Nobel Prize Laureates in Chemistry

Richard Adolf Zsigmondy (1865 - 1929) was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1925 “for his demonstration of the heterogeneous nature of colloid solutions and for the methods he used, which have since become fundamental in modern colloid chemistry.”

Richard A. Zsigmondy obtained his doctorate from the Erlangen University in 1889 in the subject of organic chemistry. He worked as the assistant of August Kundt (1839 - 1894), the physicist, in 1981-1892 and he was private docent at the Technische Hochschule of Graz between 1893 and 1899. Then he continued his teaching career in Jena. At that time, he was primarily engaged in researching the peculiarities of silicon compounds. As a consequence of his results obtained with glass, he was asked to join the staff of the Schott glass factory of Jena; in parallel with this, he also continued his teaching activity.

At that time, he had already achieved fundamental results in colloidics and became a true classicist of this subject. In 1903, in co-operation with Henry Siedentopf (1872 - 1940), he developed the ultra-microscope as one of the most important testing devices of colloid solutions. By means of this, he came to fundamentally important conclusions on the nature of colloids, the distribution of particles and the stability of sols. From 1907 onwards, he became a professor at the famous Göttinga University. In 1918, he developed the diaphragm filter used for research in the fields of colloid chemistry and biochemistry and, then, in 1929, an improved version called the ultra-filter. Using these devices, particles of various sizes (bacteria and viruses also) can be separated from each other and from the solvent, respectively.

George de Hevesy (1885 - 1996) was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1943, “for his work on the use of isotopes as tracers in the study of chemical processes.”

He is a pioneer in radioactive tracing: not only for discovering the method – even before the term ‘isotope’ was thought up – but also for leading it to victory and revealing its most important fields of application. By using the method of radioactive tracing, hidden caves, water flows and the inner structure of materials can be detected and, first of all, the living organism the parts and processes of which are inaccessible by any other method can be studied.

From 1920 onward, he continued his career in Copenhagen at the institute of Niels Bohr (1985 - 1962). It is in this institute that he discovered the element No. 72, hafnium. In the same year, he launched the first experiments in the biological application of tracing, with plants at the beginning, by using lead and thorium isotopes. In 1926, he was invited by the Freiburg University to work at the Department of Physics and Chemistry. During the eight years spent here, he began the application of tracing in animal tissues. He could show that the bismuth concentration in tumorous cells is significantly higher than in healthy cells.

When Nazis came to power in Germany, he left and moved to Copenhagen again. It is here in 1934 that he discovered the activation analysis, the ‘in vivo’ method of tracing. From this time onward, he was nearly exclusively engaged in medical, biological and biochemistry subjects, so much so that many of his colleagues truly believed themselves to be working with a great medical doctor.

His work became whole following the beginning of the artificial production of isotopes. Following the discovery of deuterium with the help of heavy water, he was able to demonstrate the exchange process between the goldfish and water. Following the discovery of artificial radioactivity, he started using the isotope P32 for the examination of the skeletal system and demonstrated its continuous renewal. He quickly extended this form of study to other organs as well. He measured the rate and extent of renewal, the path and creation of various molecules in the organism and, in the meantime, increased the number of isotopes used.

From 1940 onwards, he carried out experiments in Stockholm in an increased number where he found the conditions for his biological examinations to be better than those in the institute for theoretical physics in Copenhagen. At that time, he was interested primarily in DNA formation and this led him to the examination of certain malignant tumours. During the war, he moved from Denmark to Sweden. By that time, the importance of tracing had been completely developed, which was recognised by the scientific world by awarding Hevesy the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1943.

Following the high honour, he continued his scientific activity in an increasing wider sphere. By means of tracing, he conquered newer and newer fields for medical science. He examined primarily the various processes of the metabolism (e.g. the iron metabolism), continued to research of tumours and, when he was older, he also started the study of haematology.

He founded a new discipline: nuclear medicine and he devoted his whole life to chemical, physio-chemical, biological and medical knowledge and to curative applications.

John C. Polanyi (1929 - ) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, shared with the American Dudley R. Herschbach (born in 1932) and the American of Chinese origin Yuan Tseh Lee (born in 1936) “for their contributions concerning the dynamics of chemical elementary processes.”

The activity of the above three scientists furnished the basis of reaction dynamics – a new field of chemistry that provides assistance in the more profound and detailed understanding of chemical reactions.

For tracing the elementary steps in chemical reactions, it is Polanyi who introduced the method of infrared chemiluminescence. This enabled infrared radiation of very low intensity to be detected and analysed. Thus, indispensable information can be obtained on the state of multidimensional surface that describes the potential energy of the system. Polanyi succeeded in harmonising the data calculated from the potential energy surface of reactions with the values of parameters measured experimentally.

His research introduced laser methods that serve for studying the dynamics of chemical reactions. His name is also linked with the development of surface photochemistry – a new discipline that is aimed at becoming acquainted with the detailed mechanism of reactions that take place on the surface.

In addition to his scientific papers, he published about one hundred articles in the subjects of science politics, the limitation of weapons and papers dealing with the effects of sciences on society. He is the co-editor of the book titled: “The Dangers of nuclear war”. For his scientific activity, he was awarded a number of high-level awards, among them the Wolf Prize in 1982.

George A. Olah (1927 - ) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1986, “for his contribution to carbocation chemistry”.

In the field of modern organic chemistry, his activity disproved the dogma of the quatrovalency of carbon and opened up new ways of producing hydrocarbons. The production of lead-free petrol is of outstanding importance.

George A. Olah completed his university studies at Budapest Technical University, Faculty of Chemical Engineering. His examinations carried out here under the leadership of Professor Géza Zemplén (1883-1956) opened up a new chapter in the chemistry of compounds that contain carbon atoms with a positive charge.

He applied the theoretical knowledge gained during the examination of carbocations in industrial syntheses as well: he produced (high octane number) hydrocarbons with branching chains, starting from hydrocarbons with straight chains (poor quality and low octane number petroleum fractions). On his proposal, the ions containing positive carbon atoms are called collectively carbocations.

Following and as a recognition of his successful 12-year research activity, D.P. Locker and his wife as well as other sponsors founded a chemical research institute for George A. Olah and his colleagues at the South California University in Los Angeles in 1976, to cover a wide range in the chemistry of hydrocarbons. Since then, the Locker Hydrocarbon Research Institute has been developing and growing under the leadership of professor Olah.

He is a chemist who has connected basic research with the industrial application; who is at home in the complete innovation chain between universities and industrial companies; whose research activity became economic resources while preserving the environment and the wealth of nature. Nevertheless – together with the other Nobel Prize Laureates – he warns that our most important natural values are intellectual values, the most important value is human value, the civilised individual and a good education system.

“I hope very much to be understood at home” – as the Nobel Prize Laureate professor Olah sent the message from his home in America – “that in the approaching 21st century, which is not far now, the most important thing for every nation will be the knowledge of its youth. Therefore, training, teaching and education are of fundamental importance. They are economic treasures that, in both the 19th and 20th centuries, influenced to a large extent which nations were able to progress and, I believe, this will be replaced to a large extent in the 21st century by, what a country can offer in the education and professional qualification of its young people.” “Investment needs to be made in the future, and the best investment for a country to make is the education of its young people.”

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

In addition to rewarding scientific and literary performances, in his will Alfred Nobel also envisaged a separate prize to honour outstanding humanists and the heroes of peace. This is of particular importance; in fact, the 20th century is not only the era of nuclear energy, reaching the Moon, global satellite communication, computer-based automatic information processing, gene surgery and further results of scientific progress, but also that of Hiroshima and the Holocausts.

The living memory of this is Elie Wiesel (1928-), who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. He was 15 when his family was deported. His mother and younger sister died in the gas chamber and his father died in the Buchenwald death camp. He survived the tragedy, became an accusatory witness of it and, then, kept the memory of it alive through literature.

He moved to Paris in 1945 and during the sixteen years spent there, he won recognition in modern French literature. In 1961, he visited the United States. And has been an American citizen since 1963 onward. Although he is a writer, it is not his literary activity that was the basis of this high moral recognition; instead the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded – according to the official reasoning – with special regard to the fact that “he was the most important leading personality and intellectual leader in the times when violence, oppression and racism left their mark on the face of world.”

In Tel Aviv, a series of books titled “A handful of flowers – The intellectual heritage of Hungarian-speaking Jewishness” edited by Emil Feuerstein was published about persons regarded as those who had contributed to the culture of both Hungary and Israel. On the title page of the third volume published in 1989, a portrait of Dennis Gabor is shown on the top and a portrait of Elie Wiesel, writer of the foreword to the Hungarian language book, at the bottom.

The Nobel Prize Laureate in Economic Sciences

John C. Harsanyi (1920-2000) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 1994, shared with the American John Nash (1928 -) and the German Reinhard Selten (1930 -) “for their pioneering analysis of equilibria in the theory of non-co-operative games.”

The Nobel Prize Laureate of the theory of games was born in Budapest on 29th May 1920. As Eugene Wigner and John von Neumann, he also completed his grammar school studies at the famous Fasor grammar school in Budapest. Here he received-acquired the bases of his knowledge and humanism, which he always remembered with feeling. In the year of his final examination, in 1937, after the scientific world-luminaries like Theodor T. Karman (1881-1963), Leo Szilard (1898-1964) or Ede Teller (1908 - ), he also won the high-ranking National Grammar School Mathematics Competition.

His father owned a pharmacy in Zugló, a part of Budapest; so, on the request of his parents, he studied pharmaceutics at the Budapest University of Sciences in order to take over the running of the family business. However, the war intervened: in 1944, he was called up for work service. Due to his luck and the Jesuit Fathers, he survived the Second World War and the hazardous era.

When he enrolled again in the University of Sciences, he pursued his studies in another field. In the next year, he obtained his doctor's degree in philosophy, sociology and psychology. In the academic year of 1947/1948, he joined the Institute of Sociology run by Professor Sándor Szalay, as an assistant professor. It is there that he became acquainted with Anna Klauber, a student in psychology at that time, who became his life-long companion. “It is my family and my research activity that stay in the centre of my life” professor Harsanyi stated while looking back on his career.

The Stalinist political regime made it impossible for him to continue his research activity. Therefore, in 1950, he and his wife risking their lives escaped abroad through mine fields. In Austria, he started his life again as a factory worker. In parallel to this, he studied economics. He continued his studies in America.

From 1964, he has worked as a professor at Berkeley University in California for a quarter of a century. He retired in 1990. He continued his academic activity even after his retirement. He published four books and about hundred academic papers.

This life work was crowned by the Nobel Prize awarded for the activity carried out in the field of theory of games. Harsanyi arrived at the United states just in the year when John von Neumann, the founder of the theory of games died. In his letter of 26th May 1957, John Harsanyi, aged 37 at that time, notified Budapest of the death of the scientist genius and of the revolution of mathematics as follows: “A number of mathematical disciplines were born in the recent years to fulfil the mathematical needs of social sciences. (The traditional mathematical theorems were ‘dimensioned’ to the needs of natural sciences, thus, they could not completely fulfil the needs of social sciences.) One of them is the ‘theory of games’ founded by John von Neumann. (J.N. died a short time ago due to a brain tumour) The objective here is to understand the economic and political equilibrium between the various groups of society.”

Professor Harsanyi, who continued the work of Neumann, demonstrated how to analyse social games with success, even if the information available is incomplete. So, he founded a fast growing research sector, namely the economics of information, which deals with strategic situations in which the participants only know each other’s intentions in part or not at all. He made good use of this knowledge to the benefit of his new home country and the world with President Nixon during the American-Soviet disarmament negotiations.

The scientific activity of Professor Harsanyi was shared between the problems of philosophy – especially the philosophy of history – the theory of games, economic thinking and the improvement of ethics. “The idea is that, if the society accepts the rules of ethics that, indeed, serve to the benefit of the society and these rules are observed by the people, society becomes not only more ethical, instead, it will get in much better economic circumstances. In fact, if people conduct themselves in an ethical manner, there will be mutual confidence and they will not only put trust in each other, but they will have good reason to do so, and we know that a significant part of economic life is that people are able to trust each other; otherwise they are unable to co-operate and conclude contracts and so on. It is best to be honest, even in economic respect!”

The activity of John Harsanyi contributed to that economics and economic thinking became more suitable for the interpretation of the surrounding world in a more perfect manner and to a more correct behaviour harmonised with this. In his lifework, wisdom and honour, knowledge and humanism were combined at a high level. His example, heritage and message are of increasing importance and more and more timely in respect of the future knowledge-based society.

Essentially, science is international and a scientist can contribute to several professional fields and to the wealth of several countries by means of his/her work. The name of Robert Bárány shows his Hungarian origin. Richard Zsigmondy originated from a famous Hungarian family. Both of them were born in Vienna. However, Zsigmondy received the Nobel Prize in Stockholm as a professor at the Göttinga University (Germany). Robert Bárány was delivered from captivity by the Swedish Government during the First World War and it is Sweden that became his new home country and his final repose. In memory of Bárány, the Hungarian, Austrian and Swedish Post Offices issued a stamp. John C. Polanyi, the son of the world famous chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi, who emigrated from Budapest after the First World War, was born in Berlin as a descendant of an intellectual family that played an important part in Hungarian cultural life. He was educated in England and received the Nobel Prize as a citizen of Canada.

“I aim at becoming a useful subject of a different country, America; and in addition, of an even larger entity, humanity, while serving the important common human objectives. However, all these do not alter the fact that I am a Hungarian just as I was formerly and my home country is Hungary as it was in my childhood” said Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt, who had had to emigrate after the Second World War, on his return home after 25 years of absence. In a similar way, George Olah, who emigrated following the suppression of the revolution in 1956, said of his dual link: “My family and I found a new home country and, while being proud of that I am a Hungarian, I became American. [...] As for being Hungarian: I lived in Hungary for twenty-nine years and, as I left Hungary young, it is my best memories that remained; in fact – which is good in life – we remember the pleasant things. I am an American of Hungarian origin – and as it is told here, the best of two world is mine.”

People in Vienna, Berlin, Stockholm, Tel Aviv or even in Washington can be proud of the results of the Hungarian Nobel Prize Laureates. The spirit of the Nobel Prize encourages us to build bridges over the borders of countries and the separating walls of science.

It is an imposing feeling to overview the Nobel Prize Laureates of Hungarian origin during a century. The dramatic conclusion of the 20th century – the stormiest period in human history – appears concentrated on this historic tableau: scientific-technical progress needs to be paired with moral-human progress. This relationship was emphasised by Albert von Szent-Györgyi Nagyrapolt more than half a century ago in his Nobel presentation delivered in 1937, who ended his speech – which can be rightly considered to be an eternally valid message from Nobel Prize Laureates – in the spirit of Alfred Nobel with the connection of science and humanism:

“The objective of my examinations is the same as that of modern biochemistry in general: understanding the functioning of the organism. If we eventually understand the function of the organism, a completely new era in the medical sciences starts. We can see that until this very far objective is achieved these examinations are not without success; in fact, we have revealed a number of things about which we can hope – or even, already know - that they can mitigate human suffering.

However, there also exists another point in my research activity that I have much pleasure in and I am proud of. This is not the results of my examinations. [...] What gives me infinite pleasure is, on looking back to these examinations, that these were enabled by the wide international scientific fraternity, scientific co-operation and human solidarity, without which I would have perished and my experiments would not have led to any results. It is an imposing feeling to know that, in this inflamed world full of malice, this spirit of fraternity and human solidarity lives at the highest level of science. I can only wish for this spirit to radiate beyond the borders of science to lead mankind to a future better than the present.”

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