The Nobel Prize is considered the most prestigious award in the world. Every year in early October, the world turns its gaze towards Sweden as the Nobel laureates are announced in Stockholm. The award ceremonies take place on December 10th. Since 1901 prizes in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace have been awarded.
The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony is held in the Stockholm Concert Hall, where the King of Sweden presents each laureate with a Nobel Prize medal and a Nobel Prize diploma. A televised banquet is then held at Stockholm City Hall. On December 11th the festivities conclude with another banquet dinner at the Royal Palace.
Physics Prize
Roger Penrose
Born: 8 August 1931, Colchester, United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity.”
Reinhard Genzel
Born: 24 March 1952, Bad Homburg vor der Höhe, Germany
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy.”
Andrea Ghez
Born: 16 June 1965, New York, NY, USA
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy.”
Chemistry Prize
Emmanuelle Charpentier
Born: 11 December 1968, Juvisy-sur-Orge, France
Prize motivation: “for the development of a method for genome editing.”
Medicine Prize
Harvey J. Alter
Born: 12 September 1935, New York, NY, USA
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.”
Michael Houghton
Born: United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.”
Charles M. Rice
Born: 25 August 1952, Sacramento, CA, USA
Prize motivation: “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus.”
Literature Prize
Louise Glück
Born: 22 April 1943, New York, NY, USA
Prize motivation: “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”
Peace Prize
The World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. Last year the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.
Prize in Economic Sciences
Paul R. Milgrom
Born: 20 April 1948, Detroit, MI, USA
Prize motivation: “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.”
Robert B. Wilson
Born: 16 May 1937, Geneva, NE, USA
Prize motivation: “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats.”