Nobel Prize Scientists

As long ago as the mid-19th century, scientists suspected that the cells of living things must contain specific channels that allow water to pass in and out of the cells, a process essential to all organisms, but it was not until the late 1980s that Dr. Peter Agre succeeded in isolating a membrane protein that proved to be the long-sought-after water channel. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Dr. Agre joined the Hopkins faculty in 1984, gradually shifting from clinical work to laboratory research. In 1988, Agre and his colleagues were searching for proteins that are part of the Rh-factor when they happened across an abundant and much smaller protein of unknown function. The mysterious protein proved to be the elusive cellular regulator of water transport, the "water pore," or aquaporin. Since a 1992 paper in Science, co-authored by Agre, documented the first discovery of an aquaporin, hundreds more have been found in animals, plants, bacteria and other forms of life. Researchers have linked aquaporin malfunction to diseases of the kidneys, heart, muscles and nervous system. Agre, now Professor of Biological Chemistry at Hopkins, was awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his discovery. "In the future," Agre says, "we will be able to capitalize on our understanding of aquaporins to benefit medicine, biotechnology and even agriculture."

When Dr. John Sulston joined the Laboratory of Medical Biology at Cambridge in 1969, few imagined that his work on the tiny nematode worm C. elegans would lead to one of the greatest medical and biological discoveries of the age, but his observations of the genetic regulation of organ development and programmed cell death in this millimeter-long creature enabled our understanding of similar processes in the human. By sequencing the genome of the nematode, he set the stage for the sequencing of the human genome. In 1992, Sulston became the first Director of the Wellcome Trust's Sanger Centre at Cambridge, home of the British component of the International Human Genome Project. When commercial interests tried to patent segments of the human genome, Dr. Sulston took a firm stand against commercial exploitation of this research. In the face of powerful opposition, he insured free public access to knowledge that will provide the foundation of biology for centuries to come, a struggle he recounts in his book, The Common Thread: A Story of Science, Politics and the Ethics of the Human Genome. Now retired from the Directorship of the Centre, he has become a leading advocate for public responsibility in science. He was knighted for his services to science in 2001, and the following year he received the Nobel Prize, but the honor Sir John may value most is the tribute of a fellow Nobelist, who called him simply, "a scientist's scientist."

Much of the technology we take for granted today, from mobile phone reception to MRI scanning, would be unthinkable without discoveries made by Alexei Abrikosov in Russia half a century ago. In the early 1950s, Abrikosov was one of only a handful of scientists around the world studying the phenomenon of superconductivity, the ability of electricity to pass through certain materials without resistance, usually at incredibly low temperatures. His discoveries took many years to gain widespread acceptance, but today his theory of the magnetic properties of Type II Superconductors, known as the "Abrikosov vortex lattice," is universally accepted. In the Soviet Union, Dr. Abrikosov was honored with the Lenin Prize, Russia's most important scientific honor. In 1991, he moved to the United States to join the Argonne National Laboratory; he became a U.S. citizen in 1999. In 2003, Dr. Abrikosov was awarded the Nobel Prize, along with two colleagues, "for pioneering work on the theory of superconductivity and superfluidity." His recent research has focused on magneto resistance, the variable resistance to electrical flow in some materials under the influence of a magnetic field. In the future, researchers hope to harness superconductivity for such uses as power lines that can conduct current without waste resistance, and high-speed trains that float above the tracks. Dr. Abrikosov addressed the Academy of Achievement at its 2004 Summit in Chicago, Illinois. In this podcast, recorded on that occasion, he tells the Academy student delegates the story of his life in Russia, and discusses the qualities he believes make a good scientist, including patience, open-mindedness and critical thinking.

Harold Kroto was still a schoolboy when he developed what he calls "an unhealthy interest" in chemistry. "Like almost all chemists," he says, he was "attracted by the smells and bangs that endowed chemistry with that slight but charismatic element of danger." He earned his bachelor's and doctor's degrees at Sheffield University. After postdoctoral work in Canada and at Bell Labs in the United States, he returned to England and settled at the University of Sussex, where he is now Royal Society Research Professor. Over a period of 11 days in 1985, Kroto and his associates produced two previously unknown forms of the element carbon. Formerly, only six crystalline forms of the element were known, including the two forms of graphite, and two kinds of diamond. One of the new forms, a 60-atom molecule (C60) displayed a highly stable symmetrical structure resembling the pattern of a soccer ball, or the geodesic dome designed by the American architect R. Buckminster Fuller. In Fuller's honor, the researchers named it buckminsterfullerene. The 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Dr. Kroto and his associates for these discoveries, which have resulted in an entirely new branch of chemistry, with enormous consequences in such diverse areas as astrochemistry and superconductivity. Later that year, Harold Kroto was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to science.

In 1992, Gary Becker was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his application of economic theory to sociological issues, particularly his pioneering studies of human capital, discrimination and crime. A Princeton University graduate, he studied with Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, where he first applied economic analysis to broader social issues. His dissertation on the effects of prejudice on the earnings and employment opportunities of minorities led to his landmark book The Economics of Discrimination, published in 1957. In his 1964 book Human Capital, he examined the influence of education, training and experience on individuals' economic performance and its further impact on the larger economy. In the 1960s, Becker's also undertook an economic study of crime and punishment. Becker proposed that many behaviors typically regarded as irrational, such as crime, are actually the product of rational choices made in constrained circumstances. Initially ignored by his more traditionally-minded peers, Becker's theories found an appreciative audience among non-economists through his monthly column in the magazine Business Week. After some years at Columbia University, Becker returned in 1970 to the University of Chicago, where he holds professorships in economics and sociology, as well as teaching in the Graduate School of Business. In recent years, Becker has used using economic theory to shed light on a range of family-related issues, including decisions regarding marriage, divorce, parental "investment" in children, and the dynamics of intra-familial self-sacrifice. His more recent books include Uncommon Sense and The Economics of Life. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 2001 Summit in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Becker discusses the concept of human capital, and the economic significance of investments in education, training, health and family. He places human beings and human behavior at the heart of modern economics. In 2007, President George W. Bush recognized Dr. Becker's achievement with the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1992, Gary Becker was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics for his application of economic theory to sociological issues, particularly his pioneering studies of human capital, discrimination and crime. A Princeton University graduate, he studied with Milton Friedman at the University of Chicago, where he first applied economic analysis to broader social issues. His dissertation on the effects of prejudice on the earnings and employment opportunities of minorities led to his landmark book The Economics of Discrimination, published in 1957. In his 1964 book Human Capital, he examined the influence of education, training and experience on individuals' economic performance and its further impact on the larger economy. In the 1960s, Becker's also undertook an economic study of crime and punishment. Becker proposed that many behaviors typically regarded as irrational, such as crime, are actually the product of rational choices made in constrained circumstances. Initially ignored by his more traditionally-minded peers, Becker's theories found an appreciative audience among non-economists through his monthly column in the magazine Business Week. After some years at Columbia University, Becker returned in 1970 to the University of Chicago, where he holds professorships in economics and sociology, as well as teaching in the Graduate School of Business. In recent years, Becker has used using economic theory to shed light on a range of family-related issues, including decisions regarding marriage, divorce, parental "investment" in children, and the dynamics of intra-familial self-sacrifice. His more recent books include Uncommon Sense and The Economics of Life. In this podcast, recorded at the Academy of Achievement's 2001 Summit in San Antonio, Texas, Dr. Becker discusses the concept of human capital, and the economic significance of investments in education, training, health and family. He places human beings and human behavior at the heart of modern economics. In 2007, President George W. Bush recognized Dr. Becker's achievement with the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Since the discovery of the DNA molecule in the 1950s, scientists have had a rough understanding of its structure, but for almost 30 years they labored in darkness, unable to see the actual object of their study. It took Sir Aaron Klug to shine a light down this dark corridor. Drawing on the latest advances in computers, optics and mathematics, Sir Aaron used the electron microscope and his own knowledge of x-ray crystallography to generate the first three-dimensional images of genetic material, enabling researchers to lay eyes on the actual building blocks of life. Hailed by his peers as a pioneering "geographer of molecular geology," Aaron Klug received the Nobel Prize in 1982 for his innovative work investigating and mapping the structure of genes. Born in Lithuania and educated in South Africa, Aaron Klug has carried out his research in England since the early 1950s. He was knighted by the Queen in 1988. From 1995 to 2000 he served as President of the Royal Society, Britain's leading scientific organization, once headed by Sir Isaac Newton. An ardent supporter of unfettered scientific research, he is outspoken in his belief that "the human genome itself must be freely available to all humankind." In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London England, he recounts his career in science and the DNA structures he illuminated. He also discusses role as President of the Royal Society and the government's role in regulating genetic technology.

Sir John Vane (1927 - 2004) received the 1982 Nobel Prize in Medicine for discoveries that reach into the medicine cabinet of almost every home. For generations, we have known that aspirin relieves pain, but how and why it works remained a baffling mystery until 1971, when Dr. Vane determined that aspirin blocks the syntheses of certain prostaglandins, hormone-like substances that occur throughout the body and affect a wide variety of functions. Vane and his associates also learned that a specific prostaglandin called prostacyclin prevents blood clotting of the kind that often leads to strokes and heart attacks. Vane's research led to the development of medicines such as captotril, tracrium, zovirax and lamictal, as well as flolan, the lifesaving drug for pulmonary hypertension. Sir John led much of this work as Group Research and Development Director for the Wellcome Foundation. Sir John left Wellcome in 1985, and in the following year, founded the William Harvey Research Institute, which conducts fundamental research in the area of cardiovascular, inflammatory and metabolic diseases. Well before his death at age 77, it was estimated that his life's work had already saved thousands of lives. In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London, England, Sir John Vane shares his discoveries with the Academy's student delegates, explaining the means by which aspirin intersects with the enzymes in the human body to fight disease. He identifies the essential elements of a rewarding career in science: talent, serendipity, and a willingness to embrace the unusual.

Most scientists would consider a Nobel Prize the crowning achievement of a life's work; Frederick Sanger has won this honor not once, but twice. He received his first Nobel in 1958 for successfully determining the exact sequence of the 51 amino acids that make up a molecule of insulin. The method he pioneered can be used for the analysis of all proteins, and made the synthesis of insulin possible for the first time, with far-reaching effects for the treatment of diabetes. Dr. Sanger then set out to do for DNA what he had done for proteins. Methods he devised have enabled scientists to determine the sequence of hundreds of base compounds in a single day, work that had previously taken years to accomplish. Dr. Sanger demonstrated his method by performing the first complete analysis of an entire organism, a microscopic bacteriophage. In 1980, Dr. Sanger received a second Nobel for this work, which lies at the heart of contemporary genetic research, such as the Human Genome Project. Only four other people in history have won two Nobel Prizes. Two were past honorees of the Academy of Achievement, John Bardeen and Linus Pauling. The others were Marie Curie and Winston Churchill. Dr. Frederick Sanger is the only living member of this illustrious company. In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London, England, Dr. Sanger recalls a half-century of work as a biochemist. He recalls the techniques he developed for sequencing proteins and DNA, and shares the excitement of discovery with the Academy's student delegates.

Few have done more to tease out the fundamental mysteries of the universe than Dr. Gerard 't Hooft of the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. For the last century, as physicists pried further into the atom to better understand this basic building block of the universe, they attempted to fit all they learned into the existing Standard Model Theory of particle physics. By the 1970s, so many conflicting adjustments had been made to the original theory that its very foundation had come into serious question. To resolve some of these conflicts, 't Hooft and his mentor, Martinus J.G. Veltman, applied newly developed computer technology; their calculations have enabled science to predict the behavior and properties of subatomic particles more accurately. They were awarded the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physics for placing the Standard Model Theory "on a firmer mathematical foundation." Ultimately, 't Hooft's work has brought physics closer to the development of a Unified Field Theory, which would provide a single framework for understanding all the forces of nature. In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London, England, Dr. 't Hooft traces his interest in science to his early childhood. In secondary school, he was already attending a professor uncle's lectures at the university. He shares some of his thought on theoretical physics and particle theory.