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The benefits of Nobel Prizes

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There is an urgent need to rethink the Nobel Prize in Physics in the light of the climate crisis. As expressed by its founder, the award should acknowledge research that addresses pressing challenges for humanity.

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Fig. 1: Increase of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere during the last 2,000 years.

References

  1. Full text of Alfred Nobel’s will. NobelPrize.org www.nobelprize.org/alfred-nobel/full-text-of-alfred-nobels-will-2/ (2022).

  2. All Nobel Prizes in Physics. NobelPrize.org www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lists/all-nobel-prizes-in-physics/ (2022).

  3. Forster, P. et al. in Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis (eds Solomon, S. et al.) Ch. 2 (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2007).

  4. Advanced information on the Nobel Prize in Physics 2000 (Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, 2000); www.nobelprize.org/uploads/2018/06/advanced-physicsprize2000.pdf

  5. Heber, J. Nat. Phys. 10, 791 (2014).

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  6. Masson-Delmotte, V. et al. (eds) Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis (IPCC, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2021).

  7. Global and European Temperatures (European Environment Agency, 2022); www.eea.europa.eu/ims/global-and-european-temperatures

  8. The Keeling Curve (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego); https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/pdf-downloads/

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz, Germany

    Doris Vollmer

  2. Department of Chemistry, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Roland J.-R. Bednarz & Sebastian Seiffert

  3. Department of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany

    Beatrice Bednarz

Authors
  1. Doris Vollmer
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  2. Roland J.-R. Bednarz
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  3. Sebastian Seiffert
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  4. Beatrice Bednarz
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Doris Vollmer.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Vollmer, D., Bednarz, R.JR., Seiffert, S. et al. The benefits of Nobel Prizes. Nat. Phys. 18, 1383–1384 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01830-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-022-01830-6

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