[ad_1]
STOCKHOLM (AP) – The Nobel Prize in chemistry has been awarded to German scientist Benjamin List of the Max Planck Institute and Scottish-born scientist David WC MacMillan of Princeton University.
They have been cited for their work in developing a new way to construct molecules known as “asymmetric organocatalysis”.
The winners were announced on Wednesday by Goran Hansson, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
The Nobel panel said List and MacMillan independently developed a new method of catalysis in 2000.
“This is already of great benefit to humanity,” said Nobel panel member Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede.
Speaking after the announcement, List said the price was a “huge surprise”.
“I absolutely did not expect it,” he said, adding that he was on vacation in Amsterdam with his family when the call from Sweden arrived.
List said he didn’t initially know MacMillan was working on the same topic and figured his hunch might just be a “stupid idea” until it worked.
“I felt it could be something big,” he said.
It is common for several scientists working in related fields to share the prize. Last year, the chemistry prize was awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier from France and Jennifer A. Doudna from the United States for the development of a gene editing tool who revolutionized science by providing a way to modify DNA.
The prestigious award is accompanied by a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $ 1.14 million). The prize money comes from a bequest left by the creator of the prize, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, who died in 1895.
On Monday, the Nobel Committee awarded the Physiology or Medicine Prize to Americans David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian for their findings on how the human body perceives temperature and touch it..
The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded on Tuesday to three scientists whose work has found order in a semblance of disorder, helping to explain and predict the complex forces of nature, including expanding our understanding of climate change.
Over the next few days, prizes will also be awarded for outstanding work in the fields of literature, peace and economics.
___
Read more articles on past and present Nobel Prizes from The Associated Press at https://www.apnews.com/NobelPrizes
[ad_2]
Source link