The Nobel Prize in Physics 1963

Eugene Paul Wigner

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/2

Maria Goeppert Mayer

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

J. Hans D. Jensen

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/4

The Nobel Prize in Physics 1963 was divided, one half awarded to Eugene Paul Wigner "for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles", the other half jointly to Maria Goeppert Mayer and J. Hans D. Jensen "for their discoveries concerning nuclear shell structure"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Physics 1963. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2023. Fri. 29 Sep 2023. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1963/summary/>

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

Coming up

2023 Nobel Prize announcements

This year’s Nobel Prize announcements will take place 2–9 October. All announcements will be streamed live here on nobelprize.org.

See the full schedule
Announcement dates

Explore prizes and laureates

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