Albert Einstein with his violin 'Lina'.
Photo: Public domain
Nobel Prize in Physics 2023
When asked what he would say to a student who had experienced a failure, physics laureate Pierre Agostini advised finding out why the problem occurred and fixing it. “I have one experiment back in ‘79 that worked the first time, but this is usually not the case. We have to try again.”
Pierre Agostini
Credit: Ohio State University
Nobel Prize in Physics 2020
Anne L’Huillier is the fifth woman awarded a Nobel Prize in Physics. Here, she talks about her passion for science, how she deals with failure and what skills have been important in her career.
Anne L’Huillier in the lab.
Photo courtesy of European Research Council
Nobel Prize Dialogue
David MacMillan: ”We are one chemical reaction away from solving climate change”
Chemistry laureate David MacMillan reminds us of the essence of scientific research: perseverance through failure. His words echo the truth that every setback brings us closer to a breakthrough. Or as he puts it, “We are one chemical reaction away from solving climate change.”
Watch more candid discussions and panel talks from Nobel Prize Dialogue in São Paulo, Brazil.
Watch the laureates in a discussion about their discoveries and achievements, and how these might find a practical application. Nobel Minds is hosted by the BBC’s Zeinab Badawi.
Nobel Minds 2023.
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.
Fact & Fiction: The Future of Democracy
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa spoke about threats to democracy at the Nobel Prize Dialogue in Brussels on 5 March.
Maria Ressa.
Courtesy Rappler
Nobel Prize in Physics 2023
Through their experiments, the 2023 physics laureates have created flashes of light that are short enough to take snapshots of electrons’ extremely rapid movements.
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023
The 2023 chemistry laureates have discovered and developed quantum dots. These tiny particles have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps.
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2023
The discoveries by the two medicine laureates were critical for developing effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
© The Nobel Committe for Physiology or Medicine. Ill. Mattias Karlén
Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2023
Claudia Goldin’s research has given us new and often surprising insights into women’s historical and contemporary roles in the labour market.
Figure 4. Depiction of Claudia Goldin as a detective with her dog Pika.
© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
How much do you know about the discoveries awarded the 2023 Nobel Prizes? Take our one-minute crash course on each of the prizes and find out how each have changed our world.
Nobel Week Dialogue, this year in Gothenburg, invited scientists and non-scientists alike to come together to talk about the past, present and future of migration.
Speakers from across the spectrum of science, society and culture explored the future of migration at Nobel Week Dialogue 2023.
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Anna Svanberg.
Marie and Pierre Curie’s pioneering research led to not one, but two Nobel Prizes, the first for the couple, the second for Marie.
Pierre and Marie Curie in the "hangar" at l'Ecole de physique et chimie industrielles in Paris, France, where they made their discovery. (Photo taken 1898.)
Copyright © Association Curie Joliot-Curie, Photographer unknown
Nobel Peace Prize 1917, 1944 and 1963
The International Committee of the Red Cross has a unique position in the history of the Nobel Peace Prize: no recipient has been awarded the Peace Prize as often as this organisation. World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day is celebrated annually on the birthday of Henry Dunant, the founder of the organisation, but it all began in Solferino 1859 …
Armlet for the Red Cross.
Photo: Nobel Prize Museum
Nobel Peace Prize 1901
The first Nobel Peace Prize ever was awarded half to Henry Dunant and half to Frédéric Passy for their peace work. Henry Dunant, the founder of the Red Cross, was born into a wealthy home, but he died alone in a hospice. He never ceased to work for peace and against the taking up of arms.
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Peace was the fifth and final prize area that Alfred Nobel outlined in his will. See all Nobel Peace Prize laureates and why they were awarded the prize.
Kofi Annan receiving his Nobel Peace Prize from Gunnar Berge, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.
© Pressens Bild AB 2001.
A team of female Yazidi deminers in Iraq attempting to clear their land of mines left behind by ISIS. A team of scientists on an extraordinary mission in Mozambique to help better our understanding of climate change. A man building prosthetic legs to help victims of war walk again in South Sudan … All are inspired by Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
In four videos 16 Nobel Prize laureates discuss new frontiers in their field and explore what life as a chemist entails. They also describe the beauty inherent in chemistry and recall the eureka moments when they discovered ‘a little of nature’s logic’.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869-1948) has become the strongest symbol of non-violence in the 20th century. It is widely held – in retrospect – that the Indian national leader should have been selected for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was nominated several times, but was never awarded the prize. Why?
Mahatma Gandhi laughing.
Photo: Public domain.
“In one of my experiments I tried to measure the height of our tiny balcony using the furniture from inside the apartment. I put a table on another table, and a stool on top …”
Ada E. Yonath with dishes used for crystallization experiments.
Credits: Micheline Pelletier/Corbis,
“I can’t help but cry whenever I tell this story. My meeting with Sharon was my first experience of how years of research as a basic scientist could have an impact on patients.”
James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo's meeting with cancer survivors
© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud
“I have always loved going to school. I was one of those rare kids who was happy to have summer vacation over so I could go back to school. I started this love affair with school at Victory Public School.”
Donna Strickland in the laboratory.
Courtesy of University of Waterloo
Nobel Prize in Physics 2019
“As a teenager, I began doing one of my most exciting sports: climbing. With Aigle so close to mountains, living there allowed me to regularly practice these sports. Climbing provides me with immeasurable pleasure but… at one stage I was very happy to be rescued from a deep crevasse without too much damage!”
Portrait of Michel Mayor.
Photo: University of Geneva
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2009
“Biology seemed the most interesting of sciences to me as a child. I was captivated by both the visual impact of science through science books written for young people, and an idea of the romance and nobility of the scientific quest. This latter was especially engendered by the biography of Marie Curie.”
Elizabeth Blackburn
Photo: Micheline Pelletier
Nobel Prize in Physics 2021
“I think that doing science is like playing puzzles or reading a detective story and trying to understand who is guilty before the author tells you. I think that most people like to play with puzzles but as a scientist I think this is on a different scale because the type of puzzles that we interested in are on a much bigger scale.”
Giorgio Parisi teaching
Courtesy Giorgio Parisi
Prize in economic sciences 2019
…I knew that economics was one field I must avoid. My father was a famously charismatic teacher, who adored and was much adored by his many students. He would often talk about just how brilliant some of them were, and it was clear to me that I had nothing to gain and much to lose by inviting comparisons with them.”
Abhijit Banerjee after receiving his Nobel Prize at Konserthuset Stockholm, 10 December 2019.
© Nobel Media. Photo: Nanaka Adachi
Nobel Prize in Physics 2020
What brought you to science?
What brought you to science? Did you have role models that inspired you to start a scientific career? In what environment are you most creative? These and more questions are answered in this interview with Andrea Ghez.
How can we build trust in truth, facts and scientific evidence so that we can create a hopeful future for all?
Nobel Prize Summit brought together laureates, leading experts and the general public in a conversation on how we can combat disinformation, restore trust in science and create a hopeful future.
