Birmingham is a city full of talent and it’s not just the arts and sports but also great scientists and social scientists who have links to the city.
There have been several Nobel Prize winners with connections to Birmingham. From physicists to peace prize winners - they have had significant impact on humanity. Ten of the 11 Nobel prize winners from Birmingham are also linked to the University of Birmingham.
The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards given to individuals or groups who have made outstanding contributions in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, literature, economic sciences and peace. The awards were established by the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel in his will in 1895 and have been presented since 1901.
The event takes place in Sweden each year and this year’s announce Nobel Prize announcements will take place 2–9 October. The award ceremony will take place in December.
Here are the 11 Nobel Prize winners who have links to Birmingham:
9. Professor David Thouless
Professor David Thouless 1934-present. Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize for Physics 2016. Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Birmingham 1965-1978. Published seminal work that indicated that matter can have an internal geometry or ‘topology’, which can have measurable effects on their properties 1973. (Photo - Getty Images) | Getty Images
10. Professor Mike Kosterlitz
Professor Mike Kosterlitz 1942-present. Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize for Physics 2016. Research fellow at the University of Birmingham in 1970 where he collaborated with Professor David Thouless on phase transitions driven by topological defects Returned to the University of Birmingham as a lecturer 1974-1982. (Photo - 2016 Nobel laureates (from left) Michael Kosterlitz, physics, Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Sir J. Fraser Stoddart /Getty Images) | Getty Images
11. Professor Sir J. Fraser Stoddart
Professor Sir J. Fraser Stoddart. Awarded (jointly) the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2016. Professor Sir J Fraser Stoddart began his research at the University of Sheffield in the 1980s before joining the University of Birmingham from 1990 until 1997. The Nobel prize references his research papers from 1991 onwards. The legacy of Professor Sir Fraser’s chemistry at Birmingham still continues today through the Biomolecular, Supramolecular and Nanoscale Chemistry Research Unit, one of the four research units within the University’s School of Chemistry. (Photo - | AFP via Getty Images