2025 Nobel Prizes Announced

Today, with honor and great enthusiasm, we share the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prizes, announced between October 6 and 13 in Oslo, Norway, and Stockholm, Sweden. The prize is divided into six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics.

Nobel Prize in Physics 2025

The winners are John Clarke, born in 1942 in Cambridge, UK. PhD 1968 from the University of Cambridge, UK. Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Michel H. Devoret, born in 1953 in Paris, France. PhD 1982 from Paris-Sud University, France. Professor at Yale University, New Haven, CT, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, USA. John M. Martinis, born 1958 in Los Angeles, CA, USA. PhD 1987 from the University of California, Berkeley, USA. Professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and Chief Technology Officer at Qolab, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Their experiment on a chip revealed quantum physics in action. In 1984 and 1985, they conducted experiments with an electrical circuit that demonstrated both quantum tunneling and quantized energy levels in a system large enough to be held in one’s hand.

“In the circuit, the superconducting components were separated by a thin layer of nonconductive material, a setup known as a Josephson junction. By refining and measuring all the various properties of their circuit, they were able to control and explore the phenomena that arose when they passed a current through it. Together, the charged particles moving through the superconductor comprised a system that behaved as if they were a single particle that filled the entire circuit. This macroscopic particle-like system is initially in a state in which current flows without any voltage. The system is trapped in this state, as if behind a barrier that it cannot cross. In the experiment, the system shows its quantum character by managing to escape the zero-voltage state through tunneling. The system’s changed state is detected through the appearance of a voltage. The laureates could also demonstrate that the system behaves in the manner predicted by quantum mechanics – it is quantized, meaning that it only absorbs or emits specific amounts of energy. “It is wonderful to be able to celebrate the way that century-old quantum mechanics continually offers new surprises. It is also enormously useful, as quantum mechanics is the foundation of all digital technology,” says Olle Eriksson, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics. The transistors in computer microchips are one example of the established quantum technology that surrounds us. This year’s Nobel Prize in Physics has provided opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.”

Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physics 2025, from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025

The winners are Susumu Kitagawa, born in 1951 in Kyoto, Japan. PhD 1979 from Kyoto University, Japan. Professor at Kyoto University, Japan. Richard Robson, born in 1937 in Glusburn, UK. PhD 1962 from the University of Oxford, UK. Professor at the University of Melbourne, Australia. Omar M. Yaghi, Born 1965 in Amman, Jordan. PhD 1990 from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, USA. Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, USA.

They created molecular constructs with large spaces where gases and other chemicals can flow. These metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases, and catalyze chemical reactions.

“In their constructions, metal ions function as cornerstones that are linked by long organic (carbon-based) molecules. Together, the metal ions and molecules are organized to form crystals that contain large cavities. These porous materials are called metal–organic frameworks (MOF). By varying the building blocks used in the MOFs, chemists can design them to capture and store specific substances. MOFs can also drive chemical reactions or conduct electricity. “Metal–organic frameworks have enormous potential, bringing previously unforeseen opportunities for custom-made materials with new functions,” says Heiner Linke, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Chemistry. It all started in 1989, when Richard Robson tested utilizing the inherent properties of atoms in a new way. He combined positively charged copper ions with a four-armed molecule; this had a chemical group that was attracted to copper ions at the end of each arm. When they were combined, they bonded to form a well-ordered, spacious crystal. It was like a diamond filled with innumerable cavities. Robson immediately recognized the potential of his molecular construction, but it was unstable and collapsed easily. However, Susumu Kitagawa and Omar Yaghi provided this building method with a firm foundation; between 1992 and 2003, they made, separately, a series of revolutionary discoveries. Kitagawa showed that gases can flow in and out of the constructions and predicted that MOFs could be made flexible. Yaghi created a very stable MOF and showed that it can be modified using rational design, giving it new and desirable properties. Following the laureates’ groundbreaking discoveries, chemists have built tens of thousands of different MOFs. Some of these may contribute to solving some of humankind’s greatest challenges, with applications that include separating PFAS from water, breaking down traces of pharmaceuticals in the environment, capturing carbon dioxide, or harvesting water from desert air.”

Press release: The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2025, from The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2025

The winners are Mary E. Brunkow, born in 1961. Ph.D. from Princeton University, Princeton, USA. Senior Program Manager at the Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, USA. Fred Ramsdell, born 1960. Ph.D. 1987 from the University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Scientific Advisor, Sonoma Biotherapeutics, San Francisco, USA. Shimon Sakaguchi, born 1951. M.D. 1976 and Ph.D. 1983 from Kyoto University, Japan. Distinguished Professor at the Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Japan.
They understood how the immune system must be regulated, otherwise it can attack its own organs. Their research laid the foundation for a new field of study, such as the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases.

“The laureates identified the immune system’s security guards, regulatory T cells, which prevent immune cells from attacking our own body. “Their discoveries have been decisive for our understanding of how the immune system functions and why we do not all develop serious autoimmune diseases,” says Olle Kämpe, chair of the Nobel Committee. Shimon Sakaguchi was swimming against the tide in 1995 when he made the first key discovery. At the time, many researchers were convinced that immune tolerance only developed due to potentially harmful immune cells being eliminated in the thymus, through a process called central tolerance. Sakaguchi showed that the immune system is more complex and discovered a previously unknown class of immune cells, which protect the body from autoimmune diseases. Mary Brunkow and Fred Ramsdell made the other key discovery in 2001, when they presented the explanation for why a specific mouse strain was particularly vulnerable to autoimmune diseases. They had discovered that the mice have a mutation in a gene that they named Foxp3. They also showed that mutations in the human equivalent of this gene cause a serious autoimmune disease, IPEX. Two years after this, Shimon Sakaguchi was able to link these discoveries. He proved that the Foxp3 gene governs the development of the cells he identified in 1995. These cells, now known as regulatory T cells, monitor other immune cells and ensure that our immune system tolerates our own tissues. The laureates’ discoveries launched the field of peripheral tolerance, spurring the development of medical treatments for cancer and autoimmune diseases. This may also lead to more successful transplantations. Several of these treatments are now undergoing clinical trials.”

Press release: The Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine 2025, from The Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet.

Nobel Prize in Literature 2025

The winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2025 was the author László Krasznahorkai, who was born in 1954 in the small town of Gyula in southeastern Hungary, near the Romanian border. He is known as the master of apocalyptic, dystopian, and melancholic worlds, as well as horror. With more than 22 published books, six screenwriting credits, and two operas based on his works, László worked as a book editor before becoming a freelance writer. According to the committee, he won “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art”.

“I would leave everything here: the valleys, the hills, the paths, and the jaybirds from the gardens, I would leave here the petcocks and the padres, heaven and earth, spring and fall, I would leave here the exit routes, the evenings in the kitchen, the last amorous gaze, and all of the city-bound directions that make you shudder, I would leave here the thick twilight falling upon the land, gravity, hope, enchantment, and tranquility, I would leave here those beloved and those close to me, everything that touched me, everything that shocked me, fascinated and uplifted me, I would leave here the noble, the benevolent, the pleasant, and the demonically beautiful, I would leave here the budding sprout, every birth and existence, I would leave here incantation, enigma, distances, inexhaustibility, and the intoxication of eternity; for here I would leave this earth and these stars, because I would take nothing with me from here, because I’ve looked into what’s coming, and I don’t need anything from here.”

László Krasznahorkai. The story was published by The New Yorker in 2017.

Nobel Peace Prize 2025

The winner was Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician, activist, and opponent of the governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela. According to the Nobel Prize committee:
“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 goes to a brave and committed champion of peace – to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness. As the leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.
Ms Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government.”
Maria Corina Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel’s will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate. She has brought her country’s opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarization of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy.

Economic Sciences Nobel Prize 2025

The winners are Joel Mokyr, born in 1946 in Leiden, the Netherlands. PhD 1974 from Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. Professor at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA, and Eitan Berglas School of Economics, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Philippe Aghion was born in 1956 in Paris, France. PhD 1987 from Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA. Professor at Collège de France and INSEAD, Paris, France, and The London School of Economics and Political Science, UK. Peter Howitt was born in 1946 in Canada. PhD 1973 from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA. Professor at Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.

They won the prize “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress”, according to the committee.

“Technology advances rapidly and affects us all, with new products and production methods replacing old ones in a never-ending cycle. This is the basis for sustained economic growth, which results in a better standard of living, health, and quality of life for people around the globe. However, this was not always the case. Quite the opposite – stagnation was the norm throughout most of human history. Despite important discoveries now and again, which sometimes led to improved living conditions and higher incomes, growth always eventually leveled of. Joel Mokyr used historical sources as one means to uncover the causes of sustained growth becoming the new normal. He demonstrated that if innovations are to succeed one another in a self-generating process, we not only need to know that something works, but we also need to have scientific explanations for why. The latter was often lacking prior to the Industrial Revolution, which made it difficult to build upon new discoveries and inventions. He also emphasized the importance of society being open to new ideas and allowing change. Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt also studied the mechanisms behind sustained growth. In an article from 1992, they constructed a mathematical model for what is called creative destruction. When a new and better product enters the market, the companies selling the older products lose out. The innovation represents something new and is thus creative. However, it is also destructive, as the company whose technology becomes passé is outcompeted. In different ways, the laureates show how creative destruction creates conflicts that must be managed in a constructive manner. Otherwise, innovation will be blocked by established companies and interest groups that risk being put at a disadvantage. “The laureates’ work shows that economic growth cannot be taken for granted. We must uphold the mechanisms that underly creative destruction, so that we do not fall back into stagnation,” says John Hassler, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences.”

Press release: The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences 2025, from The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025.