2013 Nobel Prize Winners and Brief History of the Nobel Prize and Selection Process Nobel Prizes are awarded annually for outstanding achievement in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and economics. The first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, several years after Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel called for the establishment of a prize in his last will and testament. His will specified that the awards should be "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit to mankind." Past winners of the Nobel Prize (referred to as Nobel Laureates) include the likes of James Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins for their discovery of DNA in 1962, Ivan Pavlov (of the famous dog experiment) in 1904, and William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain for the invention of the transistor in 1947.

2013 Winners in the Fields of Science Physics François Englert and Peter W. Higgs were awarded the Prize in Physics jointly for their theory of how particles acquire mass. While the two had proposed the theory in the 1960s independent of one another, the theory was confirmed in 2012 with the discovery of the so-called Higgs particle at CERN in Switzerland. Chemistry Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel were jointly awarded the Prize in Chemistry for devising multiscale models that use both classical and quantum physics to simulate complex chemical systems. Their findings were groundbreaking, since in the past scientists had to use an either/or approach for modelling, choosing either classical or quantum physics. Medicine James E. Rothman of Yale University, Randy W. Schekman of the University of California at Berkeley, and Dr. Thomas C. Südhofof the Stanford University School of Medicine were jointly awarded the Prize in Medicine for determining the mechanism by which molecular “cargo” is delivered both inside and outside of the cell via small packages called vesicles. Their discovery could further science’s understanding and treatment of certain diseases. Prize in Economic Sciences Eugene Fama, Lars Peter Hansen and Robert Shiller were awarded the Prize in Economic Sciences for their contribution to our understanding of asset prices. The three found that while predicting the price of stocks and bonds over short periods of time (i.e. days or weeks) is nearly impossible, it is possible to predict the price over longer periods (i.e. three to five years). The Peace Prize was awarded to Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons "for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons”, and the Prize in Literature was awarded to Alice Munro, "master of the contemporary short story".

About the Nomination Process for Science Disciplines

Qualified Nominators are empowered to nominate qualified individuals for a Nobel Prize—no person can nominate him or herself. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences selects Nobel Laureates from candidates recommended by the Nobel Committee in any of the relevant fields. Eligible candidates for the Prize must have received an official invitation from the Nobel Committee. Timeline between Nomination and Award Ceremony In September the Nobel Committee sends out nomination forms to roughly 3,000 people—selected professors at universities around the world and Nobel Laureates in that particular scientific discipline, among others. February 1st is the deadline for submission, and around 250-350 names are nominated. Between March and May the Committee consults with experts, and between June and August the Committee compiles a report with recommendations. In September the Committee submits the recommendations to the Academy, and in October Nobel Laureates are chosen. On December 10th the Nobel Laureates receive their prize at a prestigious award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. The prize consists of a Nobel Medal and Diploma and a document confirming the prize amount. Summary The 2013 Nobel Prize Winners in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine and economics are among an extremely select group of individuals acknowledged for their outstanding contributions to science. Bio LabRoots is the leading networking site for science news connecting professionals in the scientific world across fields of expertise. Our site features over 30,000,000 documents of publication metadata and allows subscribers to watch and post videos, images, files and links, post publication and product reviews, access hundreds of live scientific news feeds, and much more. Learn more about LabRoots on our website.