And that's a wrap
And there we leave the chemistry prize for another year. Huge congratulations go to John Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino for the development of lithium-ion batteries.
Here is my colleague Nicola Davis’s news story on the prize:
My Guardian colleagues will be covering the two Literature Prize announcements (2018 and 2019), which will be tomorrow from 12 noon UK time.
More reaction from Royal Society President Venki Ramakrishnan:
“Professor Goodenough’s contributions in the field of materials science have fundamentally shaped the technology we take for granted today. From powering the smartphone in your pocket, to his defining work on the properties of magnetism, these contributions have opened new avenues for scientific investigation and engineering.
“The cathode he developed for the lithium ion battery built on the work of his fellow laureate Professor Whittingham, and was made commercially viable by the work of Professor Yoshino. Scientific breakthroughs are rarely – if ever – a solo endeavour and it is absolutely fitting that this year’s Nobel Prize for Chemistry should be shared in this way.
“I look forward to celebrating with John in person when he picks up his Copley Award at the Society this evening.”
I was advised to Google “John Goodenough laugh” - apparently he is renowned for having a laugh that can be heard several rooms away. I can confirm it is truly infectious.
Prof David also told me that Goodenough still goes to the lab every day at the age of 97. That’s dedication and passion for you.
I’ve just spoken to Prof Bill David, a former student of John Goodenough, who worked for him in Oxford. He is due to have afternoon tea at the Royal Society with Goodenough and two other chemists this afternoon - he says noone has cancelled yet so as far as he’s concerned it’s going ahead. He had some wonderful comments about his former boss.
“He’s just the best of people. He took me on when I was a young lad, 25, I hadn’t even finished my doctorate. He has an amazing mind, encyclopaedic in terms of his knowledge.”
David said that Goodenough’s move into battery science was “rational” and conscious prompted by the 1970s oil crisis.
“He made the positive decision to get involved with [battery] research,” he says.
“He has genius combined with a passionate desire to make a positive contribution to humanity. He’s a very principled man.”
If you’ve just realised that you’re not up to speed on battery technology and what it means for the environment, we ran this useful briefing in January with everything you need to know
Here are the official citations for this year’s winners:
The 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry are awarded to John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”. Through their work, they have created the right conditions for a wireless and fossil fuel-free society, and so brought the greatest benefit to humankind.
I’ve just been told that John Goodenough is not in Texas, as I suggested earlier, but is actually in London to have dinner at the Royal Society this evening. He’s there to receive to Copley Medal, the world’s oldest scientific prize. Perfect place for a Nobel night out!
Nobel prizes are awarded for science that is deemed to “have conferred the greatest benefit on humankind”. This can be interpreted in a fairly liberal way: sometimes the benefit is pure intellectual enrichment. The benefits of this year’s chemistry prize are very tangible. They have driven a technological revolution and, according to the Nobel committee, can also be viewed as a green technology. “The importance of this technology for a more sustainable world has increased its relevance in recent times which makes it a more timely award now,” says Hansson.
If you missed the announcement... here it is again
Watch the very moment the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry is announced.
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019
Presented by Göran K. Hansson, Secretary General of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/PM8X2S3Zy4
In this interview with John Goodenough in June, he revealed he’s still working on batteries and hopes to see his final PhD student graduate (if you’re that student, do get in touch!).
He said: “I don’t know when I’ll be taken. But I suppose it’ll be one of these days soon. At my age I don’t take someone on who is going to do a four-year PhD stint. My last student is a pretty good boy. I plan to see him graduate. That’s my plan. But of course I’m not in control. I live day by day, that’s all I can do.”
This year’s prize is clearly one that people have been expecting for a long time - but were this year’s winners surprised? A journalist at the press briefing if any of the laureates said “Finally!” when they got the phone call this morning. “None of them used the word ‘finally’,” Hansson says. “They were delighted. I don’t know whether they had been waiting for the news for years.”
He says they managed to get through to Yoshino, in Japan, and Whittingham, who is normally based in New York, but is in Europe this week for a conference.
And here’s Prof Saiful Islam, of Bath University:
“I’m delighted that John B Goodenough, M Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino have been awarded the chemistry Nobel prize for the development of lithium-ion batteries which have power the portable revolution and will play a big part in next-generation electric vehicles.
In my view, this award is long overdue and it’s great to see that this important area of materials chemistry has been recognised.”
Updated
I’m getting some reaction in from the scientific world... Here’s Prof Mark Miodownik, a materials scientist from University College London:
“I’m so glad lithium-ion batteries finally recognised! They are one of the most influential pieces of materials science that influence the modern life of everyone on the planet. It remarkable too that although 30 years old, they have not been eclipsed by a better battery technology even now, which makes you realise what a remarkable discovery they are.”
Nobel committee say they haven’t yet been able to reach John Goodenough with the good news. It’s currently 5am in Texas, where he is based.
Yoshino says it was “amazing” to get the call. Man of few words. Apparently he sounded happy when he received the call though.
A reporter asks whether he carried out the research to help make more environmental technologies or to make money. “Curiosity” was the main driving force, says Yoshino.
The line isn’t great, but I think he said “I started working on this in 1981. I invented lithium ion battery in 1985”. Goran Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, suggests this is a “long time”. Seems relatively quick to me, given it’s a Nobel-winning advance.
They’ve got Akira Yoshino, the Japanese laureate on the phone. I’ll update you with his reaction to winning the prize shortly.
Echoing Jim Peebles’ comments yesterday, Goodenough said in a recent interview with The Times:
“At the time we developed the battery it was just something to do,” he says. “I didn’t know what electrical engineers would do with the battery. I really didn’t anticipate cellphones, camcorders and everything else.”
Updated
This will be a popular win - one that people have been anticipating for years.
The three laureates each played a critical role in the development of lithium ion batteries.
In the early 1970s, Stanley Whittingham used lithium’s enormous drive to release its outer electron when he developed the first functional lithium battery.
John Goodenough doubled the lithium battery’s potential, creating the right conditions for a vastly more powerful and useful battery.
Akira Yoshino succeeded in eliminating pure lithium from the battery, instead basing it wholly on lithium ions, which are safer than pure lithium. This made the battery workable in practice.
Olof Ramstrom, of the chemistry prize committee is bringing the puns out. “This is a highly charged story of tremendous potential,” he says of the latest announcement.
Lithium ion batteries were the first truly lightweight batteries, that have paved the way for portable electronics, like mobile phones, pacemakers. Electric cars, as well.
Goodenough (97) is the new oldest person ever to get the Nobel prize. Last year Arthur Ashkin (at 96) was the oldest
Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 Announced
The 2019 #NobelPrize in Chemistry has been awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino “for the development of lithium-ion batteries.” pic.twitter.com/LUKTeFhUbg
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019
It’s batteries!
Ooh here we go, they’re taking their seats. Announcement any moment now...
Seems a good time to remind you what the point of the Nobels are. Here’s a piece I wrote with my colleague, Ian Sample, this week on some of the big questions behind the big prizes. Including some nice graphics, not by us, on the numbers of men and women who’ve been awarded prizes
The announcement is due at 10.45... but they do like to keep us waiting. Noone has taken their seats on the podium yet. Could be a delay getting a new laureate on the phone.
Here’s Marie Curie, looking quite stern. She was the first person to receive two Nobels, although there have been a few others since.
When Marie Curie was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in Chemistry she became the first person ever to receive two Nobel Prizes.
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 9, 2019
She had previously received the Physics Prize for her work on radioactivity.#NobelPrize pic.twitter.com/3ueMvur8TP
Here’s Göran K Hansson, secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and the man who gets to make the calls. Nice office... is that William Morris wallpaper?
Secretary General, Göran K. Hansson, and the office phone are making history again. Who are they calling? #NobelPrize #Chemistry pic.twitter.com/FZpQ6IHF8B
— Vetenskapsakademien (@vetenskapsakad) October 9, 2019
Runners and riders
Predictions are always tricky for chemistry, especially since in recent decades chemistry has expanded to encompass biochemistry, materials science and various other disciplines that don’t easily slot into medicine or physics prizes. Afterall everything is made from chemicals.
John B Goodenough and others who helped develop lithium-ion batteries are seen as favourites. The Crispr pioneers Jennifer Doudna, Emmanuelle Charpentier and Feng Zhang are seen as likely future winners, although following the human gene editing scandal in China earlier in the year, this might not be seen as the best year to recognise their achievement. The question of who to recognise for Crispr would also be contentious, with various patent battles and disputes over who holds claim to discovery ongoing in the courts.
Other contenders include Marvin Caruthers of the University of Colorado, Leroy Hood of the Institute for Systems Biology, and Michael Hunkapiller, CEO of DNA sequencing company Pacific Biosciences. They made significant contributions to the development of modern DNA sequencing techniques in the 1980s.
Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University, and Gero Miesenböck of the University of Oxford have been suggested for their development of optogenetics, which has helped reveal the inner workings of the brain and nervous system.
Updated
I’ve also consulted with my colleague, Nicola Davis, who is our in-house chemist on the science desk. She’s extremely excited about today’s announcement - as long as it’s “proper chemistry” that wins. Here’s her prediction:
Predicting the prize for chemistry is always tough, not least because the field encompasses so many disciplines from materials science to biochemistry. But I’d take a punt that this year’s winner is Omar Yaghi for his work on metal-organic frameworks. These are a type of 3d crystalline materials made of metal clusters, or ions, joined together by organic molecules - they can contain lots of pores, meaning they have a vast surface area. It is said that if one gram of such a material was laid out flat to form a sheet one atom thick, it would cover sixty tennis courts.
This is great for trapping and storing substances, such as hydrogen. But metal-organic frameworks can also be useful for speeding up chemical reactions since they offer a multitude of carefully designed sites at which liquids or gases can come together and react. Yaghi scooped the prestigious Wolf prize last year, so he is well on track for a further gong.
Updated
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has handed out 110 Nobel prizes in chemistry since 1901. They have gone to 181 individuals with Frederick Sanger being the only double chemistry laureate, winning in 1958 for his work on the structure of insulin and in 1980 for DNA sequencing. Frances Arnold, who was awarded the prize in 2018, is just one of five female chemistry laureates.
Updated
Welcome to the live blog for the 2019 Nobel prize for physics
Here we go: day three of the 2019 Nobel prizes!
We’ve already had the Nobel prize in physiology or medicine on monday, when Sir Peter Ratcliffe at Oxford University, Gregg Semenza at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and William Kaelin at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston shared the award for discovering how cells sense and respond to an oxygen shortage.
Physics was yesterday. One half of the 9m Swedish kronor (£740,000) prize went to the cosmologist, Jim Peebles, and the other half was shared between Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz. Between them, these scientists paved the way for our understanding of how the universe evolved, what’s in it (mostly dark matter and energy) and discovered the first planet beyond our solar system. Impressive.
But today is all about the chemistry prize. If you’ve been responsible for a major chemical discovery in the past half century or so, and your phone is ringing right now, it’s probably worth picking up.
Everyone else, please join us for the live announcement, comment and analysis. We’ll find out the winner – or more likely the winners – no earlier than 10.45am.
