The Nobel Prize needs a makeover, scientists say

In an open letter to the Nobel Foundation, ten prominent science and engineering experts argue that the Nobel system, which currently only awards scientific achievements in the fields of chemistry, physics and medicine or physiology, should be expanded to accommodate the challenges of 21st-century science.

The group suggests the introduction of "Global Environment" and "Public Health" prizes, as well as the expansion of the current prize for physiology or medicine to recognize achievements in disciplines like evolutionary biology, public health, neuroscience and psychology.

Starting a discussion

The ten experts who wrote the letter were brought together by "New Scientist," a weekly international science magazine based in London. The magazine wanted to provoke discussion about how the Nobel Prize, which Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel drew up in his 1895 will, could be changed.

"It's an idea that some colleagues and I had," Jim Giles, a "New Scientist" reporter, told Deutsche Welle. "We'd been noticing that every year when the prizes came out, there were some people saying that the system is outdated, but these comments never really had an impact and they were quite dispersed."

"We thought it would be interesting to get a bunch of eminent scientists together and try to do something more coordinated to attract more attention to this discussion," he explained.

The letter's signatories include Sir David King, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the British government and Sir Tim Hunt, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001.

Pointing out that science has changed a lot since the first Nobel Prize was awarded in 1901, the letter claims that "if the World Health Organization were to eradicate malaria, for example, the achievement might not qualify for any of the existing prizes." It also states that "when Alfred Nobel signed his will in 1895, he could not have anticipated threats such as climate change and HIV/AIDS."

A cold response

The letter has so far resulted in a response that Giles described as "very reluctant." In a letter of its own, the Nobel Foundation firmly stated that after the 1968 introduction of the economics prize into the Nobel system, its Board of Directors "decided not to accept any further additions."

The Foundation also disagreed with the alleged lack of flexibility in its system. It noted that prizes had already been awarded for achievements in the areas of climate change and HIV/AIDS, while they officially fell under the categories of Chemistry, Peace and Physiology or Medicine.

Author: Eva Wutke

Editor: Louisa Schaefer