The 2014 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

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Physics

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Awardee(s)
  Isamu Akasaki

(1929–2021)

  Japanese "for the invention of efficient blue light-emitting diodes which has enabled bright and energy-saving white light sources" [4]
  Hiroshi Amano

(b. 1960)

  Shuji Nakamura

(b. 1954)

  Japanese

  American

Chemistry

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Awardee(s)
  Eric Betzig

(b. 1960)

  American "for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy" [5]
  Stefan W. Hell

(b. 1962)

  Romanian[6]

  German

  William E. Moerner

(b. 1953)

  American

Physiology or Medicine

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Awardee(s)
  John O'Keefe

(b. 1939)

  United States

  United Kingdom

"for their discoveries of cells that constitute a positioning system in the brain" [7]
  May-Britt Moser

(b. 1963)

  Norway
  Edvard I. Moser

(b. 1962)

Literature

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Awardee(s)
  Patrick Modiano

(b. 1945)

  France "for the art of memory with which he has evoked the most ungraspable human destinies and uncovered the life-world of the Occupation" [8]

Peace

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Awardee(s)
  Kailash Satyarthi

(born 1954)

  India "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education." [9]
  Malala Yousafzai

(born 1997)

  Pakistan

Economic Sciences

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Awardee(s)
  Jean Tirole

(b. 1953)

  France "for his analysis of market power and regulation" [10]

Controversies

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Physics

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Some questioned the award's lack of recognition for other scientists who helped pioneer light-emitting diodes such as Oleg Losev, Nick Holonyak, Gertrude Neumark.[11][12] In particular, it was mentioned that materials scientist Herbert Paul Maruska could be credited with first developing the blue LED.[13][14]

References

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  1. ^ Owen, Paul (2014-10-13). "Nobel prizes 2014 – the winners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  2. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2014". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  3. ^ "Video - The Nobel Prize Award Ceremony 2014". NobelPrize.org. 2014-12-18. Retrieved 2024-12-09.
  4. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 7 April 2024. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  5. ^ "Microscope work wins Nobel Prize". BBC. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ "Erviu Exclusiv Digi24. Stefan Hell, laureat al premiului Nobel: Educaţia primită în România m-a ajutat mult. Mi-a ușurat viața" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2015.
  7. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2014". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Nobel Prize in Literature 2014". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 31 December 2014. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
  9. ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2014". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2022-03-02.
  10. ^ "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2014". Nobel Foundation. Archived from the original on 2018-12-26. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  11. ^ "Inventor of the red LED hits out at committee for 'overlooking' his seminal 1960s work". The Independent. October 8, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
  12. ^ "LED and Laser Diode Patent Holder Gertrude Neumark Rothschild Died". 2010-10-25. Retrieved October 11, 2020.
  13. ^ "Nobel Shocker: RCA Had the First Blue LED in 1972". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on 7 July 2017. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
  14. ^ "Oregon tech CEO says Nobel Prize in Physics overlooks the actual inventors". OregonLive.com. October 16, 2014. Retrieved 2018-10-17.