Speaking of Nobel Prize winners, this is the week when many of the world’s top researchers, writers, and economists make sure they are awake with their phones at the ready at just before noon in Sweden, a time that is early morning for most here in North America. 

On Tuesday, the Nobel Prize was given to researchers who sorted the physics behind climate change. According to the Associated Press: Syukuro Manabe, originally from Japan, and Klaus Hasselmann of Germany were cited for their work in developing forecast models of Earth’s climate and ‘reliably predicting global warming.’ The second half of the prize went to Giorgio Parisi of Italy for explaining disorder in physical systems, ranging from those as small as the insides of atoms to the planet-sized.”

So far, all of this year’s Nobel prizes in sciences have gone to men, and seven of those eight prizes went to white men. This highlights the role privilege plays in allowing people access to education, resources, and recognition of their achievements. We look forward to a day when all nations have equal access to the tools of research and all peoples of the world have an equal opportunity to advance our understanding of the world.

More Information

The Nobel Prize press release

Physics Nobel rewards work on climate change, other forces (AP)