Machine learning has long been important for research, including the sorting and analysis of vast amounts of data. John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton used tools from physics to construct methods that helped lay the foundation for today’s powerful machine learning. Machine learning based on artificial neural networks is currently revolutionising science, engineering and daily life.
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024
Nobel Prize in Physics
The Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 was awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
Hopfield created a structure that can store and reconstruct information. Hinton invented a method that can independently discover properties in data and which has become important for the large neural networks now in use.
Hopfield created a structure that can store and reconstruct information. Hinton invented a method that can independently discover properties in data and which has become important for the large neural networks now in use.
Watch the announcement
“The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2024 to …”
Watch Professor Hans Ellegren, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, announce the 2024 physics prize. The announcement is followed by an interview with Professor Anders Irbäck.
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118
physics prizes have been awarded since 1901
See all physics prizes and laureates -
25
years old: the youngest physics laureate
Read about the 1915 laureate Lawrence Bragg -
96
years old: the oldest physics laureate
Read about the 2018 laureate Arthur Ashkin
Quick facts
See all Nobel Prize laureates in physics 1901-2024 and why they were awarded the Nobel Prize.
In his last will and testament, Alfred Nobel specifically designated the institutions responsible for the prizes he wished to be established.
Who did what?
Can you match the right physics laureate with the right discovery? Have a try!
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2024
Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun discovered microRNA, a new class of tiny RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation. Their groundbreaking discovery in the small worm C. elegans revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation. This turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans. MicroRNAs are proving to be fundamentally important for how organisms develop and function.
Prize announcement
Watch the announcement of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by Professor Thomas Perlmann, Secretary-General of the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, followed by an interview with Professor Olle Kämpe, member of the Nobel Committee.
Interview – First reactions
Victor Ambros speaks about the joy of basic research and the ever-expanding fascination of RNA. Recorded just after Ambros found out about the prize, we also discover how the news was broken to the new laureate by his son.
Interview – First reactions
Minutes after hearing the news, Gary Ruvkun talked about the pleasure of finding things out, the electrifying growth of the microRNA field over the years, and the benefits of taking time out.
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The Nobel Prize in Chemistry
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Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm
The Nobel Prize Museum, together with partners across Stockholm, invites you to celebrate and understand this year’s Nobel Prizes and much more.
Nobel Prize Museum, Stockholm
For the first time, the Nobel Prize Museum is displaying a large selection of items from its collection of artefacts from Nobel Prize laureates.
Nobel Peace Center, Oslo
The Nobel Peace Prize medal is shown in all its glory in the Medal Chamber. Here, visitors can experience the world’s foremost symbol of peace.
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In memoriam
Tsung Dao Lee passed away on 4 August, age 97. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 1957 for his “penetrating investigation of the so-called parity laws which has led to important discoveries regarding the elementary particles.”
Biography
Biography
J. Robin Warren passed away on 23 July 2024. He was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease
Biography
Biography
Bengt Samuelsson passed away on 5 July 2024, age 90. He was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.
Biography
Biography
Canadian author Alice Munro passed away on 15 May 2024. She was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature 2013 with the motivation “master of the contemporary short story”.
Biography
Biography