1997 Nobel Prizes

The 1997 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)
	Steven Chu (b. 1948)	American	"for development of methods to cool and trap atoms with laser light."	[4]
	Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (b. 1933)	French
	William Daniel Phillips (b. 1948)	American

Chemistry

Awardee(s)
	Paul D. Boyer (1918–2018)	American	"for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)"	[5]
	John E. Walker (b. 1941)	British
	Jens C. Skou (1918–2018)	Danish	"for the first discovery of an ion-transporting enzyme, Na+, K+ -ATPase"

Physiology or Medicine

Awardee(s)
	Stanley B. Prusiner (b. 1942)	United States	"for his discovery of Prions - a new biological principle of infection"	[6]

Literature

Main article: 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature

Awardee(s)
	Dario Fo (1926–2016)	Italy	"who emulates the jesters of the Middle Ages in scourging authority and upholding the dignity of the downtrodden"	[7]

Peace

Awardee(s)
	International Campaign to Ban Landmines (founded 1992)	Switzerland	"for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines."	[8]
	Jody Williams (born 1950)	United States

Economic Sciences

Awardee(s)
	Robert C. Merton (b. 1944)	United States	"for a new method to determine the value of derivatives"	[9]
	Myron Scholes (b. 1941)	Canada   United States

Controversies

Physics

Some in the Russian scientific community disputed Chu, Cohen-Tannoudji, and Phillips' methodologies and claimed that some scientists in Russia had executed their experiments first. ^{[10] [11]}

Physiology or Medicine

Prusiner's discovery of prions initially faced criticisms and denials, provoking a longstanding debate in the scientific community regarding the existence of prions that wouldn't be resolved, with their full acknowledgement, until years later. ^{[12] [13]}

Literature

Fo's awarding was considered "rather lightweight" by some critics, as he was seen primarily as a performer; he had also been censured by the Roman Catholic Church. ^[14]

References

1. "All Nobel Prizes". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
2. "The Nobel Peace Prize 1997". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
3. Royen, Ulrika (2014-02-26). "Photo gallery - The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 1997". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-11.
4. "The Nobel Prize in Physics 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
5. "The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
6. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 10 October 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2007.
7. "Nobel Prize in Literature 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-10-17.
8. "The Nobel Peace Prize 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-24. Retrieved 2008-10-20.
9. "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 1997". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2008-10-21. Retrieved 2008-10-14.
10. "Nobel Prize Challenged By Russians". The Moscow Times. 21 October 1997. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
11. Roth, Bitte (1997). "Americans again dominate in science". CNN. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
12. "U.S. Scientist Wins Nobel Prize for Controversial Work". Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine . University of Oklahoma (7 October 1997). Retrieved 21 March 2011.
13. Soto, C. (2011). "Prion hypothesis: the end of the controversy?". Trends in Biochemical Sciences. 36 (3): 151–158. doi:10.1016/j.tibs.2010.11.001. PMC   3056934 . PMID   21130657.
14. Julie Carroll, "'Pope and Witch' Draws Catholic Protests". Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine . The Catholic Spirit , 27 February 2007. Retrieved 13 October 2007.