Resumo de Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prizes are prizes awarded annually to people (and, in the case of the Peace Prize, sometimes to organizations) who have completed outstanding research, invented ground-breaking techniques or equipment, or made an outstanding contribution to society in physics, chemistry, literature, peace, medicine or physiology and economics. They are widely regarded as the supreme commendation in their respective subject areas. Those honored with a Prize are known as Nobel Laureates. The Prizes were instituted by the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel through his will. They were first awarded in 1901, five years after Nobel's death. The prize in economics, instituted by the Bank of Sweden, has been awarded since 1969. As of October 2006, a total of 781 Nobel Prizes have been awarded, 763 to individuals and 18 to organizations and 33 to women. A few Prize winners have declined the award. There are years in which one or more Prizes are not awarded; during World War II, for instance, no Prizes were awarded in any category between 1940 and 1942. Each Prize stipulates, however, that it must be awarded at least once every five years. Prizes cannot be revoked. Since 1974, no award may be made posthumously, i.e. nominees must be alive at the time of their nomination. Prize categories : Category Characteristics Nobel Prize in Physics "the person who shall have made the most important discovery or invention within the field of physics". Nobel Prize in Chemistry "the person who shall have made the most important chemical discovery or improvement". Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "the person who shall have made the most important discovery within the domain of physiology or medicine". Nobel Prize in Literature "the person who shall have produced in the field of literature the most outstanding work of an idealistic tendency". Nobel Prize in Peace to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses". Nobel Prize in Economics to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work in economics". . The committees and institutions that serve as selection boards for the Prizes typically announce the names of the laureates in October. The Prizes are then awarded at formal ceremonies held annually on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. Each award can be given to a maximum of three recipients per year. They each consist of a gold medal; a diploma; the extension of Swedish citizenship; and a sum of money. Originally this money was meant to fund laureates' further work, although nowadays many laureates are retired at the time their award is made. If there are two winners in one category, the award money is split equally between them. If there are three winners, the awarding committee has the option of splitting the prize money equally among all three, or awarding half of the prize money to one recipient and one-quarter to each of the other two. It is common for the recipients to donate the prize money to benefit scientific, cultural or humanitarian causes. Until the Norwegian Nobel Committee was established in 1904, the President of Norwegian Parliament made the formal presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize. The Committee's five members are entrusted with researching and adjudicating the Prize as well as awarding it. Although appointed by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), they are independent and answer to no legislative authority. Members of the Norwegian government are not permitted to sit on the Committee. The Prizes were instituted by the final will of Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and industrialist, who was the inventor of dynamite. Alfred Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime. The last one was written on November 27, 1895?a little over a year before he died. He signed it at the Swedish-Norwegian Club in Paris on November 27, 1895. Nobel's work had directly involvedcreation of explosives, and he became increasingly uneasy with the military usage of his inventions. It is said that this was motivated in part by his reading of a premature obituary of himself, published in error by a French newspaper on the occasion of the death of Nobel's brother Ludvig, and which condemned Alfred as a "merchant of death." So in his will, Alfred left 94% of his worth (31 miljoner kronor or 4,223,500.00 USD) to the establishment of five prizes: Although Nobel's will established the prizes, his plan was incomplete and, due to various other hurdles, it was five years before the Nobel Foundation could be established and the first prizes awarded on December 10, 1901. As compared with some other prizes, the Prize nomination and selection process is long and rigorous. This is an important reason why the Prizes have grown in importance and prestige over the years to become the most important prizes in their field.

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