Exploring the Nobel
Understanding why a ‘Prize’ is such a big deal? Why universities use it as a promotion tool? And much more!
It is the month of Nobel, and throughout this month, we listen about various winners in various fields from various walks of life, winning various awards. But have you ever wondered why the heck this Nobel is such a big deal! Obviously, the grants make it big, but it is not just about the grants anymore now (maybe they were back when it all started). At least the people who are felicitated with the Prize are usually not eyeing for the grant they would receive after their felicitation. Let's dig a little deep and understand the Nobel Prize’s concept and significance.
Introduction
Founded in 1900 in Sweden, Alfred Nobel’s will that came into the picture post his death in 1895, where he mentioned that a significant portion of his wealth would be used to award people who are capable of improving society through knowledge, science, and humanism. Alfred Nobel himself was a chemist and the inventor of Dynamite. The invention proved to be a great success, helping him become the richest man in the whole of Sweden.
He never got married and eventually lived his life solitarily. Being a chemist himself, he had a passion for natural sciences. Also, he was a literature enthusiast. It was obvious why he chose chemistry, physiology or medicine, physics, literature as part of the Nobel Prize. However, he also mentioned peace to be a part of the Nobels and conferred on people who have worked significantly for humanity and humankind. Speculations about his penance have been made ever since because he was the inventor of a tool that had the ability to destroy the world, and it was excessively used in such activities. But these speculations never had a truthful foundation because he never mentioned the reason for inducing peace as an award in his will (nor did he mentioned about any others, obviously!). Interestingly, the Nobel was initially conferred for 5 different verticals, but in 1968, the Swedish central bank added economics to the prize. Technically, it is not a Nobel Prize because it was added in honor of the late Alfred Nobel.
The Nobel Foundation
In 1900, on 29th June, the Nobel Foundation was established. The aim was to fulfill Alfred Nobel’s will and felicitate with individuals/groups with excellence in their activities. To cover for a regular stream of money, they invested the fortune of Alfred Nobel in highly secured investment tools. The money earned from these sources was then used to felicitate the winners of the award.
How does the Nobel Works?
Nobel constitutes of 6 different fields, and each having its own criteria of selection. However, there is a significant difference in the Nobel Peace Prize's selection process against the contemporaries.
Nobel Prize — Physics/Chemistry
Before beginning with the main process, the Nobel committee of Physics/Chemistry sends confidential forms to people who are competent enough to nominate a person for the prize. Certain points of eligibility are considered before sending the nominator forms. You can get the details of which by clicking here to read the nominator's full eligibility criteria.
To select a Noble laureate, the organization responsible is the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The academy appoints a Nobel Committee for Physics/Chemistry responsible for screening and proposal of final candidates. There is a possibility that no one is awarded any Prize in a given year if there is any discrepancy in the final selection. Still, this path is seldom taken by the nominators.
The nominated candidates are the ones that are selected by the invited nominators by the Nobel Committee. No one can nominate himself/herself. Names of the candidates and the nominators are not revealed for 50 years since the award declaration in a particular year.
Nobel Prize — Medicine
The Nobel Prize for Medicine selection process/criteria is different from that of Physics and Chemistry. Here the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for giving the prize; rather, the same role is upheld by the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm. The qualification of any member to be eligible for becoming a nominator is also different in the case of medicine. To find the details of the eligibility criteria, click the link to know more.
The Nobel Assembly forms the Nobel Committee of Physiology and Medicine at Karolinska Institutet that recommends the prospective candidates' names. The Nobel Assembly consists of 50 members.
The rest of the process is pretty much similar to that of physics or chemistry.
Nobel Prize — Literature
The Nobel Prize for Literature is similar to the other Nobel Prize nomination criterion, except in the nominator’s eligibility criteria. The details of these criteria are mentioned on The Nobel Prize website.
Nobel Prize — Economic Sciences
This prize is technically not a Nobel Prize. It was not mentioned in the original will of Late Alfred Nobel and was inducted by the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s Central Bank) in memory of Alfred Nobel. However, the Nobel Foundation handles the prize, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for taking care of the award's declaration annually. The detailed nominator’s selection criteria can be found by clicking on the link.
The Economic Sciences Prize Committee recommends the final candidates. The rest of the process is similar to that of the other prizes.
Nobel Prize — Peace
The Nobel Prize for Peace is different from the rest of the Nobel Prizes. First of all, it is the only prize whose selection committee is not from Sweden but Norway. The Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for selecting a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Only the people belonging to any one of the eligibility criteria are allowed to nominate a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize, as per the Nobel Foundation guidelines. The detailed eligibility criteria are mentioned in the link.
Though the Norwegian Nobel Committee is responsible for selecting a candidate/candidates as the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, they don't have the power to form a committee that looks out for the nomination process. The committee is composed of 5 members that are appointed by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). In fact, it is the only Nobel Prize that is awarded outside Sweden. The prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, and not in Stockholm, Sweden.
When are the results declared?
Usually, in October, all the Nobel Laureates are declared in their respective fields. They are then awarded the Prize on 12th December in the same year.
Some Interesting Facts about the Nobel Prizes
- In the span of 119 years, 603 times, the Nobel Prizes are awarded.
- During the same time period, 934 individuals and 28 organizations became the Nobel Laureates.
- Marie Curie is the only woman who won the Nobel Prize more than once, and that too in different categories viz. Physics and Chemistry. Apart from her, John Bardeen, Frederick Sanger, and Linus Pauling also won the Nobel twice.
- As per the Nobel Foundation’s statutes, an individual can not be awarded the Nobel Prize posthumously. Interestingly, Dag Hammarskjöld and Erik Axel Karlfeldt are the only Nobel Laureates awarded the Nobel Prize after their deaths. In 2011, three days before the felicitation ceremony, it came to light that one of the Nobel Laureates in Medicine that year, Ralph Steinman, had passed away. Ralph remained a Nobel Laureate because the Nobel Foundation found that the Nobel Committee was unaware of the discrepancy before his declaration as a Nobel Laureate.
- In 1948, the Nobel Foundation decided not to award the Nobel Peace Prize that year in mournful remembrance of Mahatma Gandhi.
- 57 women have won the Nobel Prize to date.
- Jean-Paul Sartre and Le Duc Tho are the only individuals who declined the Nobel Prize.
- Only 4 individuals were forced to decline the Nobel Prize. 3 were from Hitler’s Germany and 1 from the Soviet Union.
- Carl von Ossietzky, Aung San Suu Kyi, and Liu Xiaobo were the only Nobel Laureates under arrest when they were awarded the prize. All of them belonged to the Peace category.
- Malala Yousufzai was the youngest Nobel Prize Laureate, and John B. Goodenough was the oldest Nobel Prize Laureate when they were awarded their respective Nobel Prizes.
Opinion
Over time, the value of the Nobel has diluted significantly. Today, the awards are mostly given as a “lifetime achievement award” and not as something specifically because of certain achievements in the chosen fields. The laureates are getting the award for a study they conducted a long time back in their careers. The Nobel is also awarded either to individuals or a group of people (not more than 3). This seems to be an age-old criterion because today's research is not conducted by just 1 or 3 people but by a team consisting of many individuals. Many people are left behind and given no credits for their contributions. This statute must be changed/amended.
Winning a Nobel is still a big thing. If it wasn't, why would the American Universities like Harvard and Princeton showed off their laureates list!
