The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993

Kary B. Mullis

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

Michael Smith

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993 was awarded "for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry" jointly with one half to Kary B. Mullis "for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method" and with one half to Michael Smith "for his fundamental contributions to the establishment of oligonucleotide-based, site-directed mutagenesis and its development for protein studies."

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1993. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2021. Wed. 23 Jun 2021. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1993/summary/>

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

Learn more

Nobel Prizes 2020

Twelve laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2020, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from the formation of black holes and genetic scissors to efforts to combat hunger and develop new auction formats.

See them all presented here.
Nobel Prizes 2020 graphics

Explore prizes and laureates

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