THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY

A 1986 DNA model used by Aziz Sancar, who was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

About the prize

“The said interest shall be divided into five equal parts, which shall be apportioned as follows: /- – -/ one part to the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement…”  (Excerpt from the will of Alfred Nobel.)

Chemistry was the most important science for Alfred Nobel’s own work. The development of his inventions as well as the industrial processes he employed were based upon chemical knowledge. Chemistry was the second prize area that Nobel mentioned in his will.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden.

See all chemistry laureates or learn about the nomination process.

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 is about proteins, life’s ingenious chemical tools. David Baker has succeeded with the almost impossible feat of building entirely new kinds of proteins. Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have developed an AI model to solve a 50-year-old problem: predicting proteins’ complex structures. These discoveries hold enormous potential.

© Johan Jarnestad/The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 was awarded with one half to David Baker “for computational protein design” and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John Jumper “for protein structure prediction”.

Demis Hassabis and John Jumper have successfully utilised artificial intelligence to predict the structure of almost all known proteins. David Baker has learned how to master life’s building blocks and create entirely new proteins.

David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper.

Ill. Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach

Did you know?

_

Explore prizes and laureates

Chemistry matters

The life of a chemist

Explore how Nobel Prize laureates compare their own research to the adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

More videos

Who did what?

Questions and answers

The Nobel Prize categories are physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace and were laid out in the will of Alfred Nobel. Find out more in the FAQ.

The Nobel Prize medal.

The Nobel Prize medal.

© Nobel Prize Outreach. Photo: Clément Morin.

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Model depicting a molecule that chemistry laureate Akira Suzuki successfully created by artificial means.

Photo: Nobel Prize Museum

Try a puzzle

Explore and learn

Other discoveries

Learn more about Svante Arrhenius, who first made the connection between carbon dioxide levels and global temperature.

Sea level rise, NASA

A map of the Earth with a six-metre sea level rise represented in red

Credit: NASA

Watch the Nobel Lecture by one of 2016’s laureates Jean-Pierre Sauvage, who helped develop molecular machines.

Jean-Pierre Sauvage

Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud

Frederick Sanger received the prize twice: in 1958 for his work on the structure of proteins and in 1980 for DNA sequencing.

Frederick Sanger Calibration catalogue of amino acids (1)

The double Nobel-awarded laureate Frederick Sanger‘s calibration catalogue of amino acids

© Nobel Media. Photo: Alexander Mahmoud