2015 Nobel Prizes

The 2015 Nobel Prizes were awarded by the Nobel Foundation, based in Sweden. Six categories were awarded: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Sciences.[1]

Nobel Week took place from December 6 to 12, including programming such as lectures, dialogues, and discussions. The award ceremony and banquet for the Peace Prize were scheduled in Oslo on December 10, while the award ceremony and banquet for all other categories were scheduled for the same day in Stockholm.[2][3]

Prizes

Physics

Awardee(s)
Takaaki Kajita

(b. 1959)

Japanese "for the discovery of neutrino oscillations, which shows that neutrinos have mass" [4]
Arthur B. McDonald

(b. 1943)

Canadian

Chemistry

Awardee(s)
Tomas Lindahl

(b. 1938)

Swedish

British

"for mechanistic studies of DNA repair" [5]
Paul L. Modrich

(b. 1946)

American
Aziz Sancar

(b. 1946)

Turkish

Physiology or Medicine

Awardee(s)
William C. Campbell

(b. 1930)

 Ireland

 United States

"for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites" [6]
Satoshi Ōmura

(b. 1935)

 Japan
Tu Youyou

(b. 1930)

 China "for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against malaria" [6]

Literature

Main article: 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature
Awardee(s)
Svetlana Alexievich

(b. 1948)

 Belarus

(born in Soviet Ukraine)

"for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time" [7]

Peace

Main article: 2015 Nobel Peace Prize
Awardee(s)
Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet

(2013–2014)

 Tunisia "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011." [8]

Economic Sciences

Awardee(s)
Angus Deaton

(b. 1945)

 United Kingdom

 United States

"for his analysis of consumption, poverty, and welfare" [9]

Reactions

Physics

While the Physics Prize was not inherently disputed, some scientists discussed whether the Nobel Foundation's written citation for Kajita and McDonald's awarding was correct, leading to a technical debate about the definition of a "neutrino oscillation" and whether their experiments showed such a phenomenon.[10]

Physiology or Medicine

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the awarding of Ivermectin was sometimes invoked in order to justify the medication's usage as a treatment for the Coronavirus. However, Campbell and Ōmura had been awarded for Ivermectin's effectiveness specifically against parasitic infections.[11]

References

  1. ^ "A complete list of 2015's Nobel Prize winners". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  2. ^ Royen, Ulrika (2016-07-14). "Video - The 2015 Nobel Peace Prize Award Ceremony". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  3. ^ "Video - The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 2015". NobelPrize.org. 2016-01-28. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  4. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  5. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 5 October 2015.
  7. ^ "Nobel Prize in Literature 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 September 2015. Retrieved 8 October 2015.
  8. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  9. ^ "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2015". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2015-10-05. Retrieved 2015-10-12.
  10. ^ "Did the Nobel committee get the physics wrong?". Science. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  11. ^ "Fact Check: 2015 Nobel Prize for ivermectin intended for treatment of parasitic infections doesn't prove its efficacy on COVID-19". Reuters.