The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986

Dudley R. Herschbach

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

Yuan T. Lee

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

John C. Polanyi

Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.

Prize share: 1/3

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986 was awarded jointly to Dudley R. Herschbach, Yuan T. Lee and John C. Polanyi "for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes"

To cite this section
MLA style: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1986. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Prize Outreach AB 2024. Sat. 23 Nov 2024. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/1986/summary/>

Back to top Back To Top Takes users back to the top of the page

Nobel Prizes and laureates

Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.

See them all presented here.

Illustration

Explore prizes and laureates

Look for popular awards and laureates in different fields, and discover the history of the Nobel Prize.