2000 Nobel Prize Winners

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff
  • Peace: Kim Dae Jung, president of South Korea, was cited “for his work for democracy and human rights in South Korea and in East Asia in general, and for peace and reconciliation with North Korea in particular.”
  • Literature: Gao Xingjian (China) “for an oeuvre of universal validity, bitter insights, and linguistic ingenuity, which has opened new paths for the Chinese novel and drama.” His first novel, Soul Mountain, recounts impressions from journeys in remote districts in China, and his second, One Man's Bible, draws on his experiences as a political activist during China's Cultural Revolution.
  • Physics: One-half jointly to Zhores I. Alferov (Russia) and Herbert Kroemer (U.S.) “for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and opto-electronics,” and one-half to Jack S. Kilby (U.S.) “for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit.” Alferov and Kroemer's inventions led to the development of fast transistors, which are used in radio link satellites and mobile telephone base stations. Kilby contributed to the development of the microchip, the basis of all modern technology.
  • Chemistry: Alan J. Heeger, Alan G. MacDiarmid (both U.S.), and Hideki Shirakawa (Japan) “for the discovery and development of conductive polymers.” Conductive polymers are plastics that can conduct electric current. They are used in antistatic substances for photographic film and in shields for computer screens against electromagnetic radiation.
  • Medicine: Arvid Carlsson (Sweden), Paul Greengard, and Eric Kandel (both U.S.) “for their discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous system.” Their findings have led to the development of new drugs to treat neurological and psychiatric diseases.
  • Economics: James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden (U.S.). “To James Heckman for his development of theory and methods for analyzing selective samples and to Daniel McFadden for his development of theory and methods for analyzing discrete choice.” The laureates have developed methods that are widely used in the statistical analysis of individual and household behavior within the social sciences.

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