NOBEL: THE WHAT, HOW AND WHY
The 2020 Nobel Prizes are being awarded this week. While the nominees are never announced publicly, it’s up to the nominees to choose whether they want to make it public knowledge or not.
CNN reports that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry has just been awarded to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for the development of a method for genome editing.
This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics was given to scientists Roger Penrose, Reinhard Genzel and Andrea Ghez for their discoveries about black holes.
The Nobel Prize in Medicine was jointly awarded to Harvey J. Alter, Michael Houghton and Charles M. Rice on Monday. They discovered a hepatitis C virus, which led to the development of tests and treatments.
Now, while the other topics are lifesaving, have an effect on all of us and truly make the world a better place, they’re not really of interest to the man on the street. Let’s be honest, the only category we’re slightly interested in is the Nobel Prize in Peace.
And why are we so interested in it this year? Well, rumours are doing the rounds that US president Donald Trump has been nominated. But with that being said, we also know now that he would have disclosed this information as soon as he was told about it.
So, who decides on the winners and how? Live Mint reports that the Norwegian Nobel Committee consists of five individuals appointed by the Norwegian government. Nominations can come from anywhere in the world, but has to reach the Committee by the 31st of January every year. Then a shortlist is elected and usually by the beginning of October the winners have been elected.
The person, committee, organisation or whoever submitted a nomination, is only made known to the public 50 years after the award has been handed out.
What do you get if you’re the winner? A medal, a diploma, and just over R18 million. Yes, it’s sort of like winning the lottery.
Watch the TED Ed video below for a deeper look into the Nobel Prize workings.
Image credit: CGTN