2022 Nobel Prize laureates

Ill. Niklas Elmehed. © Nobel Prize Outreach

Nobel Prize awarded discoveries

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018

She turned bioengineering upside down

Nobel Prize laureate Frances Arnold conducted the first directed evolution of enzymes, which are proteins that catalyse chemical reactions.

Since then, she has refined the methods that are now routinely used to develop new catalysts. The uses of Arnold’s enzymes include more environmentally friendly manufacturing of chemicals and the production of renewable fuels.

Frances Arnold in the laboratory.

Photo kindly provided by Caltech

Podcast with Leymah Gbowee

Encore of Nobel Prize Conversations

“I see myself as the one who never gives up”

Leymah Gbowee shares her heartbreaking life story of a happy childhood cruelly interrupted by the Liberian civil war. Her never-give-up attitude has been a constant in her life and work, and something she tries to instil in young people, encouraging them ”to believe that they can do whatever they put their mind to”.

Nobel Week 2022

6–12 December

Nobel Week is coming

Join us online in December to celebrate the Nobel Prize laureates!
Take part in the festivities as we celebrate the 2022 laureates and the discoveries and achievements that have brought the greatest benefit to humankind.

It will be a full week of celebrations with the 2022 award ceremonies, Nobel Prize lectures, and much more.

2021 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony in Oslo, Norway.

Stockholm, 9 December 2022

The Future of Life

Streams during Nobel Week

Nobel Prize lectures 2022

Watch the streams from the lectures, starting on 7 December 15:00 CET!

See the full schedule of streams during Nobel Week

2022 Nobel Prize Concert

8 December

Soprano Diana Damrau soloist at the Nobel Prize Concert

Bringing extra star power to this year’s Nobel Prize Concert on 8 December will be German soprano Diana Damrau. Austrian conductor Manfred Honeck will lead the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra at the concert.

Nobel Peace Prize Forum 2022

11 December

Afghanistan: Finding a way forward

Tis year’s forum will focus on how to find a way forward for Afghanistan. After the withdrawal of international troops last year and more than a year with the Taliban, the freedom and basic human rights of the Afghan people, especially women, continues to deteriorate. The forum will also address the crucial question of whether and how the West should engage with the Taliban.

Nobel Peace Prize Forum will be streamed live at nobelprize.org.

Boy cleaning waste water — Photo: Antoine Boureau, Millennium/NTB

3–11 December

Nobel Week Lights

Nobel Week Lights Stockholm is an annual light festival that takes place during the Nobel week in December. Directly inspired by Nobel Prize-awarded discoveries, artworks illuminate the Stockholm winter darkness and invite new insights into the research, lives and contributions of Nobel Prize laureates.

Memories from the Nobel Week

Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, chemistry 2016

"Unforgettable"

Fraser Stoddart: “One of the great joys of Stockholm was spending time with my co-laureates”.

Linda Buck and Richard Axel, medicine 2004

"A once in a lifetime experience"

Linda Buck and Richard Axel share some of their memories of the Nobel Week 2004.

John Nash, economic sciences 1994

"I have many memories"

Listen to John Nash reminisce about his experience of a December week in Sweden.

Reinhard Selten, economic sciences 1994

"I began to feel that this is real"

It wasn’t until the 10 December Reinhard Selten felt that his prize was for real.

Kurt Wüthrich, chemistry 2002

"One of the greatest week's in a scientist's life"

Kurt Wüthrich recalls how the overwhelming media coverage made the week very intensive.

John B. Fenn, chemistry 2002

"It was wonderful"

John B. Fenn on his Nobel Week experience: “It was wonderful! I even enjoyed being sick there.”

Robert Curl, chemistry 1996

"I became increasingly nervous"

At the award ceremony Robert Curl became extremely nervous.

William Sharpe, economic sciences 1990

"It was truly magical"

William Sharpe brought an extended family to the festivities in Stockholm.

What do the laureates receive?

Nobel Prize diploma

Each diploma is a unique work of art, created by leading Swedish and Norwegian artists and calligraphers. Read more about the diplomas here.

Physics Laureate Donna Strickland's diploma. — Physics laureate Donna Strickland's diploma.

Photo reproduction: Lovisa Engblom

Nobel Prize medal

The front of the gold Nobel Prize medals depict Alfred Nobel. The image on the reverse varies according to the institution awarding the prize. Read more about the medals.

Youyou Tu showing her Nobel Medal — Medicine laureate Tu Youyou showing her Nobel Prize medal, 11 December 2015.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud.

The prize amount

The current amount is at SEK 10 million per full Nobel Prize. A Nobel Prize can be awarded to up to three laureates who share the prize sum. Find out more about the prize amounts throughout history.

Laureates on stage after the 2014 Nobel Prize award ceremony.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Nobel Prize award ceremonies

Since 1901, the Nobel Prizes have been presented to the laureates on 10 December, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Here you can browse the ceremonies archive.

Nobel Prize award ceremony at Konserthuset Stockholm, 10 December 2019.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

A work of handmade precision

According to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, each laureate shall be presented with a gold medal. Watch a short video about how the Nobel Prize medals are created.

May-Britt and Edvard I. Moser examining their Nobel Medals during their visit to the Nobel Foundation, on 12 December 2014. — May-Britt and Edvard I. Moser examining their Nobel Prize medals.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Skillful craftmanship that never goes out of style

Each Nobel Prize diploma and medal comes in its own cover and case. Take a deep dive into the world of bookbinding and find out more about the craftmanship behind these unique pieces.

Memorable events for the Nobel Prize laureates

This year the laureates are unable to come to Stockholm, but previous years they have been swept up in a whirlwind of activities during Nobel Week.

Two Medicine Laureates at the table of honour: William C. Campbell and Satoshi Åmura. — Two medicine laureates at the Nobel Banquet: William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura.

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Nobel Prizes 2022

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022

How entanglement has become a powerful tool

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 was awarded jointly to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.”

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022

Their functional chemistry works wonders

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2022 was awarded jointly to Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless “for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.”

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022

Sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 was awarded to Svante Pääbo “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”

Denisova, Neanderthal and H. sapiens — © The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022

Exploring the role of memory in our lives

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2022 was awarded to Annie Ernaux “for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements and collective restraints of personal memory.”

The Nobel Peace Prize 2022

Documenting war crimes, human rights abuses and the abuse of power

The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

Nobel Peace Prize 2022 — Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022

Their discoveries improved how society deals with financial crises

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2022 was awarded jointly to Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig “for research on banks and financial crises.”

Explore prizes and laureates

Discover Nobel Prize lessons

Reliable and easy to use

Bring the 2022 Nobel Prizes into the classroom! The lessons are free and easy to use right away with ready-made slide shows, a speaker’s manuscripts and student assignments.

The 2022 prizes range from research on quantum mechanics and research on human evolution to documenting war crimes and the role of banks in financial crises.

Play a game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1930

The Blood Typing Game

How much do you know about blood types? Did you know that human blood groups were discovered by Nobel Prize laureate Karl Landsteiner in 1901?

Learn more about the way to find out about the human blood groups, blood typing and the importance of safe blood transfusions. See if you can save the lives of the patients in the game!

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1904

Pavlov's Dog

Is it possible to train a dog to drool on command? Learn about conditioned reflexes in this interactive game!

With this animated game, teachers are able to illustrate classical conditioning in the classroom. The object of the game is to train Pavlov’s dog to respond to a signal that it will associate with being fed.

In 1904, Ivan Pavlov was awarded with Nobel Prize for his pioneering studies of how the digestive system works.

New game

Peace Builders

Step into the shoes of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and learn about the legacy of Alfred Nobel in this immersive learning experience from the Nobel Peace Center. All Minecraft players can now journey alongside Desmond Tutu, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Jody Williams and Carl von Ossietzky to bring their vision of a more democratic, peaceful world to life.

Try a puzzle

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019

What did they discover?

The discovery of the 2019 chemistry laureates have a huge everyday impact for us. But what did they discover?

Try the puzzle and find out

Alfred Nobel – Established the Nobel Prize

Alfred Nobel's last will

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will in Paris, France. The Swedish dynamite millionaire, who thought that his invention would end all wars, had now realised that it was a very deadly product. Wanting to make amends, he did what no man of such wealth had done before …

The very first Nobel Prizes

On 10 December 1901 the first Nobel Prizes were awarded, in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Read more about the first prizes.

The first Nobel Prize Award Ceremony was held in 1901 at the Royal Academy of Music, Stockholm.

Alfred Nobel – scientist and inventor

Chemist, engineer and industrialist Alfred Nobel left 31 million SEK (today about 265 million dollar) to fund the Nobel Prizes. Read more about his life and work.

A bust of Alfred Nobel, surrounded by a beautiful wall of flowers

Nobel Prize Conversations

The making of a Nobel Prize laureate

What goes into the making of a Nobel Prize laureate? How big a role does luck play in the making of a laureate? Can you find any common experiences and external influences between the laureates? In this special bonus episode of Nobel Prize Conversations, we explore the origin stories of these remarkable individuals.

Benjamin List receiving his Nobel Prize diploma (1) — © Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Bernhard Ludewig

Nobel Prize Summit 2023

24-26 May 2023

Truth, Trust and Hope

Learn more

Nobel destinations

Stockholm, Sweden

Nobel Prize Museum

The Nobel Prize Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, illustrates a century of creativity, where visitors can follow the changes of the 20th century through the Nobel Prize and the Nobel Prize laureates.

The Nobel Prize: Ideas Changing the World (3) — The museum showcases the discoveries and creativity of the Nobel Prize laureates.

Photo: Åke Eson Lindman

Oslo, Norway

Nobel Peace Center

Located in the heart of Oslo, Norway, the Nobel Peace Center is a place where you can experience and learn about the various Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

NPC Nye Nobels Hage 10 — The story of each peace laureate is told at the museum.

Photo: Johannes Granseth/Nobel Peace Center

In memoriam

Edward C. Prescott 1940‒2022

Edward C. Prescott passed away on 6 November 2022, age 81. He was awarded the 2004 prize in economic sciences for his contributions to dynamic macroeconomics. The work influenced the monetary and fiscal policies of governments and laid the basis for the increased independence of many central banks.

2022 Nobel Prize laureates

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The Future of Life

Nobel Prize lectures 2022

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