Alfred Nobel

Chemist, Inventor, Awesome Administrator, Social Reformer.

"It could and should soon come to pass that all states pledge themselves collectively to attack an aggressor. That would make war impossible, and would force even the most brutal and unreasonable Power to appeal to a court of arbitration, or else keep quiet."

Interests, hobbies

James P. Allison Ph.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2018
Nobel co-recipient Tasuku Honjo

Cancer Immunologist. Discovered cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation. Pioneer. Place breaks/check points on inhibitory immune cells to attack cancer cells - curative. Interest: How T cells work. First Nobel Prize for cancer therapy. Family history of cancer. Modest.

"Motivation of scientists: to know what nobody else knows."

Hobbies

Richard F. Heck Ph.D.

Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2010
Nobel co-recipients Ei-ichi Negishizz, Akira Suzuki

Physical organic chemist. Palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction. Sole author - 7 consecutive papers. Heck reaction: important concept, tool for organic and medicinal chemists; fuorescence labeling of DNA bases - sequencing DNA/Genome. Thinner computer screens in future. "Great art in test tube."

Growing orchids in early teens lead to passion for chemistry.

Hobbies

Jimmy Carter

The Nobel Peace Prize 2002

USA president. Nuclear physicist. Peanut farmer. Devout Christian. Egypt-Israel peace agreement. Carter Center promoting human rights. Ceased neutron bomb development. Protested Soviets invading Afghanistan. Panama Canal treaty. Established Departments of Energy, Education. Mental Health Systems Act. Housing. Jimmy Carter smile!

“We must adjust to changing times while holding unchanging principles.”

Hobbies

Vinton Cerf Ph.D.

National Medal of Technology and Innovation 1997

One of two Fathers of the Internet. TCP/IP protocols. Internet Architecture. Chief Internet Evangelist, Google. Interplanetary Internet. Living Legend.

"Brilliant, indescribably enthusiastic, humorous, happy, treats people extremely well. It would be nice to go to work every day and work with people like Vint Cerf." – R.V. Nagaveni, Founder, Ganga Library.

Hobbies

Gertrude B. Elion M.S.[Chemistry]

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1988
Co-Nobelists: Sir James W. Black, George H. Hitchings
National Medal of Science - Chemistry 1991

Chemist, Pharmacologist. Discovered principles for drug treatment; developed drugs - anticancer, immunosuppressive, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-gout, anti-malarial. Purines.

"I was a child with an insatiable thirst for knowledge. My beloved grandfather died of cancer when I was 15. I was highly motivated to discover a cure for this terrible disease".

Hobbies

Michael H. Freedman Ph.D.

National Medal of Science - Mathematics and Computer Science 1987

American mathematician. Proof of Poincare Conjecture in dimension four. One of the greatest achievements in mathematics in this century. Fields Medal, 1986.

Hobbies

Seymour Benzer Ph.D.[Physics]

National Medal of Science - Biological Sciences 1982

Physicist, molecular biologist, behavioral biologist (neurogeneticist). Post Pearl Harbor worked in secret wartime project studying semiconducting properties of germanium, work that foreshadowed development of transistor. Functional gene is a linear stretch of DNA with definable boundaries. Stretches of DNA are all linked to each other as adjacent pieces of chromosome.

Hobbies/Interests

Daniel M. Nathans M.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1978
Nobel co-recipients Werner Arber, Hamilton O. Smith
National Medal of Science - Biological Sciences 1993

Physician, Molecular Biologist - Genetics. Restriction enzymes and their application to molecular genetics. Groundwork for human genome project, drug insulin. Able administrator - high signal-to-noise ratio.

"Valuable internship year in medicine with masterful clinician Robert Loeb; The glimpses of human strength and frailty that a physician sees are still with me."

Hobbies

Daniel I. Arnon Ph.D.

National Medal of Science Science - Biological Sciences 1973

Plant Physiologist. Photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation. Child prodigy. Post-Sputnik national committee. Wrote four chapters on evolution of life processes in "Blue Series" high-school biology textbook, widely translated, nationally acclaimed. Budgeted well time and circumstances. Debater, played devil's advocate with zest.

Reminded those weary of duplicating, "Repetition is the mother of learning."

Hobbies

George Wells Beadle Ph.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1958
Co-Nobelists Edward Tatum, Joshua Lederberg

Biochemical Geneticist. Discovered that genes act by regulating definite chemical events. Brought era of classical genetics to a close and launched molecular age.

"It was a time when one went to work in the morning wondering what new excitement the day would bring." - Colleague and biographer Norman H. Horowitz.

Hobbies

Fritz A. Lipmann M.D.,Ph.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1953
Co-Nobelist Hans Krebs
National Medal of Science - Biological Sciences 1966

Physician, Biochemist. Discovered co-enzyme A, its importance for intermediary metabolism. Identified serine phosphate as constituent of phosphoproteins which contain phosphate. CMP represents metabolically active carbamyl donor.

Liljestrand, Science Academy: …Regarding fundamental discoveries laymen ask for immediate practical application. Counter question of Benjamin Franklin: Of what use is a new-born baby?

Hobbies

Thomas H. Morgan Ph.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1933

Zoologist, Geneticist. Chromosome role in heredity, sex determination. Drosophila. Genes stored in chromosomes in nuclei. Epigenetics. Combination rule. Limited number of combination groups. Crossing-over rule. Linear arrangement of genes in chromosomes.

Didn’t attend Nobel award ceremony, because in Caltech, busy establishing new physiology group and with future of biochemistry, genetics.

Hobbies