Professor Sven Lidin on “The History and Future of the Nobel Prize”
Friday was a good day. It usually is, as it signals the coming of the lazy Kgp weekend. But no, this Friday was special. For on this day, IIT Kgp witnessed a whacky lecture by a mad scientist. Okay, not really. Prof Sven Lidin of Lund University - hold off on the jokes, it’s ranked far above our own beloved institute, according to QS World University Rankings atleast – delivered a talk on “The History and Future of the Nobel Prize” in Kalidas Auditorium to an audience of appreciable size. As the Head of the Department of Chemistry at a top University in Sweden, the man was an epitome of youth and swagger despite his advanced age, as evidenced by his attire comprising a t-shirt, shorts and sports shoes. He began by outlining the story of how Alfred Nobel, in order to bring sciences into the forefront of the news, left behind a fortune in order to fund the Nobel Prizes. The Professor further went on to outline how the Prizes are conferred each year, and gave us an insider’s view into the workings of the committee; or atleast to the extent that the public is privy to. He listed the shortcomings in the procedure, and boldly proclaimed that the best way to win a Nobel Prize is if both of your parents are Nobel Laureates (*cough*Irene Curie*cough*). Another shortcoming is that Nobel Laureates often require a long life, as the time lag between a scientific advancement and its recognition for awarding a Nobel Prize can take up to 25 years!
The next section of the talk had Professor Lidin going through the history and trends in awarding the Nobel Prize for Chemistry across the years. In the earlier years, the awardees were mostly restricted to countries in Europe, with Germany maintaining a stark and dominating presence. As the years went by, countries like the United States of America began to assert their dominance in the Hall of Fame, and subsequently investment in Labs led to Israel and Japan putting themselves on the radar as well. Japan made a claim in the 1970’s that during the first decade of the 21st Century, it would aim to win a good number of Nobel Prizes. Remember how the Prizes can take upto 25 years before being awarded for a scientific advancement? Well, around 25 years after that claim, Japan had a series of successes throughout 2000-2010. What a visionary country eh? There was an interesting story he mentioned with passion, that of Professor Osamu Shimomura – who shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2008 alongside two other scientists. Professor Shimomura overcame countless ordeals throughout the course of his life, just one of which occurred during his youth. He enrolled in a school in Nagasaki, which was obliterated by the atomic bomb blast. This led to a long struggle to see himself educated, and eventually, a pioneering success.
We then had a productive question and answer session where a certain student pointed out that Mahatma Gandhi never received the Peace Prize. While he didn’t confirm it, the Professor mentioned that there was no Peace Prize conferred during the year of Gandhi’s death, 1948 – which he speculated might be the reason for the same. Another interesting question that popped up is one we’ve all heard before – the question of why there is no Nobel Prize for Mathematics. The Professor was not afraid to bring up the claims that Alfred Nobel was the jilted lover of a Mathematician, and discredited them as having no evidential basis.
The talk was good fun and well received, as the Professor himself confirmed that most of the faces present were awake despite the lengthy discourse. It ended on an interesting note, as while the Professor was speaking, he was cut off mid-sentence by the host by curtly saying, and we quote “Sir, you are out of time”. The Professor’s reaction was — as stated by our reporters at the scene — meme-like, and quite befitting a scientist of his stature. We were so impressed that we decided that you, our audience deserved a visual aid to help imagine the scene for yourselves.
