2009 Nobel Prizes
14
Who Was Alfred Nobel?
Born in Sweden in 1833, Alfred Nobel was later educated in Russia. He traveled and worked across Europe but primarily lived in Paris, France. Nobel was a chemist and inventor, and patented dynamite in 1867. Nobel made a fortune building and selling weapons. His inventive spirit drove him throughout his life and he had 355 patents when he died.
Nobel loved literature and poetry, and had an active interest in social issues. Later in life, he even became known as somewhat of a pacifist—someone who works for peace.
What is the Nobel Prize?
When he died in 1896, Nobel directed that part of his fortune be split up and given as awards once a year. Since 1901, the awards have been made in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Committees award each prize, and the Nobel Foundation oversees the administration of the prize program.
Who won in 2009?
The Nobel Prize in Physics went to three men who discovered new technologies in the late 1960s and early 1970s that would change communication and digital photography. Charles K. Kao learned how to send light signals over long distances through tiny glass fibers. Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith invented a sensor that turns light into electric signals. So what? Kao’s work makes communication over the Internet possible. Do you upload pictures from your phone or camera to Facebook or MySpace? The digital camera uses technology that Boyle and Smith discovered.
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to three people for their research on ribosomes, which are the part of the cell that makes protein. So what? The work of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas Steitz, and Ada Yonath is being used to develop new antibiotics. . . maybe someday your doctor will prescribe one for you!
The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded to three scientists who discovered how chromosomes protect themselves during cell division. So what? Thanks to Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider, and Jack Szostak, new cancer therapies can be developed.
The Nobel Prize in Literature recognized the work of German author Herta Mueller. Her writing draws on her experiences growing up as a Romanian in Germany, where she was treated with disrespect and cruelty. So what? The award for Mueller’s work acknowledges the challenges people face when they are part of a minority group.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to President Barack Obama for the work he has done on behalf of the United States to prioritize peaceful negotiation and diplomacy in solving global problems. So what? President Obama said he was “both surprised and deeply humbled by the decision” and that he did not “view it as a recognition of my own accomplishments, but rather as an affirmation of American leadership on behalf of aspirations held by people in all nations.”
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize for Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was not part of Alfred Nobel’s original vision for the Nobel prizes. This prize was established in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank, the central bank of Sweden. The 2009 winners were both Americans who won for their work analyzing economic governance, or the rules and principles that govern economic activity. So what? One of the winners, Elinor Ostrom, is the first woman to win this award.
Dig Deeper
The Nobel Foundation has many interactive games on their Web site. Visit and play. . . you will learn more about different Nobel prize winners and the science and ideas behind their work.