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Nobel Prizes
2009
The Nobel Prizes are announced over a number of days the week beginning Monday 5th October 2009 at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm. Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. The Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was added in 1968.
The prizes awarded this year
- Physiology or Medicine 5th October
- 1/3 each to Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak "for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase".
- Physics 6th October
- 1/2 to Charles K. Kao "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication", and "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD sensor" 1/4 to Willard S. Boyle and 1/4 to George E. Smith.
- Chemistry 7th October
- 1/3 each to Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz and Ada E. Yonath "for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".
- Literature 8th October
- Herta Müller "who, with the concentration of poetry and the frankness of prose, depicts the landscape of the dispossessed".
- Peace 9th October
- U.S. President Barak Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples".
- Economic Sciences to be announced 12th October
More information can be found on the Nobel Prize website where the announcements will be Webcast.
Previous years' prizes
Search the catalogue
History of the Nobel Prize
- Nobel Prize.org
- Official website of the Nobel Prize. Includes information about all Nobel Prize laureates and educational and historical material. Webcasts of latest awards (made in October each year).
- Alfred Nobel
- Information about Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, who founded the Nobel Prizes. From the Nobel Prize website.
- Nobel Prize
- Information about the Nobel Prize. From Wikipedia.
New Zealand Winners
New Zealand claims three Nobel Prize winners:
Ernest Rutherford- 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Awarded for his work on the transmutation of elements and the chemistry of radioactive substances.
- Ernest Rutherford Biography
- Biography from the Nobel Prize website.
- 1908 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
- Official information about the award, including Rutherford’s Nobel lecture.
- Fact Sheet about Ernest Rutherford
- Information about Rutherford’s life and work. From Christchurch City Libraries.
- Rutherford.org.nz
- Comprehensive website about Rutherford’s life and work, maintained by his biographer, Dr. John Campbell, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Canterbury.
- Rutherford’s Den
- Rutherford’s Den at the Arts Centre, Christchurch. Tours show where Lord Rutherford was educated and carried out his earliest scientific research. Information about Rutherford's life, information for teachers.
Maurice Wilkins - 1962 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
Awarded for his contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA
- Maurice Wilkins Biography
- Biography from the Nobel Prize website.
- 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- Official information about the award, including Wilkins’ Nobel lecture.
- Maurice Wilkins DNA enabler
- Information about his life and work from the NZedgewebsite.
Not so Serious – the Ig Noble Prizes
The Ig Noble Prizes are awarded every year to scientists whose improbable research projects make people laugh and then think.
See also the Wikipedia entry for the Ig Nobles.
Alan MacDiarmid - 2000 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Awarded for his contribution to the discovery and development of electronically conductive polymers.
- Alan MacDiarmid Autobiography
- Autobiography from the Nobel Prize website.
- 2000 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
- Official information about the award, autobiographical information about Alan MacDiarmid and his fellow laureates, educational material about their discoveries. From the Nobel Prize website.
