The Nobel Prize is an award provided by a fund established according to A-B- Nobel's will (from 5 to 6 since 1969), which is awarded by 4 institutions (3 in Sweden and 0/in Norway) every year. 19011210, the fifth anniversary of Nobel's death. In his will, Nobel stipulated that the prize would be awarded annually to "those who made the greatest contribution to mankind in the previous year" in the fields of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace. The Swedish bank added an economic science award in 1968, and presented the award in 1969 for the first time.
The awarding institutions mentioned by Nobel in his will are: the Royal Swedish Academy of Science in Stockholm (physics prize and chemistry prize), the Royal Caroline Institute of Surgery (physiology or medicine prize) and the Swedish Academy Literature Prize (literature prize), and the Nobel Prize judging committee (peace prize) appointed by the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo. The Swedish Academy of Science also supervises the awarding of economics prizes. The Nobel Foundation, established to implement the terms of the will, is the legal owner and actual manager of the fund, as well as the co-management institution of the awarding institutions, but it does not participate in the deliberation or decision of the awards, and its deliberation is entirely the responsibility of the above four institutions. Each award includes a gold medal, certificate and bonus; The amount of bonus depends on the income of the foundation. Economic prizes are awarded in the same way and with the same monetary value.
The selection of winners began in the early autumn of the previous year, and the awarding unit first sent invitations to those institutions that have the ability to propose candidates in accordance with the Nobel Prize Charter. The selection is based on professional ability and international reputation; Self-recommended candidates are not eligible for selection. The nomination of candidates must be notified in writing to the relevant Committee before February 6 of the year in which the award is decided.
Starting from February 1 every year, six Nobel Prize judging committees-one for each committee-start the selection work according to the nominations. When necessary, the Committee may invite relevant experts from any country to participate in the selection, and submit a letter of recommendation to the relevant award-winning institutions during September-65438+1early October; Only in rare cases will the issue be shelved, and the awarding unit must make a final decision before 1 1.05. The Committee's suggestions are usually adopted. But it is not static. All stages of deliberation and voting were conducted in secret. Awards are only awarded to individuals, and besides the Peace Prize, they can also be awarded to institutions. Candidates can only be nominated during their lifetime, but official awards can be awarded after death, such as D- Hammarskj? ld's 196 1 Peace Prize and E-A- Karl Ehrt's 193 1 Literature Prize. Once the award is evaluated, it cannot be overturned because of objections. Official support for a candidate, whether diplomatic or political, has nothing to do with the award, because the awarding institution has nothing to do with the country.
A bonus is either given to one person, or divided equally between two achievements at most, or shared by two or more people (in fact, never more than three), and sometimes a bonus is reserved for the next year; If the bonus is not paid in the next year, it will be returned to the foundation, and if the bonus is neither paid nor kept, it will also be returned to the foundation. In this way, the same academic field can have two bonuses a year, that is, the rest of the previous year's bonus and this year's bonus. If the winner refuses or fails to receive the prize money before the specified date, the prize money will be returned to the Foundation. There have been cases of refusing to accept bonuses and the government prohibiting nationals from receiving the Nobel Prize. However, the winners are still included in the list of Nobel Prize winners, marked with the words "Refuse to accept the bonus". The motivation for not accepting the prize may be different, but the real reason is mostly external pressure; For example, the decree issued by Hitler in 1937 prohibited Germans from receiving the Nobel Prize, because he thought that the peace prize awarded by 1935 to C- Osietzky was an insult. No matter what the reason, those who refuse to receive it within the time limit, explain the situation and apply, but they can receive the Nobel Gold Medal and Certificate, but they can't receive the bonus, and the bonus has been returned to the Foundation.
If no one can meet the conditions required in the Nobel will or the world situation hinders the collection of selection materials (such as during World War I and World War II), the prize will be retained or suspended. The award is open to everyone, regardless of nationality, race, religious belief or ideology. The same winner can win multiple awards without restriction. The awarding ceremony of physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and economics was held in Stockholm, while the awarding ceremony of peace prize was held in Oslo, with the time of 65438+February 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death. Winners usually go to receive their prizes in person.
Nobel's will lists the general rules for managing awards. In l900, the executor, the representative of the awarding unit and the Nobel family reached an agreement on the supplementary terms of the interpretation and execution of the will, which was approved by the King of Sweden at the Council meeting. These regulations remain basically unchanged, but some modifications have been made in practical application; The basis for evaluating the economics prize is science, that is, mathematics or statistics, not politics or society. Frish and Ding Bogen, the first two economists to win the economics prize, won the prize for their work in econometrics, that is, analyzing economic activities through mathematical formulas.
Science and medicine awards rarely cause controversy; Literature prize and peace prize, because of their special nature, are most likely to lead to differences of opinion. Peace prizes are often reserved.