For a few days in October every year, the world’s scientists sit together in front of the televisions to follow the announcement in Stockholm at 11:45. This Wednesday, instead, a press release was sent out already in the morning.
“The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2023 rewards the discovery and development of quantum dots, nanoparticles that are so small that their size determines their properties,” the press release states.
“Will go down in history”
Ulrika Björkstén has followed the Nobel Prize announcements for thirty years and believes that she has never experienced anything like this.
– It’s a fad that will go down in history, you could say that.
The email that reveals the prize winner gives us an insight into the work of the Swedish Academy of Sciences, says Ulrika Björkstén.
– This shows that it is not so simple that you vote on the same day and then announce the prize, but it is a very carefully prepared announcement. Now we have happened to get an insight into it.
Ulrika Björkstén does not believe that confidence in the Nobel Prize will be significantly affected. On the other hand, she believes that the mystique surrounding the price can get a little thorny.
– It’s an organization that can’t really tolerate mistakes, because it’s this nimbus around the prize that has made it so special for over a hundred years.