Nobel Prize Scientists

In an era of global economic turmoil, policymakers and ordinary citizens around the world are turning to the writings of Professor Joseph Stiglitz. Virtually alone among economic oracles, Stiglitz predicted as early as 2006 that the bubble in U.S. home prices would lead to a credit crisis and global recession. Stiglitz has held professorships at Yale, Princeton, Stanford, MIT, Oxford and is now University Professor at Columbia. He served in President Clinton’Ŵs cabinet and as Chief Economist to the World Bank, a post he resigned after dissenting from the bank’Ŵs policies in developing countries. Stiglitz received the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics for his revolutionary analysis of the role ’źasymmetric information’Ź plays in market behavior. He pioneered the field of ’źinformation economics’Ź which offers new approaches to problems ranging from unemployment to international development and climate change. His prescient ideas have won a vast international following through books such as the bestseller Globalization and Its Discontents. This two-part podcast was recorded in the Boulders Lodge of the Singita Sabi Sands Game Reserve during the 2009 International Achievement Summit. Dr. Stiglitz leads an in-depth discussion of the ongoing international economic crisis. He traces its origins and shares his ideas for potential remedies.

The Big Bang theory proposes that the universe we know emerged from a uniformly hot and impenetrable mass of protons, electrons and radiation. But until recently, we knew very little of the first stages of the 13 billion year process in which our cosmos took shape. In 1974, a young astrophysicist, fresh from graduate school at Berkeley, set out to fill in this gap in human knowledge. Leading a small team of researchers at Columbia University's Goddard Center for Space Studies, John Mather devised a proposal for a satellite, the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE), to measure the microwave background radiation in space. From temperature variations in the radiation emanating from different points in the universe, he hoped to trace the paths of the infant galaxies from their starting point. The scheme seemed far-fetched, and more experienced researchers doubted it would find anything significant, but Mather persuaded NASA to undertake the mission, and was hired by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center to guide the project. For the next 15 years, Mather led a team of over 1,000 scientists and engineers, designing and building the exquisitely calibrated instruments such an experiment required. In 1989, COBE was launched into space. For four years, the satellite collected its data. Analysis of the data took many years more, but by 1992, Mather had found what he was looking for: cool trails etched in the otherwise uniform background, precisely the "blackbody" patterns predicted by the Big Bang theory. Mather's discovery provides the theory's strongest validation to date. With this data, we can draw a map of the universe as it existed roughly 389,000 years after the Big Bang, "a baby picture of the universe." Mather has chronicled this voyage of discovery in a book for the general public, The Very First Light. Mather's discovery has been hailed as "the missing link in cosmology." The Swedish Academy praised Mather for elevating cosmology to a precision science, and honored his achievement with the Nobel Prize. Mather's work continues. Today, he leads a NASA team building the most sophisticated telescope ever devised. Scheduled for space launch in 2013, we can only guess what wonders it may reveal.

In 1998, an article by Dr. Craig Mello, published in the journal Nature, ignited a revolution in biomedical research. The discovery swept through laboratories around the world, changing the way biomedical researchers work in fields from medicine to agriculture. Science had already identified the role of the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule in conveying genetic information from the DNA molecule to the cells of living things, but when scientists attempted to manipulate this communication for experimental purposes, they experienced baffling and contradictory results. Dr. Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in collaboration with scientists from the Carnegie Institution, devised an ingenious experiment, with the genes of the nematode worm. He bound one RNA molecule to another, constructed in its mirror image. This double-stranded molecule, injected into the cells of the worm, effectively silenced the gene corresponding to the original RNA molecule. Mello and his colleagues soon found that this process, which they dubbed "RNA interference" (RNAi), occurs naturally in all living things, from plants and fungi to animals and human beings. It plays a role in the differentiation of cells, in the suppression of viruses, and probably in the mechanisms of inheritance, variation and the evolution of species. The discovery of RNAi unveils a new vista of possibilities for the study and treatment of viral infections, inherited ailments and immune disorders, including diabetes, cancer, ALS and HIV-AIDS. Craig Mello addressed the student delegates at the 2007 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C., six months after receiving the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

In 1998, an article by Dr. Craig Mello, published in the journal Nature, ignited a revolution in biomedical research. The discovery swept through laboratories around the world, changing the way biomedical researchers work in fields from medicine to agriculture. Science had already identified the role of the messenger RNA (mRNA) molecule in conveying genetic information from the DNA molecule to the cells of living things, but when scientists attempted to manipulate this communication for experimental purposes, they experienced baffling and contradictory results. Dr. Mello of the University of Massachusetts Medical School, in collaboration with scientists from the Carnegie Institution, devised an ingenious experiment, with the genes of the nematode worm. He bound one RNA molecule to another, constructed in its mirror image. This double-stranded molecule, injected into the cells of the worm, effectively silenced the gene corresponding to the original RNA molecule. Mello and his colleagues soon found that this process, which they dubbed "RNA interference" (RNAi), occurs naturally in all living things, from plants and fungi to animals and human beings. It plays a role in the differentiation of cells, in the suppression of viruses, and probably in the mechanisms of inheritance, variation and the evolution of species. The discovery of RNAi unveils a new vista of possibilities for the study and treatment of viral infections, inherited ailments and immune disorders, including diabetes, cancer, ALS and HIV-AIDS. Craig Mello addressed the student delegates at the 2007 Achievement Summit in Washington, D.C., six months after receiving the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine.

Four distinguished thinkers join in a provocative discussion of Science and Faith, recorded at the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, California. Two are religous believers and two are self-described atheists. Benjamin Carson is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer in his field. In his operation on the Binder Siamese twins in 1987, he succeeded where all predecessors had failed, in separating twins joined at the head. Francis Collins has dedicated his career to mapping and identifying genes that cause human diseases including cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease. For 15 years, he served as Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research, one of the largest undertakings in the history of science. Under his leadership, this effort charted the entire human genome, and is on its way to unlocking all of the mysteries of human heredity. In 2009 Dr. Collins was sworn in as the 16th Director of the National Institutes of Health. One the most influential scientists of our times, Richard Dawkins has been called "Darwin's rottweiler" for his outspoken defense of evolutionary theory. His 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, brought about a revolutionary change of perspective, in which the gene itself is seen as the object of natural selection. He has aired his critical view of religious belief and the role of religion in history in a television documentary, The Root of All Evil?, and in his 2006 book, The God Delusion. Daniel Dennet is Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. In his magnum opus, Consciousness Explained, Dennett confronted the philosophical problem of individual awareness, synthesizing advanced research in neurology, psychology, linguistics, computer science and artificial intelligence to construct a persuasive model for the neurological basis of consciousness. He continues to explore the implications of his groundbreaking ideas in Freedom Evolves and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. The discussion is moderated by journalist Kathleen Matthews.

Four distinguished thinkers join in a provocative discussion of Science and Faith, recorded at the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, California. Two are religous believers and two are self-described atheists. Benjamin Carson is the Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. He is internationally recognized as a pioneer in his field. In his operation on the Binder Siamese twins in 1987, he succeeded where all predecessors had failed, in separating twins joined at the head. Francis Collins has dedicated his career to mapping and identifying genes that cause human diseases including cystic fibrosis and Huntington's disease. For 15 years, he served as Director of the National Center for Human Genome Research, one of the largest undertakings in the history of science. Under his leadership, this effort charted the entire human genome, and is on its way to unlocking all of the mysteries of human heredity. In 2009 Dr. Collins was sworn in as the 16th Director of the National Institutes of Health. One the most influential scientists of our times, Richard Dawkins has been called "Darwin's rottweiler" for his outspoken defense of evolutionary theory. His 1976 book, The Selfish Gene, brought about a revolutionary change of perspective, in which the gene itself is seen as the object of natural selection. He has aired his critical view of religious belief and the role of religion in history in a television documentary, The Root of All Evil?, and in his 2006 book, The God Delusion. Daniel Dennet is Director of the Center for Cognitive Studies at Tufts University. In his magnum opus, Consciousness Explained, Dennett confronted the philosophical problem of individual awareness, synthesizing advanced research in neurology, psychology, linguistics, computer science and artificial intelligence to construct a persuasive model for the neurological basis of consciousness. He continues to explore the implications of his groundbreaking ideas in Freedom Evolves and Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon. The discussion is moderated by journalist Kathleen Matthews.

In 1985, Michael S. Brown, M.D., won the Nobel Prize in Medicine, as well as the Albert Lasker Basic Research Award, the highest honor in American medicine. Dr. Brown, along with his colleague, Dr. Joseph L. Goldstein, was honored discovering the basic mechanisms controlling cholesterol metabolism. His discoveries have opened the way to new treatments for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death and disability in the Western world. Brown and his colleague discovered a protein, called the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor, that controls the transfer of cholesterol from the blood to other cells in the body. After discovering and isolating the protein, they located the gene responsible for LDL receptor production, and identified the specific mutations that account for an inherited high risk for atherosclerosis, the buildup of fat deposits in the blood vessels that leads to heart attacks and strokes. They further determined that reducing dietary intake of cholesterol and animal fats can reduce this risk. In this podcast, recorded at the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Michael S. Brown tells the Academy's student delegates that heart disease is totally preventable. He discusses the steps that individuals, physicians, government and drug companies can take today. He also extols the value of partnership in research and other forms of endeavor.

Dr. Robert H. Grubbs was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for an achievement that will lead to the development of new medicines for illness, and new materials for industry and daily living, while dramatically reducing the hazard of chemical waste in the environment. The Swedish Academy honored Dr. Grubbs for his discovery of the ’źGrubbs catalyst,’Ź a molecule of carbon and ruthenium, which facilitates the formation of new carbon-based compounds. The chemical process of metathesis, in which the atoms of one molecule trade places with the atoms of another, has been compared to a dance in which two partners’Ůholding each other by both hands’Ůlink up with another couple, briefly forming a circle before changing partners and dancing off again. The Grubbs catalyst, already available to laboratories, is a particularly graceful performer in this dance, and enables chemists to replace individual atoms with unprecedented accuracy. Robert Grubbs was born and raised in Marshall County, Kentucky, near the town of Possum Trot. He first fell in love with chemistry at the University of Florida and earned his doctorate at Columbia University. Today, he is the Victor and Elizabeth Atkins Professor of Chemistry at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He is thrilled that his discovery, the product of 30 years of research, promises a ’źgreener, ’Ź healthier future for all of us. In this podcast, recorded at the 2006 International Achievement Summit in Los Angeles, California, Dr. Grubbs recalls the impact that Russia's launch of the Sputnik satellite had on his generation of students. He also discusses the issue of global warming and the challenge of powering the planet without poisoning it. He urges the Academy's student students to educate their policy makers on these pressing issues.

A physician by training, Dr. Aaron Ciechanover may once have dreamed of winning a Nobel Prize in Medicine, but he could scarcely have imagined his work would someday lead to a Nobel Prize in another discipline altogether. Yet, when the call from Stockholm came, it was to inform him that his work would be honored with the 2004 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. With research budgets a fraction of those found in larger countries, Dr. Ciechanover and his colleagues at Technion, the Israel Institute of Technology, had succeeded in answering a question that larger, more lavishly funded institutions had long neglected. The cells in our bodies contain as many as 100,000 different proteins, all continuously synthesizing and then breaking down again. Scientists in the world's leading research facilities have concentrated on the process by which proteins are synthesized in the cells, but the process of protein degradation was largely overlooked. In the early 1980s, Ciechanover and his associates uncovered the system that regulates the breakdown of proteins in the cells. Formerly mysterious biochemical processes can now be understood at the molecular level, knowledge that enhances our understanding of diseases such as cervical cancer and cystic fibrosis, and will enable the development of previously unimaginable medicines. Every year brings new discoveries derived from this fundamental breakthrough. Dr. Ciechanover discusses his groundbreaking research on the disintegration of proteins in this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 2005 Summit in New York City.

David Gross and Frank Wilczek were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for solving the last great remaining problem in the "Standard Model" of quantum mechanics. By discovering how the nucleus of the atom actually works, they have brought us one giant step closer to the Holy Grail of physics, the long-sought "unified theory" that would explain the relation of all known forces in the universe. For years, the Standard Model could not explain the action of the "strong force" that binds the particles in the nucleus of an atom. Whenever logical calculations of this force predicted a positive number, experiment always produced a negative one. It was Gross, then a Professor at Princeton University, and his graduate student, Wilczek, who explained this apparent contradiction. Unlike gravity and electromagnetism, which decrease with distance, the strong force tightens its grip as particles are pulled apart, and relaxes as they move together, like a rubber band. Gross and Wilczek's theory of the strong force was quickly confirmed by experimentation, and is mathematically compatible with our understanding of both electromagnetism and the "weak force" of radioactive decay. The relationship of gravity to these forces remains the missing piece of the unified theory, but when it is found, it will be thanks to the work of the greatest of physicists, among whom we must include Gross and Wilczek.