Scientists David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper have been awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their groundbreaking work on protein structure, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday.
The Nobel Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the scientific community, comes with a cash prize of 11 million Swedish crowns (approximately $1.1 million).
The Academy stated, “One of the discoveries being recognized this year concerns the construction of spectacular proteins. The other addresses a 50-year-old aspiration: predicting protein structures from their amino acid sequences.”
David Baker received half of the prize for his contributions to computational protein design, while Demis Hassabis and John Jumper shared the other half for their advancements in protein structure prediction.
This chemistry prize is the third of the annual Nobel awards, following those for medicine and physics announced earlier in the week. Established in the will of dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel, the Nobel Prizes honor those who have conferred the greatest benefit to humanity during the preceding year.
The awards have been presented since 1901, covering achievements in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace, with the economics prize being a later addition funded by the Swedish central bank.
While chemistry may not always garner headlines like other fields, it has seen past recipients such as radioactivity pioneers Ernest Rutherford and Marie Curie. Last year’s chemistry prize was awarded to Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus, and Aleksey Ekimov for their discovery of quantum dots, which are crucial in modern technology such as flat screens and LED lamps.
The winners will receive their medals from the Swedish king on December 10, followed by a banquet at Stockholm City Hall.
