The Nobel Prize Winners of 2022- A Brief Summary 

By: Noelle Di Perna

Winning a Nobel Prize award is one of the most prestigious honours that only very few individuals are able to receive. Nobel Prize awards are given to extraordinary minds that are breaking boundaries in one of the six fields; Physics, Literature, Physiology/Medicine, Chemistry, Economic Science, or Peace Work. 

The Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger, dealing with entangled states, gained traction on social media due to its complicated yet fascinating nature. The groundwork of Aspect, Clauser and Zeilinger’s developments is based on the theory that when particles exist in an entangled state, what happens to one particle affects the other particle despite the distance between the particles.

As stated by the Nobel Prize committee, “Alain Aspect, John Clauser and Anton Zeilinger have each conducted groundbreaking experiments using entangled quantum states, where two particles behave like a single unit even when they are separated. Their results have cleared the way for new technology based upon quantum information”

(“All Nobel Prizes 2022.”)

The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to the French author Annie Ernaux, whose brilliant writing is so straightforward yet complex making it touching on many different levels  (“All Nobel Prizes 2022.”). Her most well regarded novels include ‘A Man’s Place’, ‘A Woman’s Story’ and ‘Years’ .Ernaux’s literary work is sure to leave a lasting impression on any reader, making her one of the most influential authors of our time. In addition to being a talented author, she is also a woman and is breaking patriarchal boundaries through her win.

Svante Pääbo won the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his groundbreaking work in genoming extinct hominids, building the gaps in the history of human evolution. Throughout his research Pääbo successfully sequenced the genome of a Neanderthal, discovered an unknown hominid now known as Denisova and discovered that a gene transfer occurred between the newly discovered extinct hominids and Homo sapiens (“All Nobel Prizes 2022”). His developments help to strengthen our current knowledge of human evolution, specifically the origin of humankind. 

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal, and K. Barry Sharpless. First and foremost, similarly to Annie Ernaux’s win, Bertozzi’s win provides necessary representation in a STEM field that sadly lacks female representation, especially on such a large scale. The chemist’s made major contributions to the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry. These discoveries are currently being used to improve the research of cancer pharmaceuticals and exploring body cells  (“All Nobel Prizes 2022.”). 

American businessmen Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond and Philip H. Dybvig won the Nobel Prize in Economic Science for their work on the bank’s role in financial crises and how banks can be better equipped to deal with financial crises  (“All Nobel Prizes 2022.”). Their work provides solutions that effectively accommodate those using the bank and the banking system as a whole. 

The Nobel Peace Prize, arguably the most influential and notable prize, was awarded to Ales Bialiatski from Belarus. With the ever changing Ukrainian-Russian conflict that began early this year, Bialiatski has worked with displaced citizens from both nations and advocated for peace  (“All Nobel Prizes 2022.”). His efforts have helped the hurting nations and influenced positive change. 

Works Cited 

“All Nobel Prizes 2022.” NobelPrize.org, 21 Oct. 2022, https://www.nobelprize.org/all-nobel-prizes-2022/.