Over and above test tubes and white lab coats – this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers who explored the world of molecules virtually, with computers.
Martin Karplus, 83, of the University of Strasbourg in France and Harvard University; Michael Levitt, 66, of Stanford University; and Arieh Warshel, 72, of the University of Southern California has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2013. The Swedish crown is prized at 8 million USD approximately.
Their simulating programs use the Newtonian classical law of motion to track the movement of a multitude of atoms and quantum physics to describe the breaking and forming of chemical bonds enabling the closer study of complex reactions like photosynthesis and combustion, as well as the design of new drugs.
Dr. Karplus, born in Austria, is also an Austrian citizen. Dr. Levitt, born in South Africa, also holds British and Israeli citizenships, and Dr. Warshel, born in Israel, is also an Israeli citizen. All of them are naturalized US citizens.
As recalled Dr. Levitt, “It was an enormous shock!” he told, “The unexpected call from Stockholm came at 2:15 in the morning.” He immediately called his 98-year-old mother in London.
Commenting on awarding this prize on simulation, Dr. Lidin of Nobel Prize committee told, “The predictions that theory make are becoming so much powerful these days that we can perhaps save 90 percent of the experimenting and concentrate on the 10 percent where we know that the most important results will lie.”
Tags: Arieh Warshel Martin Karplus Michael Levitt Nobel Prize Nobel Prize 2013 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
