Posted October 14, 2025 | by KimS | in DemDaily, International, Women

DemDaily: The 2025 Nobel Prize Winners

October 14 2025

The 2025 Nobel Prizes were awarded over the last week, recognizing groundbreaking contributions by an individual or organization in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economic Science.

Widely regarded as the world's most prestigious awards presented in these fields, the prizes go to ”those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.”

History
Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist, most famously known for the invention of dynamite. In his 1895 will, he bequeathed the largest share of his fortune to establish a series of five specific "Nobel Prizes."

The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901, and the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established as the sixth prize in 1968.

In addition, the World Food Prize, established in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and endowed by Iowa philanthropist and businessman John Ruan Sr. in 1990, is referred to as the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture."

Each Nobel "Laureate" receives a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary award -- which this year is 11 million Swedish krona, or about $1.2 million in current exchange rates, which is divided if there are multiple winners.

Each Nobel "Laureate" receives a gold medal, a diploma and a monetary award -- which this year is 11 million Swedish krona, or about $1.2 million in current exchange rates, which is divided if there are multiple winners.

Selection
The prizes are selected by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and supported by the Norwegian Nobel Institute.

The Committee selects the winners from a pool of hundreds of nominees from qualified nominators, who themselves must be distinguished members of internationally recognized bodies, governments or courts, esteemed experts in their fields, or past Nobel recipients. There were 338 candidates nominated for the 2025 awards.

The Committee does not disclose the nominees or those who nominated them until 50 years later, leaving people to self-report their submissions if they choose.

The Committee assesses each candidate’s work and prepares a short list of 20 to 30 nominees in each category for a final vote. A prize may not be shared among more than three individuals, although the Nobel Peace Prize can be awarded to organizations of more than three people.

The 2025 Winners
Physics
Awarded to scientists John Clarke, Michel H. Devoret, and John M. Martinis “for the discovery of macroscopic quantum mechanical tunnelling and energy quantisation in an electric circuit.”

Their work provides opportunities for developing the next generation of quantum technology, including quantum cryptography, quantum computers, and quantum sensors.

Chemistry
Awarded to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi “for the development of metal-organic frameworks.”

The laureates created molecular constructions with large spaces through which gases and other chemicals can flow.

These constructions, metal–organic frameworks, can be used to harvest water from desert air, capture carbon dioxide, store toxic gases or catalyse chemical reactions.

Physiology or Medicine
Awarded to Mary E. Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi “for their discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance.”

The scientists' groundbreaking discoveries concerning peripheral immune tolerance that prevents the immune system from harming the body. Their discoveries have laid the foundation for a new field of research and spurred the development of new treatments like cancer and autoimmune diseases.

Literature
Awarded to Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai “for his compelling and visionary oeuvre that, in the midst of apocalyptic terror, reaffirms the power of art.”

László Krasznahorkai is a great epic writer in the Central European tradition that extends through Kafka to Thomas Bernhard, and is characterised by absurdism and grotesque excess. But there are more strings to his bow, and he soon looks to the East in adopting a more contemplative, finely calibrated tone. The result is a string of works inspired by the deep-seated impressions left by his journeys to China and Japan.

American author Susan Sontag described Krasznahorkai as "the contemporary Hungarian master of apocalypse" for his demanding novels, often labeled postmodern, which explore dystopian and melancholic themes.

Peace
As the champion of Nobel Prizes, the nomination and selection process for the Peace Prize is one of the world’s most scrutinized and secretive.

The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Maria Corina Machado “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."

Machado is a brave and committed champion of peace, a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness. As the leader of the democracy movement in Venezuela, 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.

Between 1901 and 2025, the Nobel Prizes were awarded 633 times to 1,026 people and organizations, 68 of whom were women. Ten women have received the World Food Prize. The first woman to win a Nobel Prize was Marie Skłodowska-Curie, for Physics in 1903. Curie is also the first person and only woman to have won multiple Nobel Prizes after winning the 1911 Prize in Chemistry. History's youngest Nobel laureate is a woman, Pakistani Malala Yousafzai, who, at age 17, received the Peace Prize in 2014.

Between 1901 and 2025, the Nobel Prizes were awarded 633 times to 1,026 people and organizations, 68 of whom were women. Ten women have received the World Food Prize. The first woman to win a Nobel Prize was Marie Skłodowska-Curie, for Physics in 1903. Curie is also the first person and only woman to have won multiple Nobel Prizes after winning the 1911 Prize in Chemistry. History's youngest Nobel laureate is a woman, Pakistani Malala Yousafzai, who, at age 17, received the Peace Prize in 2014.

Economic Sciences
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2025 is awarded to Joel Mokyr, Philippe Aghion, and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction.”

The laureates in economic sciences explain how innovation provides the impetus for further progress. They have taught us that sustained growth cannot be taken for granted. Economic stagnation, not growth, has been the norm for most of human history. Their work shows that we must be aware of, and counteract, threats to continued growth."

Food and Agriculture
The recipient of the World Food Prize, for "achievements of individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food worldwide," is Brazilian microbiologist Mariangela Hungria, for her extraordinary scientific advancements in biological nitrogen fixation, transforming the sustainability of soil health and crop nutrition for tropical agriculture."

(Side Note: My grandfather, Dr. E.F. Knipling, received the World Food Prize in 1992 for "giving the world an environmentally friendly means of controlling insects that threaten the production of crops and livestock")