1994 Nobel Prizes

The 1994 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)
	Bertram Brockhouse (1918–2003)	Canadian	"for the development of neutron spectroscopy" and "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matter"	[4]
	Clifford Shull (1915–2001)	American	"for the development of the neutron diffraction technique" and "for pioneering contributions to the development of neutron scattering techniques for studies of condensed matter"

Chemistry

Awardee(s)
	George A. Olah (1927–2017)	Hungarian American	"for his contribution to carbocation chemistry"	[5]

Physiology or Medicine

Awardee(s)
	Alfred G. Gilman (1941–2015)	United States	"for their discovery of G-proteins and the role of these proteins in signal transduction in cells"	[6]
	Martin Rodbell (1925–1998)

Literature

Main article: 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature

Awardee(s)
	Kenzaburō Ōe (1935–2023)	Japan	"who with poetic force creates an imagined world, where life and myth condense to form a disconcerting picture of the human predicament today"	[7]

Peace

Main article: 1994 Nobel Peace Prize

Awardee(s)
	Yasser Arafat (1929–2004)	Palestine	"for their efforts to create peace in the Middle East."	[8]
	Yitzhak Rabin (1922–1995)	Israel
	Shimon Peres (1923–2016)

Economic Sciences

Awardee(s)
	John Harsanyi (1920–2000)	Hungary   United States	"for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-cooperative games"	[9]
	John Forbes Nash (1928–2015)	United States
	Reinhard Selten (1930–2016)	Germany

Controversies

Economic Sciences

The selection committee was divided on Nash's awarding, with some scrutinizing his mental illness and alleged anti-Semitism. ^[10] As a result, the governing committee was amended with several changes: members served three-year instead of unlimited terms, and the prize's scope expanded to include political science, psychology, and sociology. ^{[11] [12]}

Peace

Arafat's awarding was criticized by many who scrutinized his actions as part of the Palestine Liberation Organization. In particular, Kåre Kristiansen, a member of the Nobel Committee, resigned in protest, calling him the "world's most prominent terrorist". On the other hand, Edward Said directed criticism toward Peres, Rabin, and the Oslo Accords. ^[13]

References

1. "All Nobel Prizes". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
2. "The Nobel Peace Prize 1994". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
3. "A Week of Experiences at the 1994 Nobel Prize Ceremonies - Robert D. Shull". PSW Science. Retrieved 2024-12-13.
4. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 15 September 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
5. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 13 August 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
6. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 July 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
7. "Nobel Prize in Literature 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-19. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
8. "The Nobel Peace Prize 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-11-04. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
9. "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1994". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-17. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
10. Nasar, A Beautiful Mind, p. 356–373
11. Nasar, A Beautiful Mind, p. 372
12. Samuel Brittan (19 December 2003). "The not so noble Nobel Prize". Financial Times . Archived from the original on 30 June 2009. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
13. Edward Said (1996). Peace and Its Discontents: Essays on Palestine in the Middle East Peace Process. Vintage. ISBN   0-679-76725-8.