By Morf Morford, Tacoma Daily Index
October is a season of transition in many ways. From weather to politics to conflicts around the world, the world we live in is changing how it looks and what it demands and expects of us.
And, as we look forward to a new season, in a few months, many of us will look back at what the year has given us so far.
Among other things, some organizations make public their recognition for research, writing and other work that impacts us all.
Nobel Prizes
The Nobel Prizes were awarded early in October. The first, the 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went jointly to Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19.
Physics
In Physics the 2023 prize went to Pierre Agostini, The Ohio State University, Ferenc Krausz, Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics, and Anne L’Huillier, Lund University, Sweden for experimental methods that generate attosecond pulses of light for the study of electron dynamics in matter.
Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2023 went to Moungi G. Bawendi, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Louis E. Brus, Columbia University, and Alexei I. Ekimov, Nanocrystals Technology Inc. for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots (which is central to the use of nanotechnology, which is used in televisions and LED lamps, and can also guide surgeons when they remove tumor tissue).
Literature
The Nobel Prize in Literature 2023 was awarded to Jon Fosse, for his innovative plays and prose.
Peace
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2023 went to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her continuing fight to promote human rights and freedom for all.
Her struggle has come with tremendous personal costs. Altogether, the Iranian regime has arrested her 13 times, convicted her five times, and sentenced her to a total of 31 years in prison and 154 lashes. Ms Mohammadi was still in prison as this award was given.
Among other issues that were focused on was her opposition to the death penalty. Iran has long been among the countries that execute the highest proportion of their inhabitants annually. Since January 2022, more than 860 prisoners have been punished by death in Iran.
Economics
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was awarded to Claudia Goldin of Harvard University.
Her work, for many years, has had a focus on women’s earnings and labor market participation through the centuries.
Women tend to be vastly underrepresented in the global labor market and, when they do work, they often earn less than men.
Claudia Goldin has scoured the archives and collected over 200 years of data from the US, which illustrate how and why gender differences in earnings and employment rates have changed over time.
During the twentieth century for example, women’s education levels continuously increased, and in many high-income countries are now (as of about 2004) substantially higher than the average for men.
Traditionally, across history and most cultures, much of the gender gap in earnings could be explained by differences in education and occupational choices. As you might guess, the career trajectory of most women in the current market is stalled around the time of the birth of the first child.
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A little background – the Nobel Foundation is a private institution established in 1900 based on the will and assets of Alfred Nobel. In November 1895, Alfred Nobel signed his last will and testament, giving the largest share of his fortune to a series of prizes in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace – the Nobel Prizes.
Many years later, in 1968, Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden’s central bank) established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.
Local connections
There is only one region that has a local version of the Nobel Peace prizes and yes, that would be the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize. As their website puts it; “In the firm belief that peace begins locally, the Greater Tacoma Peace Prize honors local citizens and institutions who promote, achieve, and sustain peace, justice, and reconciliation at home and abroad.”
If you have a recommendation for someone in the greater Tacoma area who has been working to make in difference in the community, you can make a nomination after January 1 and postmarked no later than March 31.
