The 2020 Nobel Prize awarded to 1) Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez in Physics; 2) Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna in Chemistry; 3) Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice in Medicine; 4) American poet Louise Glück in Literature; 5) The World Food Programme (WFP) in Peace; 6) Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson in Economic Science.

The 2020 Physics Laureates | Nobel Prize in Physics

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2020 with one half to Roger Penrose “for the discovery that black hole formation is a robust prediction of the general theory of relativity" and the other half jointly to Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez "for the discovery of a supermassive compact object at the centre of our galaxy".

The 2020 Chemistry Laureates | Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing”.

Since Charpentier and Doudna discovered the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors in 2012 their use has exploded. The genetic scissors have taken the life sciences into a new epoch and, in many ways, are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.

The 2020 Medicine Laureates | Nobel Prize in Medicine

The 2020 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded jointly to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice “for the discovery of Hepatitis C virus”. Thanks to their discovery, highly sensitive blood tests for the virus are now available and these have essentially eliminated post-transfusion hepatitis in many parts of the world, greatly improving global health.

The 2020 Literature Laureates | Nobel Prize in Literature

The Nobel Prize in Literature for 2020 is awarded to the American poet Louise Glück “for her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal”.

Louise Glück made her debut in 1968 with Firstborn, and was soon acclaimed as one of the most prominent poets in American contemporary literature.

The 2020 Peace Prize | Nobel Prize in Peace

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme (WFP). The World Food Programme is the world’s largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger and promoting food security. In 2019, the WFP provided assistance to close to 100 million people in 88 countries who are victims of acute food insecurity and hunger.

The 2020 in Economic Science | Nobel Prize in Economic Science

This year’s Laureates, Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson, have studied how auctions work. They have also used their insights to design new auction formats for goods and services that are difficult to sell in a traditional way, such as radio frequencies. Their discoveries have benefitted sellers, buyers and taxpayers around the world.

Nobel Prize facts

On 27 November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes. In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. Learn more about the Nobel Laureates here.

603 Nobel Prizes

Between 1901 and 2020, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 603 times.

In the statutes of the Nobel Foundation it says: “A prize amount may be equally divided between two works, each of which is considered to merit a prize. If a work that is being rewarded has been produced by two or three persons, the prize shall be awarded to them jointly. In no case may a prize amount be divided between more than three persons.”

962 Nobel Laureates

934 Laureates* and 28 organizations have been awarded the Nobel Prize between 1901 and 2020. Of them, 86 are Laureates in Economic Sciences. A small number of individuals and organizations have been honoured more than once, which means that 930 individuals and 25 unique organizations have received the Nobel Prize in total. See Multiple Nobel Laureates.

 source:nobelprize.org/