Physics
Tools made of light
Their inventions have revolutionised laser physics. Extremely small objects and incredibly rapid processes are now being seen in a new light. Advanced precision instruments are opening up unexplored areas of research and a multitude of industrial and medical applications.
The Laureatre
Arthur Ashkin
Born: 2 September 1922, New York, NY, USA Affiliation at the time of the award: Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ, USA Prize motivation: “for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems.” Prize share: 1/2
Gérard Mourou
Born: 22 June 1944, Albertville, France
Affiliation at the time of the award: École Polytechnique, Palaiseau, France, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
Prize motivation: “for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.”
Prize share: 1/4
Donna Strickland
Born: 27 May 1959, Guelph, Canada
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada
Prize motivation: “for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses.”
Prize share: 1/4
Chemistry
Power of evolution
This year’s Nobel Laureates have been inspired by the power of evolution and used the same principles – genetic change and selection – to develop proteins that solve humankind’s chemical problems.
The Laureate
Frances H. Arnold
Born: 25 July 1956, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA
Prize motivation: “for the directed evolution of enzymes.”
Prize share: 1/2
George P. Smith
Born: 10 March 1941, Norwalk, CT, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Missouri, Columbia, USA
Prize motivation: “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.”
Prize share: 1/4
Sir Gregory P. Winter
Born: 14 April 1951, Leicester, United Kingdom
Affiliation at the time of the award: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Prize motivation: “for the phage display of peptides and antibodies.”
Prize share: 1/4
Physiology or Medicine
Cancer therapy: Releasing the brakes of immunity
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018 was awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”
The Laureate
James P. Allison
Born: 7 August 1948, Alice, TX, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA, Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, San Francisco, CA, USA
Prize motivation: “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”
Prize share: 1/2
Tasuku Honjo
Born: 27 January 1942, Kyoto, Japan
Affiliation at the time of the award: Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
Prize motivation: “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”
Prize share: 1/2
Peace
Courageously combating war crimes and seeking justice for victims
Both laureates have made a crucial contribution to focusing attention on, and combating, war crimes. Denis Mukwege is the helper who has devoted his life to defending these victims. Nadia Murad is the witness who tells of the abuses perpetrated against herself and others. Each of them in their own way has helped to give greater visibility to war-time sexual violence, so that the perpetrators can be held accountable for their actions.
The Laureate
Denis Mukwege
Born: 1 March 1955, Bukavu, Belgian Congo (now Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Prize motivation: “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”
Prize share: 1/2
Nadia Murad
Born: 1993, Kocho
Prize motivation: “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict.”
Prize share: 1/2
Economic Sciences
Integrating innovation and climate with economic growth
This year’s Laureates have designed methods for addressing some of our time’s most basic and pressing questions about how we create long-term sustained and sustainable economic growth. Their contributions provide us with fundamental insights into the causes and consequences of technological innovation and climate change.
The Laureate
William D. Nordhaus
Born: 31 May 1941, Albuquerque, NM, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Prize motivation: “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”
Prize share: 1/2
Paul M. Romer
Born: Denver, CO, USA
Affiliation at the time of the award: NYU Stern School of Business, New York, NY, USA
Prize motivation: “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”
Prize share: 1/2
Nobel Prize Official Website: https://www.nobelprize.org
