This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/science/three-researchers-win-nobel-prize-in-chemistry.html

The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
3 Researchers Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry 3 Researchers Win Nobel Prize in Chemistry
(about 1 hour later)
This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for computer simulations that enable the closer study of complex reactions like photosynthesis and combustion, and the design of new drugs.This year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for computer simulations that enable the closer study of complex reactions like photosynthesis and combustion, and the design of new drugs.
Martin Karplus of the University of Strasbourg in France and Harvard University, Michael Levitt of Stanford University, and Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California share the honor and the approximately $1.2 million that accompanies it. The computer simulations combine classical physics, which is able to track a multitude of atoms, and quantum mechanics, which is needed to capture the breaking and forming of chemical bonds. The researchers, Martin Karplus of Harvard and the University of Strasbourg in France, Michael Levitt of Stanford and Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California share the honor and the approximately $1.2 million that accompanies it. The computer simulations combine classical physics, which is able to track a multitude of atoms, and quantum mechanics, which is needed to capture the breaking and forming of chemical bonds.
All three are naturalized American citizens. Dr. Karplus, born in Austria, is also an Austrian citizen. Dr. Levitt, who was born in South Africa, also holds British and Israeli citizenships; and Dr. Warshel, born in Israel, is also an Israeli citizen.
The Nobel committee cited the three “for the development of multiscale models for complex chemical systems.”
In an interview broadcast on the Nobel Web site, Sven Lidin, the chairman of the selection committee, said that in the past computer simulations were so rudimentary that if theory conflicted with experiment, “We were always sure the theoreticians were wrong — again.”
With the advances of the past few decades, computer simulations have been as informative as the experiments, Dr. Lidin said. “Theory has become the new experiments,” he said.
Last year, two Americans, Robert J. Lefkowitz of Duke University and Brian K. Kobilka of Stanford, shared the chemistry Nobel for deciphering the communication system that the human body uses to sense the outside world and send messages to the interior of cells.Last year, two Americans, Robert J. Lefkowitz of Duke University and Brian K. Kobilka of Stanford, shared the chemistry Nobel for deciphering the communication system that the human body uses to sense the outside world and send messages to the interior of cells.