The Nobel Prize is the ultimate expression of intellectual achievement and a way of recognising people offering the ‘greatest benefit to humankind’.
The prize, which started as the last will of Alfred Nobel himself, a Swedish inventor of dynamite with a staggering 355 patents under his name, came into existence after he died in 1895. From the initial award given away in 1901 till now, a total of 1,026 people have received Nobel prizes in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, peace, and economic sciences, which came into existence later, in 1968.
Nobel Foundation in Sweden
The Nobel Foundation was established in 1895. It is a private foundation with headquarters based in Stockholm, Sweden. It is a company that awards and handles the management of the Nobel Prizes for their nominated participants. The mission of the foundation is to gather all members of the Nobel family and to award the best among them. Members of the board of directors of the foundation are major members of the Nobel family. They are all independent individuals and are always the final decision-makers for the winners of the Nobel Prizes.
History of the Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize was established by Alfred Nobel and his brother Ludvig in their last will. He was a chemist, entrepreneur and arms and explosives manufacturer from Sweden. He was one of the first to invent dynamite and two-part blasting caps for an explosive mixture. He invented dynamite in 1866 and got it patented in 1867, dynamite cartridges and powder flasks in 1873, and the first safety-catch mechanism for dynamite in 1875.
He also had several other inventions in the field of chemicals, including the production of nitroglycerin. He was also the creator of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine and the award for Physics, Literature, Peace, and so on. Alfred Nobel also set up the Nobel Prizes that are still awarded today.
Nobel Prize Ceremony
There is a very strict code of conduct and a shortlisting process that is required to be followed before the winner of the Nobel Prize is declared. To be announced as the winner, the person must meet at least three of the following four criteria.
- Is it a person who has made a major advance in any of the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology and his discovery or invention positively impacts people’s lives?
- Is the person’s work of international significance?
- Is the person a permanent resident of Sweden?
- Did the Nobel Prize Committee choose the person?
After all these checks, the selection committee will send an official letter to the winner telling him that he/she has won the Nobel Prize and that the exact amount will be added to his/her bank account. The money will take approximately one month to reach the bank account. On the day of the prize ceremony, a representative of the Nobel Foundation will come to his/her home to collect the Nobel Prize medal. All the representatives will come to the winner’s house without warning.
The winner’s name will be read out loud, and he/she will be invited to come to the stage where the Nobel Foundation will collect the medal from him/her. Once the medal is presented, a speech will be read out loud, and the winner will also get a medal and a certificate.
Benefits of the Nobel Prize
A Nobel Prize offers, for most people, unparalleled financial security and professional upliftment. There’s the 11-million-SEK cash award that comes with it, roughly ₹8.8 crore, and immediately gives the laureate the capital required to pursue independent research or personal philanthropic projects without the usual constraints of institutional funding. Apart from this immediate cash deluge, the “Nobel effect” is a strong catalyst for future resources; statistics show that laureates find it immensely easier to get hold of massive research grants since their work has received the ultimate global imprimatur.
Furthermore, the prize gives a laureate an unparalleled platform for international influence and advocacy. Be it in the sciences or peace, the recognition turns an individual into a public figure whose voice can shape government policy and international discourse. This symbolic power thereby serves to defend human rights or calls attention to important scientific issues overlooked hitherto. The ultimate reward of the Nobel Prize is, however, the satisfying union that it strikes between personal security and permanent legacy, a situation where the contribution by the recipient continues to serve as inspiration toward progress and development and shapes society for generations beyond the date of issue.
