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The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded on Wednesday to Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus and Alexei I. Ekimov for being pioneers of the nanoworld. The new laureates discovered and developed quantum dots, semiconductors made of particles squeezed so small that their electrons barely have room to breathe.<\/p>\n
Semiconductors are crystals that help power our electronics. But while traditional crystals may be quite large at the molecular level, a quantum dot consists of just a few thousand atoms. The difference in size between a quantum dot and a soccer ball is about the same as the difference between a soccer ball and Earth, the Nobel Foundation said.<\/p>\n
Quantum dots are used to tune colors in LED lights and increase the resolution of television screens. They can also be used as fluorescent imaging tools in biomedical applications, like removing cancer tissue. Quantum dots are expected to lead to advances in electronics, solar cells and encrypted quantum information.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor a long time, nobody thought you could ever actually make such small particles,\u201d Johan Aqvist, the chair of the Academy\u2019s Nobel committee for chemistry, said at a news conference announcing the 2023 laureates. Presenting the topic with five colorful flasks lined up in front of him that he said contained quantum dots in a liquid solution, he said: \u201cBut this year\u2019s laureates succeeded.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The news of the laureates\u2019 expected win had been reported earlier Wednesday morning in the Swedish news media, a highly unusual leak<\/a> that was then reported by Reuters<\/a> and The Associated Press<\/a> several hours before the official announcement by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards the prize.<\/p>\n The Swedish news outlets cited what they said was an email from the Academy that had been mistakenly sent early. Reuters quoted Dr. Aqvist as saying, \u201cIt is a mistake by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.\u201d He noted that the committee\u2019s meeting was due to start at 9:30 a.m. local time (3:30 a.m. Eastern) and added, \u201cso no decision has been made yet. The winners have not been selected.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Bawendi is a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and used to study under Dr. Brus as a postdoctoral researcher. He was born in France.<\/p>\n Dr. Brus is a professor emeritus at Columbia University. He was born in the United States.<\/p>\n Dr. Ekimov was previously the chief scientist at Nanocrystals Technology, a company based in New York. He was born in the former Soviet Union.<\/p>\n In the nanoworld, the size of matter is measured in millionths of a millimeter, the committee said. The laureates\u2019 work allowed for the exploitation of some of the peculiar properties of that indiscernible realm, they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n In the early 1980s, Dr. Brus and Dr. Ekimov created quantum dots independently of each other. But more research was needed before the dots could reach the appropriate level of quality for technological applications. They had to be made in solution \u201cwith exquisite control of their size and surface,\u201d Dr. Aqvist said. Dr. Bawendi, he added, invented an ingenious chemical method \u201cfor doing just this.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe could now make perfect nanoparticles of very specific size and very high quality,\u201d Dr. Aqvist said.<\/p>\n That led to their use in QLED screens in modern televisions and for imaging in biochemistry, medicine and much more.<\/p>\n Judith Giordan, president of the American Chemical Society, described the work as \u201ca magnificent example\u201d of something that began as a theory, was perfected in academic labs and then brought forward into the world for useful applications.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t just esoteric science,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is meant to help people.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Dr. Giordan, quantum dots enable the tiniest pixel sizes that lead to ultrahigh definition TV screens. They also give us a wide range of color temperatures in the bulbs that light our homes. Early research<\/a> from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicates that quantum dots may pave the way for twice the efficiency of currently used solar panels.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dr. Bawendi said he was \u201csound asleep\u201d when he got the call.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t sure it was true,\u201d he said in an interview with the Nobel Foundation. \u201cIt\u2019s quite an honor and quite a surprise.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that the honor was complemented by sharing the prize with his former mentor, Dr. Brus. \u201cHe molded me as a scientist,\u201d Dr. Bawendi said.<\/p>\n Before the announcement, Dr. Bawendi was scheduled to teach a 9 a.m. class at M.I.T., though he wasn\u2019t sure if that was still going to happen. Of the day\u2019s chaos, he said, \u201cI\u2019m just going to let it ride.\u201d<\/p>\n The prize went to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless<\/a> for work on click chemistry.<\/p>\n On Monday, the prize in Physiology or Medicine went to Katalin Karik\u00f3<\/a> and Drew Weissman for a chemical modification to messenger RNA<\/a>. The tweak led to the successful development of Covid-19 vaccines and saved millions of lives. Dr. Karik\u00f3 is the 13th woman to win the Nobel Prize in this category.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n On Tuesday, the prize in Physics<\/a> was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L\u2019Huillier for techniques that illuminate the subatomic realm of electrons. Dr. L\u2019Huillier is the fifth woman to be chosen for a Nobel in this category.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n The Nobel Prize in Literature will be awarded on Thursday by the Swedish Academy in Stockholm. Last year, Annie Ernaux<\/a> was given the prize for work that dissected the most humiliating, private and scandalous moments from her past with almost clinical precision.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The Nobel Peace Prize will be awarded on Friday by the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. Last year, the prize was shared<\/a> by Memorial, a Russian organization; the Center for Civil Liberties in Ukraine; and Ales Bialiatski, a jailed Belarusian activist.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n Next week, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be awarded on Monday by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. Last year, Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig<\/a> shared the prize for work that helped to reshape how the world understands the relationship between banks and financial crises.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n All of the prize announcements are streamed live<\/a> by the Nobel Prize organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nWho are the winners?<\/h2>\n
Why did the committee say they received the prize?<\/h2>\n
How do their colleagues describe their work?<\/h2>\n
What did the laureates say about winning the prize?<\/h2>\n
Who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2022?<\/h2>\n
Who else has received a Nobel Prize in the sciences this year?<\/h2>\n
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When will the other Nobel Prizes be announced?<\/h2>\n
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