Nobel Prize for Chemistry: Winners by Year

Award years

• 2025

  • Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, Omar M. Yaghi

    for the development of metal–organic frameworks

• 2024

  • David Baker

    for computational protein design

  • Demis Hassabis, John M. Jumper

    for protein structure prediction

• 2023

  • Moungi G. Bawendi, Louis E. Brus, Aleksey Yekimov

    for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots

• 2022

  • K. Barry Sharpless, Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal

    for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry

• 2021

  • Benjamin List, David W.C. MacMillan

    for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis

• 2020

  • Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer A. Doudna

    for the development of a method for genome editing

• 2019

  • John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Akira Yoshino

    for the development of lithium-ion batteries

• 2018

  • Frances H. Arnold

    for the directed evolution of enzymes

  • George P. Smith, Gregory P. Winter

    for the phage display of peptides and antibodies

• 2017

  • Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, Richard Henderson

    for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution

• 2016

  • Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart, Bernard L. Feringa

    for the design and synthesis of molecular machines

• 2015

  • Tomas Lindahl, Paul Modrich, Aziz Sancar

    for mechanistic studies of DNA repair

• 2014

  • Eric Betzig, Stefan W. Hell, William E. Moerner

    for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy

• 2013

  • Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, Arieh Warshel

    for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems

• 2012

  • Robert J. Lefkowitz, Brian K. Kobilka

    for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors

• 2011

  • Dan Shechtman

    for the discovery of quasicrystals

• 2010

  • Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi, Akira Suzuki

    for palladium-catalyzed cross couplings in organic synthesis

• 2009

  • Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, Ada E. Yonath

    for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome

• 2008

  • Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie, Roger Y. Tsien

    for the discovery and development of the green fluorescent protein, GFP

• 2007

  • Gerhard Ertl

    for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces

• 2006

  • Roger D. Kornberg

    for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription

• 2005

  • Yves Chauvin, Robert H. Grubbs, Richard R. Schrock

    for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis

• 2004

  • Aaron Ciechanover, Avram Hershko, Irwin Rose

    for the discovery of ubiquitin-mediated protein degradation

• 2003

  • Peter Agre

    for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes; for the discovery of water channels

  • Roderick MacKinnon

    for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes; for structural and mechanistic studies of ion channels

• 2002

  • John B. Fenn, Koichi Tanaka

    for their development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules

  • Kurt Wüthrich

    for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution

• 2001

  • William S. Knowles, Ryōji Noyori

    for their work on chirally catalysed hydrogenation reactions

  • K. Barry Sharpless

    for his work on chirally catalysed oxidation reactions

• 2000

  • Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid, Hideki Shirakawa

    for the discovery and development of conductive polymers

• 1999

  • Ahmed H. Zewail

    for his studies of the transition states of chemical reactions using femtosecond spectroscopy

• 1998

  • Walter Kohn

    for his development of the density-functional theory

  • John A. Pople

    for his development of computational methods in quantum chemistry

• 1997

  • Paul D. Boyer, John E. Walker

    for their elucidation of the enzymatic mechanism underlying the synthesis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

  • Jens C. Skou

    for the first discovery of an ion-transporting enzyme, Na+, K+ -ATPase

• 1996

  • Robert F. Curl Jr., Sir Harold W. Kroto, Richard E. Smalley

    for their discovery of fullerenes

• 1995

  • Paul J. Crutzen, Mario J. Molina, F. Sherwood Rowland

    for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone

• 1994

  • George A. Olah

    for his contribution to carbocation chemistry

• 1993

  • Kary B. Mullis

    for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry; for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method

  • Michael Smith

    for contributions to the developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry; for his fundamental contributions to the establishment of oligonucleotide-based, site-directed mutagenesis and its development for protein studies

• 1992

  • Rudolph A. Marcus

    for his contributions to the theory of electron transfer reactions in chemical systems

• 1991

  • Richard R. Ernst

    for his contributions to the development of the methodology of high resolution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy

• 1990

  • Elias James Corey

    for his development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis

• 1989

  • Sidney Altman, Thomas R. Cech

    for their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA

• 1988

  • Johann Deisenhofer, Robert Huber, Hartmut Michel

    for the determination of the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction centre

• 1987

  • Donald J. Cram, Jean-Marie Lehn, Charles J. Pedersen

    for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity

• 1986

  • Dudley R. Herschbach, Yuan T. Lee, John C. Polanyi

    for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes

• 1985

  • Herbert A. Hauptman, Jerome Karle

    for their outstanding achievements in the development of direct methods for the determination of crystal structures

• 1984

  • Robert Bruce Merrifield

    for his development of methodology for chemical synthesis on a solid matrix

• 1983

  • Henry Taube

    for his work on the mechanisms of electron transfer reactions, especially in metal complexes

• 1982

  • Aaron Klug

    for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes

• 1981

  • Kenichi Fukui, Roald Hoffmann

    for their theories, developed independently, concerning the course of chemical reactions

• 1980

  • Frederick Sanger, Walter Gilbert

    for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids

  • Paul Berg

    for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant-DNA

• 1979

  • Herbert C. Brown, Georg Wittig

    for their development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively, into important reagents in organic synthesis

• 1978

  • Peter D. Mitchell

    for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory

• 1977

  • Ilya Prigogine

    for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures

• 1976

  • William N. Lipscomb

    for his studies on the structure of boranes illuminating problems of chemical bonding

• 1975

  • John Warcup Cornforth

    for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions

  • Vladimir Prelog

    for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions

• 1974

  • Paul J. Flory

    for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of the macromolecules

• 1973

  • Ernst Otto Fischer, Geoffrey Wilkinson

    for their pioneering work, performed independently, on the chemistry of the organometallic, so called sandwich compounds

• 1972

  • Christian B. Anfinsen

    for his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active conformation

  • Stanford Moore, William H. Stein

    for their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule

• 1971

  • Gerhard Herzberg

    for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals

• 1970

  • Luis F. Leloir

    for his discovery of sugar nucleotides and their role in the biosynthesis of carbohydrates

• 1969

  • Derek H. R. Barton, Odd Hassel

    for their contributions to the development of the concept of conformation and its application in chemistry

• 1968

  • Lars Onsager

    for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes

• 1967

  • Manfred Eigen, Ronald George Wreyford Norrish, George Porter

    for their studies of extremely fast chemical reactions, effected by disturbing the equilibrium by means of very short pulses of energy

• 1966

  • Robert S. Mulliken

    for his fundamental work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules by the molecular orbital method

• 1965

  • Robert Burns Woodward

    for his outstanding achievements in the art of organic synthesis

• 1964

  • Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin

    for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances

• 1963

  • Karl Ziegler, Giulio Natta

    for their discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers

• 1962

  • Max Ferdinand Perutz, John Cowdery Kendrew

    for their studies of the structures of globular proteins

• 1961

  • Melvin Calvin

    for his research on the carbon dioxide assimilation in plants

• 1960

  • Willard Frank Libby

    for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science

• 1959

  • Jaroslav Heyrovsky

    for his discovery and development of the polarographic methods of analysis

• 1958

  • Frederick Sanger

    for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin

• 1957

  • Lord (Alexander R.) Todd

    for his work on nucleotides and nucleotide co-enzymes

• 1956

  • Sir Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, Nikolay Nikolaevich Semenov

    for their researches into the mechanism of chemical reactions

• 1955

  • Vincent du Vigneaud

    for his work on biochemically important sulphur compounds, especially for the first synthesis of a polypeptide hormone

• 1954

  • Linus Carl Pauling

    for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances

• 1953

  • Hermann Staudinger

    for his discoveries in the field of macromolecular chemistry

• 1952

  • Archer John Porter Martin, Richard Laurence Millington Synge

    for their invention of partition chromatography

• 1951

  • Edwin Mattison McMillan, Glenn Theodore Seaborg

    for their discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements

• 1950

  • Otto Paul Hermann Diels, Kurt Alder

    for their discovery and development of the diene synthesis

• 1949

  • William Francis Giauque

    for his contributions in the field of chemical thermodynamics, particularly concerning the behaviour of substances at extremely low temperatures

• 1948

  • Arne Wilhelm Kaurin Tiselius

    for his research on electrophoresis and adsorption analysis, especially for his discoveries concerning the complex nature of the serum proteins

• 1947

  • Sir Robert Robinson

    for his investigations on plant products of biological importance, especially the alkaloids

• 1946

  • James Batcheller Sumner

    for his discovery that enzymes can be crystallized

  • John Howard Northrop, Wendell Meredith Stanley

    for their preparation of enzymes and virus proteins in a pure form

• 1945

  • Artturi Ilmari Virtanen

    for his research and inventions in agricultural and nutrition chemistry, especially for his fodder preservation method

• 1944

  • Otto Hahn

    for his discovery of the fission of heavy nuclei

• 1943

  • George de Hevesy

    for his work on the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes

• 1939

  • Adolf Friedrich Johann Butenandt

    for his work on sex hormones

  • Leopold Ruzicka

    for his work on polymethylenes and higher terpenes

• 1938

  • Richard Kuhn

    for his work on carotenoids and vitamins

• 1937

  • Walter Norman Haworth

    for his investigations on carbohydrates and vitamin C

  • Paul Karrer

    for his investigations on carotenoids, flavins and vitamins A and B2

• 1936

  • Petrus (Peter) Josephus Wilhelmus Debye

    for his contributions to our knowledge of molecular structure through his investigations on dipole moments and on the diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases

• 1935

  • Frédéric Joliot, Irène Joliot-Curie

    in recognition of their synthesis of new radioactive elements

• 1934

  • Harold Clayton Urey

    for his discovery of heavy hydrogen

• 1932

  • Irving Langmuir

    for his discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry

• 1931

  • Carl Bosch, Friedrich Bergius

    in recognition of their contributions to the invention and development of chemical high pressure methods

• 1930

  • Hans Fischer

    for his researches into the constitution of haemin and chlorophyll and especially for his synthesis of haemin

• 1929

  • Arthur Harden, Hans Karl August Simon von Euler-Chelpin

    for their investigations on the fermentation of sugar and fermentative enzymes

• 1928

  • Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus

    for the services rendered through his research into the constitution of the sterols and their connection with the vitamins

• 1927

  • Heinrich Otto Wieland

    for his investigations of the constitution of the bile acids and related substances

• 1926

  • The (Theodor) Svedberg

    for his work on disperse systems

• 1925

  • Richard Adolf Zsigmondy

    for his demonstration of the heterogenous nature of colloid solutions and for the methods he used, which have since become fundamental in modern colloid chemistry

• 1923

  • Fritz Pregl

    for his invention of the method of micro-analysis of organic substances

• 1922

  • Francis William Aston

    for his discovery, by means of his mass spectrograph, of isotopes, in a large number of non-radioactive elements, and for his enunciation of the whole-number rule

• 1921

  • Frederick Soddy

    for his contributions to our knowledge of the chemistry of radioactive substances, and his investigations into the origin and nature of isotopes

• 1920

  • Walther Hermann Nernst

    in recognition of his work in thermochemistry

• 1918

  • Fritz Haber

    for the synthesis of ammonia from its elements

• 1915

  • Richard Martin Willstätter

    for his researches on plant pigments, especially chlorophyll

• 1914

  • Theodore William Richards

    in recognition of his accurate determinations of the atomic weight of a large number of chemical elements

• 1913

  • Alfred Werner

    in recognition of his work on the linkage of atoms in molecules by which he has thrown new light on earlier investigations and opened up new fields of research especially in inorganic chemistry

• 1912

  • Victor Grignard

    for the discovery of the so-called Grignard reagent, which in recent years has greatly advanced the progress of organic chemistry

  • Paul Sabatier

    for his method of hydrogenating organic compounds in the presence of finely disintegrated metals whereby the progress of organic chemistry has been greatly advanced in recent years

• 1911

  • Marie Curie, née Sklodowska

    in recognition of her services to the advancement of chemistry by the discovery of the elements radium and polonium, by the isolation of radium and the study of the nature and compounds of this remarkable element

• 1910

  • Otto Wallach

    in recognition of his services to organic chemistry and the chemical industry by his pioneer work in the field of alicyclic compounds

• 1909

  • Wilhelm Ostwald

    in recognition of his work on catalysis and for his investigations into the fundamental principles governing chemical equilibria and rates of reaction

• 1908

  • Ernest Rutherford

    for his investigations into the disintegration of the elements, and the chemistry of radioactive substances

• 1907

  • Eduard Buchner

    for his biochemical researches and his discovery of cell-free fermentation

• 1906

  • Henri Moissan

    in recognition of the great services rendered by him in his investigation and isolation of the element fluorine, and for the adoption in the service of science of the electric furnace called after him

• 1905

  • Johann Friedrich Wilhelm Adolf von Baeyer

    in recognition of his services in the advancement of organic chemistry and the chemical industry, through his work on organic dyes and hydroaromatic compounds

• 1904

  • Sir William Ramsay

    in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air, and his determination of their place in the periodic system

• 1903

  • Svante August Arrhenius

    in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic theory of dissociation

• 1902

  • Hermann Emil Fischer

    in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his work on sugar and purine syntheses

• 1901

  • Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff

    in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions