The UnFound Analysis: Ringing A “Nobel”
It’s that time of the year, when the Nobel Prizes — considered among the most prestigious awards in their fields — are awarded.
The Nobel Prizes, established by the will of Alfred Nobel when he read an obituary dedicated to him (albeit mistakenly, it was his brother who had died), is given out in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances. The categories they are awarded for include Literature, Peace, Physics, Chemistry, and Physiology or Medicine.
The 2019 laureates are quite a mixed bag.
Chemistry
The prize for chemistry this year was awarded to three individuals, 97-year old John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries. John B. Goodenough became the oldest person, at 97, to win a Nobel Prize. Li-ion batteries are a crucial part of life today, finding applications from the ubiquitous mobile phones to electric cars.
Physics
The physics prize was awarded to two Swedish professors — Michael Mayor and Dideer Queloz — for the discovery of 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star. The third recipient of the prize is James “Jim” Peebles for his theoretical discoveries in physical cosmology.
Physiology and Medicine
This time, the Nobel went to a group of three again. William Kaelin Jr, Peter J Ratcliff and Greg L Semenza were awarded the prize for their work in the field of cellular respiration, particularly on how cells sense and adapt to oxygen availability.
Literature
Peter Handke, an Austrian novelist and playwright received the 2019 Nobel for Literature. Due to his past actions including his pro-Serbian views and his views on the Yugoslav Wars, his win was viewed negatively by those living in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and Albania with some major politicians expressing their disapproval.
Peace
The most talked-about award, and possibly the most controversial as well, came as a surprise for many. United States President Donald Trump was among those in the fray for his role in pulling back US troops from across the world and his offer to mediate in peace talks in the South China Sea as well as between India and Pakistan. Another popular face was Swedish activist Greta Thunberg.
However, the award finally went to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali for his efforts to “achieve peace and international cooperation”. Abiy’s peace deal with Eritrea ended a 20-year military stalemate following their 1998–2000 border war.
Of course, while Abiy’s work has been substantial, there are those who opine that Ethiopia still has a long way to go.
That’s all from us for the time being, we’ll get back to you next week.
Till then, be a rebel against misinformation, download the UnFound app on your phone now!
Contributed by Srikanth Ramakrishnan
