The Nobel Prizes for Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace were established in Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel’s last will, signed on 27 November 1895, and an additional prize for the Economic Sciences was established later by the central bank of Sweden, Sveriges Riksbank, in 1968. Every year, the Nobel Prizes are awarded “to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”
In 2020, these prizes were awarded to eleven individuals and one organisation in recognition of their contributions to science, art, and world peace. Sadly, it is often difficult for non-specialists to understand just how significant these contributions are. To give some perspective to these achievements, The Diacritic’s Qian Zilan spoke to professors from Yale-NUS College and the National University of Singapore for their thoughts on this year’s prizes….