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David Baker Ph.D. ’89
Chemistry, 2024 | Alum
Baker, a biochemist who worked with 2013 Nobelist Randy Schekman at Berkeley, was honored in 2024 for computational protein design.
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Gary Ruvkun ’73
Physiology or Medicine, 2024 | Alum
Ruvkun, a 1973 graduate with a B.A. in biophysics, shares the prize with Victor Ambros, a professor at the UMass Chan Medical School, for their discovery of microRNA and and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.
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John Clauser Postdoctoral Fellow ’69–’75
Physics, 2022 | Alum
The prize was awarded jointly to Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger “for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.”
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Carolyn Bertozzi Ph.D. ’93
Chemistry, 2022 | Alum
Bertozzi’s research into bioorthogonal reactions furthers the work of her co-winners, who developed the new field of “click chemistry.”
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Svante Pääbo Postdoctoral Fellow ’87–’90
Physiology or Medicine, 2022 | Alum
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2022 was awarded to Svante Pääbo “for his discoveries concerning the genomes of extinct hominins and human evolution.”
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David Card
Economics, 2021 | Faculty
Card shared his prize for work that challenged orthodoxy and dramatically shifted understanding of inequality and the social and economic forces that impact low-wage workers.
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David Julius Ph.D. ’84
Physiology or Medicine, 2021 | Alum
Julius shared the prize with Ardem Patapoutian “for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.”
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Reinhard Genzel
Physics, 2020 | Faculty
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Jennifer Doudna
Chemistry, 2020 | Faculty
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Frances Arnold Ph.D. ’85
Chemistry, 2018 | Alum
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Barry Barish ’57, Ph.D. ’62
Physics, 2017 | Alum
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Eric Betzig
Chemistry, 2014 | Faculty
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Randy Schekman
Physiology or Medicine, 2013 | Faculty
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David J. Wineland B.A. ’65
Physics, 2012 | Alum
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Saul Perlmutter Ph.D. ’86
Physics, 2011 | Faculty
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Thomas Sargent ’64
Economics, 2011 | Alum
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Adam Guy Riess Miller Fellow ’96–99
Physics, 2011 | Alum
Berkeley professor Saul Perlmutter (a fellow Cal alum) led a team that discovered the accelerating expansion of the universe; the prize was awarded jointly to Riess and Brian Schmidt.
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Oliver Williamson
Economics, 2009 | Faculty
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Carol Greider Ph.D. ’87
Physiology or Medicine, 2009 | Alum
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George Smoot
Physics, 2006 | Faculty
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Andrew Z. Fire ’78
Physiology or Medicine, 2006 | Alum
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John C. Mather Ph.D. ’74
Physics, 2006 | Alum
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Thomas C. Schelling ’44
Economics, 2005 | Alum
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David Gross Ph.D. ’66
Physics, 2004 | Alum
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Daniel Kahneman Ph.D. ’61
Economics, 2002 | Alum
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George Akerlof
Economics, 2001 | Faculty
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Daniel McFadden
Economics, 2000 | Faculty
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Alan Heeger Ph.D. ’61
Chemistry, 2000 | Alum
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Robert Laughlin ’72
Physics, 1998 | Alum
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Steven Chu Ph.D. ’76
Physics, 1997 | Alum
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Robert Curl Ph.D. ’57
Chemistry, 1996 | Alum
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Mario Molina Ph.D. ’72
Chemistry, 1995 | Alum
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John Harsanyi
Economics, 1994 | Faculty
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Kary Mullis Ph.D. ’73
Chemistry, 1993 | Alum
This prize recognized contributions to developments of methods within DNA-based chemistry, with one half to Mullis for his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method, the other to Michael Smith.
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Douglass North ’42, Ph.D. 1952
Economics, 1993 | Alum
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Thomas Cech Ph.D. ’75
Chemistry, 1989 | Alum
Cech shared his prize with Sidney Altman for their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA.
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Yuan T. Lee Ph.D. ’65
Chemistry, 1986 | Faculty
Lee designed experiments that sent streams of intensely packed molecules into each other at supersonic speeds, contributing to today’s powerful lasers.
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Gerard Debreu
Economics, 1983 | Faculty
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Henry Taube Ph.D. ’40
Chemistry, 1983 | Alum
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Lawrence Klein ’42
Economics, 1980 | Alum
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Czeslow Milosz
Literature, 1980 | Faculty
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Hamilton Smith ’52
Physiology or Medicine, 1978 | Alum
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Luis Alvarez
Physics, 1968 | Faculty
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Charles Townes
Physics, 1964 | Faculty
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Melvin Calvin
Chemistry, 1961 | Faculty
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Willard Libby ’31, Ph.D. ’33
Chemistry, 1960 | Alum
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1960 was awarded to Willard Frank Libby “for his method to use carbon-14 for age determination in archaeology, geology, geophysics, and other branches of science.”
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Donald Glaser
Physics, 1960 | Faculty
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Emilio Segrè
Physics, 1959 | Faculty
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Owen Chamberlain
Physics, 1959 | Faculty
Chamberlain and Emilio Segrè discovered the anti-proton, signaling a major leap in the study of matter and antimatter.
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Willis Lamb ’34, Ph.D. ’38
Physics, 1955 | Alum
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Selman Waksman Ph.D. 1918
Physiology or Medicine, 1952 | Alum
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Edwin McMillan
Chemistry, 1951 | Faculty
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Glenn Seaborg Ph.D. ’37
Chemistry, 1951 | Faculty
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William Giauque B.S. 1920, Ph.D. 1922
Chemistry, 1949 | Faculty
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Wendell Stanley
Chemistry, 1946 | Faculty
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John Howard Northrop
Chemistry, 1946 | Faculty
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Joseph Erlanger 1895
Physiology or Medicine, 1944 | Alum
Erlanger shared his prize with Herbert S. Gasser for their discoveries relating to the highly differentiated functions of single nerve fibers.
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Ernest Lawrence
Physics, 1939 | Faculty
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Harold Urey Ph.D. 1923
Chemistry, 1934 | Alum