2014 Nobel Prizes in Physics and in Chemistry
08 October 2014The Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics were announced today and yesterday respectively. Martyn Poliakoff, Vice-president of the Royal Society, provided his congratulations to all six winners:
“This year’s Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and in Physics go to outstanding scientists responsible for two ground-breaking discoveries. Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura received the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics for inventing the blue light emitting diode (LED). With their invention they have given us a new energy-efficient light source that is transforming lighting technology and has the potential to make reliable lighting accessible to all. They persevered where many others failed; this is a great reward for their outstanding work.
“The 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry announced today went to Eric Betzig, Stefan Hell and William Moerner for the development of two different techniques for super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. Their important work has enabled us to see in the nanodimension using microscopy – it has allowed scientists to see individual molecules inside living cells, transforming biological and medical research. I am very pleased to hear the news that they have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry and would like to congratulate them on behalf of the Royal Society.”