EVERY YEAR IN early October, the world turns its gaze towards Sweden and Norway as the Nobel Laureates are announced in Stockholm and Oslo. Millions of people visit the website of the Nobel Foundation during this time.
The Nobel Prize has been awarded to people and organisations every year since 1901 (with a few exceptions such as during World War II) for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. Nobel Day is 10 December. For the prize winners, it is the crowning point of a week of speeches, conferences and receptions.
At the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm on that day, the Laureates in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Literature receive a medal from the King of Sweden, as well as a diploma and a cash award. The ceremony is followed by a gala banquet. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo the same day.
Prize in Economic Sciences
In 1968, Sweden’s central bank (Sveriges Riksbank) established the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The prize is based on a donation received by the Nobel Foundation in 1968 from the central bank to mark the bank’s 300th anniversary. The Prize in Economic Sciences is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, following the same principles as the Nobel Prizes.
Legacy of Alfred Nobel
The Nobel Prize is the legacy of Sweden’s Alfred Nobel (1833–1896). Prizes are awarded to ‘those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.’ When he signed his last will in 1895, Nobel declared that the bulk of his estate should be converted into a fund and invested in safe securities. The four institutions in Sweden and Norway (the two countries were united between 1814 and 1905) conferring the prizes were to be the Swedish Academy of Sciences, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, the Academy in Stockholm and a committee of five people to be elected by the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget).
The Nobel Foundation
The Nobel Prize in each category is currently worth SEK 9 million. There can be up to three recipients for each prize, who share the sum between them.
Organisations affiliated with the prize
The Nobel Prize is affiliated with several organisations and institutions entrusted with different tasks related to the prize. The Nobel Foundation Rights Association was established in 1999 to provide information through a variety of media about the Nobel Laureates and their achievements.
This non-profit association serves as an umbrella organisation for three other entities:
Nobel Media, which develops and manages programmes, productions and media rights of the Nobel Prize within the areas of digital and broadcast media, publishing as well as events
The Nobel Museum, housed in the Old Stock Exchange Building (Börshuset) in Stockholm’s Old Town, creates interest and spreads knowledge around the natural sciences and culture
Now let us look at the list of Nobel Prize Winners 2018
Medicine or Physiology
James P. Alliso
Tasuku Honjo
For the discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation
Physics
Arthur Ashkin
For the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems
Gerard Mourou
Donna Strickland
For their method of generating highintensity, ultra-short optical pulses
Chemistry
Frances H. Arnold
For the directed evolution of enzymes George P. Smith
Sir Gregory P. Winter
For the phage display of peptides and antibodies
Peace
Denis Mukwege
Nadia Murad
For their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict
Economic Sciences
Paul M. Romer
For integrating technological innovations into the long-run macroeconomic analysis
William D. Nordhaus
For integrating climate change into the longrun macroeconomic analysis