The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986

Dudley R. Herschbach

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

Yuan T. Lee

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

John C. Polanyi

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 was awarded jointly to Dudley R. Herschbach, Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes."

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Wed. 19 Feb 2020. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1986/summary/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Learn more

Nobel Prizes 2019

Fifteen laureates were awarded in 2019, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from how cells adapt to changes in levels of oxygen to our ability to fight global poverty.

See them all presented here.
2019 Nobel Laureates

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.