Three scientists won the 2023 Nobel Prize in chemistry for their work on tiny quantum dots, The Associated Press reported.
Moungi Bawendi, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Louis Brus, of Columbia University, and Alexei Ekimov, of Nanocrystals Technology Inc., were honored for their work with the tiny particles. The particles the three studied are just a few atoms in diameter and have electrons that have constrained movement. The particles are used in many electronics, like LED displays.
“These tiny particles have unique properties and now spread their light from television screens and LED lamps. They catalyze chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumor tissue for a surgeon,” according to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which announced the award in Stockholm.
According to the AP, Swedish media reported the names of the winners before the prize was announced.
Ekimov, 78, and Brus, 80, are early pioneers of the technology, while Bawendi, 62, is credited with revolutionizing the production of quantum dots “resulting in almost perfect particles, CBS News reported.
“This high quality was necessary for them to be utilized in applications,” the academy said. Bawendi told the news conference that he was “very surprised, sleepy, shocked, unexpected and very honored.”
“The community realized the implications in the mid-90s, that there could potentially be some real-world applications,” Bawendi said.
Wednesday’s announcement comes after the Royal Swedish Academy’s named the winners for the Nobel Prize for medicine and the Nobel Prize for physics.
The Nobel Prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor, or about $1 million U.S. dollars.
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