ten years, 16 explosives producing factories had been founded in 14 countries.

A controversial will

In his will of 27 November 1895, signed in Paris, Alfred Nobel specified that the bulk of his fortune should be used for prizes.

Nobel Prize Teacher Summit 2019

Climate change changes everything

The Nobel Prize Teacher Summit is an international teacher conference held in Stockholm every year. Teachers meet Nobel Prize Laureates, top scientists and peace activists around a theme of great importance. The 2019 theme is 'Climate change changes everything'.

Read more at the Nobel Prize Museum’s website.

Nobel Prize Concert

Herbert Blomstedt to conduct the 2019 Nobel Prize Concert

Renowned conductor Herbert Blomstedt will lead the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the Concert Hall Stockholm on 8 December. This year's soloist is the soprano Miah Persson.

Tickets are sold by Konserthuset, Stockholm.

Herbert Blomstedt Dirigierend 1 — Herbert Blomstedt.

Photo: © Martin U.K. Lengemann

Nobel Prize facts

All Nobel Prizes and laureates

See the full list of all Nobel Laureates, awarded for "the greatest benefit to humankind".

Last year's laureates

Eleven laureates were awarded Nobel Prizes in 2018. See a short presentation of them here.

Overview from Nobel Prize Award Ceremony

Nobel Prizes to women

See the list of all women awarded a Nobel Prize or a Prize in Economic Sciences so far.

Youngest laureate

Youngest Nobel Laureate ever is Malala Yousafzai. She was 17 years old when she was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.

2019 - International Year of the Periodic Table

"There's antimony, arsenic, aluminium ..."

To celebrate the International Year of the Periodic Table, let's take a look back at the time 2003 Chemistry Laureate Peter Agre sang the ‘The elements’ to an audience in St Petersburg, Russia.

2018 Nobel Prizes

Tools made of light

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded with one half to Arthur Ashkin "for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems" and the other half jointly to Gérard Mourou and Donna Strickland "for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses".

© Johan Jarnestad / The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Power of evolution

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded with one half to Frances H. Arnold "for the directed evolution of enzymes" and the other half jointly to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter "for the phage display of peptides and antibodies."

Released the brakes of immunity

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo "for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation."

© The Nobel Committee for Physiology or Medicine. Illustrator: Mattias Karlén

Courageously combating war crimes and seeking justice for victims

The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."

Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad

Ill. Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Media

Integrating innovation and climate with economic growth

The 2018 Prize in Economic Sciences was divided equally between William D. Nordhaus "for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis" and Paul M. Romer "for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis."

All Nobel Prizes and Laureates

904 individuals and 24 organizations have been awarded Nobel Prizes so far. See the full list of all Nobel Laureates, awarded for "the benefit of humankind".

May-Britt Moser receiving her Nobel Prize from His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden.

Copyright © Nobel Media AB 2014, Photo: Niklas Elmehed

Nobel Prize nominations

Who can nominate for a Nobel Prize?

No person can nominate herself/himself for a Nobel Prize. But who can? And how are these persons chosen?

Jane Addams nomination for Carl von Ossietzky

Who selects the Nobel Laureates?

In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.

Explore the nomination archive

Search among the names of the nominees and nominators, as well as additional information about the nominations 1901-1966.

Mahatma Gandhi - The missing laureate

Mohandas Gandhi has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?