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Nobel Prize awarded discoveries

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2009

The founder of fiber optics: Charles Kao

The rapid transmission of signals over long distances is fundamental to the flow of information in our time. At almost the speed of light, messages are spread around the world through telecommunication using optical fibers possible – thanks to the ‘Father of fiber optics’ Nobel Prize laureate Charles Kao.

Portrait of Charles K. Kao.

Copyright © The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Nobel Prize in Physics

Six days – six prizes

221 persons have been awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics since 1901.

Biophysicist Joachim Frank was woken up to the news on 4 October 2017 – who will get the call from Stockholm this year?

See the list of all physics laureates.

The Nobel Prize call

“Wow. This is amazing. I am shaking. What an honour!”

Surprised, overwhelmed, terrified, happy. How would you react if you suddenly heard that you had been awarded the Nobel Prize? Here, seven laureates share their stories.

Jack W. Szostak answers phone calls after the announcement of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

© Harvard Gazette 2009, Photo: Justin Ide

Nobel Prize laureates share their thoughts

Nobel Prize in Physics 2020

What brought you to science?

What brought you to science? Did you have role models that inspired you to start a scientific career? In what environment are you most creative? These and more questions are answered in this interview with physics laureate Andrea Ghez.

Who did what?

How many physics laureates can you match?

Can you match the right physics laureate with the right discovery? Have a try!

Nobel Prizes 2023

2023 Nobel Prize announcements

This year’s Nobel Prize announcements will take place 2–9 October.

See the full schedule

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.”

Annie Ernaux.jpg — Credit: Annie Ernaux/ Photo: Catherine Hélie, Gallimard.

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.”

Questions and answers

What are the Nobel Prize categories?

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Nobel Peace Prize

Nobel Peace Prize 2022

"It just so happens that people who value freedom the most are often deprived of it"

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Bialiatski has long advocated for fundamental human rights, democracy and freeing the political prisoners in Belarusian jails. Read his Nobel Peace Prize lecture here.

Portrait of Ales Bialiatski.

Foto: HRC Vesna

Nobel Prize nominations

2023 Nobel Peace Prize nominations

The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 351 candidates for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. 92 of these are organisations.

Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony 2021. — Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony 2021 in the Oslo City Hall in Norway.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Geir Anders Rybakken Ørslien.

Are the nominations made public?

Did you know that there is no public list of the current year’s nominees for the peace prize? The complete list of nominees of any year’s prizes is not disclosed for 50 years. The same goes for all the prize categories. Learn more about the nomination process in a this Q&A.

Peace Prize nomination process — The nomination process for Nobel Peace Prize laureates.

© Nobel Media. Ill. Niklas Elmehed

Nobel Prize Summit 2023

Truth, Trust and Hope

How can we build trust in truth, facts and scientific evidence so that we can create a hopeful future for all?

The Nobel Prize Summit brought together laureates, leading experts and the general public in a conversation on how we can combat disinformation, restore trust in science and create a hopeful future.

Read more and watch the recorded events here

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.

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

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.

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

Ferid Murad 1936‒2023

Ferid Murad passed away on 4 September 2023. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1998 for discoveries concerning nitric oxide as a signalling molecule in the cardiovascular system. These discoveries opened new avenues for patient treatment and diagnoses of various diseases.

Read Ferid Murad’s biography

John B. Goodenough passes away at 100

John B. Goodenough passed away on 25 June, age 100. In 2019, at 97, he became the oldest person to receive a Nobel Prize. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.”

Read John B. Goodenough’s biography

Harry M. Markowitz, creator of the theory of portfolio selection, dies

Harry Markowitz passed away on 22 June, age 96. He was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for “pioneering work in the theory of financial economics”.

Biography

Harald zur Hausen dies

Harald zur Hausen passed away on 28 May, age 87. In the 1970s, he went against current dogma and postulated that oncogenic human papilloma virus (HPV) caused cervical cancer. His work led to the development of a vaccine against the disease. In 2008, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

All Nobel Prizes

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