Nobel Prize season is upon us once again. Every October, committees in Sweden and Norway name laureates in a variety of prizes in the sciences, literature and economics, as well as peace work. In total, six prizes will be awarded.
Throughout the pandemic, the Nobels have made adjustments. In 2020 and 2021, some events were canceled in favor of a digital ceremony for the winners, and the Oslo ceremony for the peace prize was smaller than in most years, with a limited audience.
Laureates will receive their Nobel Prize medals and diplomas in Stockholm in December. Last year’s ceremony included 15 laureates from 2020 and 2021 who received their diplomas and medals in their home countries because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Here is a quick guide to this year’s prizes.
What are the Nobel prizes?
Six Nobel Prizes are awarded every year, each recognizing an individual’s or organization’s groundbreaking contribution in a specific field. Prizes are given for physiology or medicine, physics, chemistry, economic science, literature and peace work, which often draws the most attention because of the caliber of people and groups nominated.
This year, there are 351 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel committee said. That’s the second highest number of candidates ever behind 2016, when 376 candidates were nominated. (Here’s how those nominations work.)
Previous Nobel Peace Prize recipients include Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai (2014), President Barack Obama (2009), Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk (1993), the 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso (1989) and Mother Teresa (1979).
Here are this year’s winners so far.
One prize will be announced each day from Monday to Oct. 2 through Oct. 9, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. Eastern time. Announcements are made in Stockholm and Oslo, and will be streamed live on the official digital channels of the Nobel Prize.
The award for physiology or medicine was awarded to Katalin Kariko and Drew Weissman on Monday, for their discoveries that led to the development of effective vaccines against Covid-19. Read more about them here.
On Tuesday, the award for physics was shared by three scientists — Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier — for their work on electrons. Read more about them here.
The award for chemistry will be announced on Wednesday.
The award for literature will be announced on Thursday.
The award for peace work will be announced on Friday.
The award for economic science will be announced on Oct. 9.
What do the laureates receive?
Nobel Prize laureates will receive a Nobel Prize diploma, a Nobel Prize medal and a document detailing the Nobel Prize amount, which this year is 11 million Swedish krona, or about $989,000 in current exchange rates.
Who were last year’s recipients?
See a complete list of 2022 winners here.