‘Oscars for Nerds’: Nobel insider reveals prize secrets

With Nobel Prize season having just concluded, the world’s attention has once again been focused on these prestigious accolades. But what does it take to win one? What happens behind the closed doors of the committees that decide who receives such a coveted honour?

These questions, and many more, were answered with a captivating blend of insight and dry humour by Professor Göran Hansson, a former secretary-general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, in South Africa recently.

He delivered the Chancellor’s Lecture at Stellenbosch University (SU) on 22 October as part of the Nobel in Africa series. This initiative, spearheaded by the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) in partnership with SU, operates under the auspices of the Nobel Foundation and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. Funding is provided by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation.

Hansson, a physician-scientist at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute with a distinguished career in molecular biology and cardiovascular research, drew back the curtain on the Nobel Prize, offering a rare glimpse into the inner workings of an institution that has captivated the world for over a century.

His talk drew a captivated audience of academics and students eager to learn more about the “Oscars for nerds”, as Hansson said the prestigious accolade is sometimes called.

Origin story

He began by tracing the origins of the award back to its enigmatic founder, Alfred Nobel – a Swedish inventor and entrepreneur who was also a complex and contradictory figure, prone to melancholy and a deep-seated pessimism about human nature.

He made his fortune through the invention of dynamite and his family’s ownership of oil fields in Imperial Russia, becoming one of the world’s richest individuals. However, when he died childless in 1896, he left behind a will that surprised many.

Instead of bequeathing his vast wealth to his nephews, Nobel dedicated his fortune to establishing prizes that would annually go “to those who shall have conferred the greatest benefit on [hu]mankind”.

This seemingly paradoxical act, recognising the best of humanity despite his own reservations and solitary nature, has cemented Nobel’s legacy as a complex and contradictory figure.

Honouring diverse achievements

His philanthropy laid the foundation for the Nobel Prize as we know it, with 627 prizes awarded to 1,012 laureates (individuals and organisations) in physics, chemistry, physiology-medicine, literature, and peace since 1901, and economics since 1968. Each prize currently includes a gold medal, a diploma, and a monetary award of approximately US$1 million.

Nobel’s will did not include a prize in economics. This was instituted in 1968 by Sweden’s central bank, to mark its 300th anniversary. Officially called the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, it is handled exactly as a Nobel Prize.

However, a subsequent decision was made not to extend the prize to other categories again, “much to the disappointment of mathematicians, to this day”, Hanssen said with a wry smile.

He playfully dismissed the popular myth that Nobel had initially intended to create a prize for mathematics but ultimately scrapped the idea to prevent his alleged love rival, the Swedish mathematician Gösta Mittag-Leffler, from winning.

Behind the scenes

Hansson detailed the intricate process of selecting laureates, explaining the roles of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (choosing winners in physics, chemistry, and economics), the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute (handling physiology-medicine), the Swedish Academy (literature), and the Norwegian Nobel Committee (peace) in evaluating nominations.

Interestingly, the Peace Prize is chosen by Norwegians, whereas all the others are chosen by Swedes. This is because, in Nobel’s time, Norway was considered more advanced in democracy. Also, the Nobel Foundation does not choose winners, but just handles finances and organisation.

The nomination process

Hansson explained that the different Nobel committees send out thousands of invitations to nominate potential winners, aiming to cover all continents and research universities in the world. But, he revealed: “We want nominations of scientists, by scientists – not official nominations by a university board. We throw those away.”

This results in about 700 nominations for each prize by January each year. A long, difficult process then ensues to get to the winners in each category by early October.

Quest for discovery

For the scientific prizes, Hansson stressed that the sole criterion is “discovery – not scientific leadership or lifetime achievement. Mentioning H-index or impact factor in a selection committee can get you kicked out.”

He added: “Discovery is something substantial that you can identify. It should change the paradigm in its field of science.”

He also pointed out that the prize recognises contributions to the “great building of knowledge,” conveying the conviction of the Nobel committees that knowledge itself holds immense value for humankind.

‘We never tell’

Hansson underscored the tight secrecy that is maintained throughout the process, stating that “we never tell until we have taken the decision”.

Everyone that gets the Nobel Prize has “gone through at least three, four or five annual cycles of evaluations before we’re ready to take a decision,” he added.

“And, in the end, most of them don’t get the prize anyway. Fortunately, they don’t know about it, because we only announce the winners and don’t mention the rest.”

Thrill of the call

Hansson, who personally informed 67 laureates of their award over the years, shared anecdotes about those phone calls. While most recipients were overjoyed, some were initially incredulous.

He recounted the story of the 2012 physiology-medicine laureate Sir John Gurdon, who responded with: “I hope this is not a prank, is it?”

“I had to send him an email from my Nobel address before he finally believed me,” Hanssen said.

David MacMillan, the 2021 chemistry laureate, initially dismissed Hansson’s calls, even ignoring a congratulatory text from his co-laureate, Benjamin List, with a wager: “I bet you $1,000 it’s a prank.”

It took a public announcement at a press conference before the Scot finally believed he had won, dryly telling Hansson: “You made me lose $1,000 today.”

Nobel lectures

While the prizes are announced in early October, the award ceremony and Nobel lectures take place in December, around the 10th, which is the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

“The lectures are the intellectual high point of the week. The laureates are always very nervous because they know that their colleagues and competitors are watching online, looking for reasons why the prize went to the wrong person,” Hanssen said.

Oops!

He did not shy away from controversies and challenges that have surrounded the Nobel Prize through the years.

He mentioned that the prize has been refused only twice so far – by philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who declined the literature prize in 1964 “because accepting awards was against his principles”, and North Vietnamese politician Le Duc Tho, who said there was still war in his country and therefore he could not accept the 1973 peace prize.

Hansson also acknowledged deserving individuals who were omitted, such as Mahatma Gandhi, who never received the peace prize, and Leo Tolstoy, who was overlooked for the literature prize.

And there were outright mistakes as well, such as awarding the 1926 prize for physiology-medicine to Johannes Fibiger for a later discredited theory “linking stomach cancer to worms”.

Biases and barriers

The underrepresentation of women and scientists from such areas as Africa, South Asia and South America was also discussed. Hansson acknowledged the historical biases and systemic barriers that have contributed to this disparity and noted the ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusivity in the nomination and selection process.

Quo vadis?

Hansson concluded his talk by taking questions from the audience, tackling contemporary issues such as the role of artificial intelligence in scientific discovery and the challenges of awarding prizes to large research teams. He reiterated the Nobel committee’s commitment to recognising individual creativity and ingenuity, even in an era of increasingly collaborative research.

He also reflected on the enduring legacy of the Nobel Prize, attributing its status as the “most coveted” prize in the world to its long history, its association with groundbreaking discoveries and exceptional individuals.

“If you look at it, it’s the heroes of civilisation – Einstein, Curie, Crick, Thomas Mann, and Nelson Mandela” Hanssen said. And new laureates feel they are walking in their footsteps.

He expressed the hope that the future will see more laureates from underrepresented groups and regions.