Nobel Prize 2024 winners in Physics announced
Photo: The winners of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics have been announced (Getty Images)
On Tuesday, October 8, the Nobel Committee announced the winners of the physics prize. They are John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks,” according to the Nobel Foundation.
Winners
Two of this year's Nobel Prize winners in physics used the tools of physics to develop techniques that are the basis of today's powerful machine learning. John Hopfield created an associative memory that can store and reconstruct images and other types of patterns in data.
Geoffrey Hinton invented a method that can autonomously find properties in data and thus perform tasks such as identifying specific elements in images.
When we talk about artificial intelligence, we often refer to machine learning using artificial neural networks. This technology was originally inspired by the structure of the brain.
Photo: John Hopfield and Geoffrey Everest Hinton, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics (twitter.com/NobelPrize)
In an artificial neural network, brain neurons are represented by nodes that have different values. These nodes influence each other through connections that can be made stronger or weaker.
The network learns, for example, by developing stronger connections between nodes with simultaneously high values. This year's winners have done important work with artificial neural networks since the 1980s.
Physics prize last year
The Nobel Prize in Physics is the highest award for scientific achievement in physics, given annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm. The prize is one of the prizes established following the will of Swedish businessman, dynamite inventor, and philanthropist Alfred Nobel.
The first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Wilhelm Röntgen in recognition of his extremely important services to science, which were manifested in the discovery of the rays that were later named in his honor.
Last year, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded for the study of electrons and the nature of light. Scientists Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz, and Anne L'Huillier gave humanity new tools to explore the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules with their experiments.
They demonstrated a way to create extremely short pulses of light that can be used to measure fast processes in which electrons move or change energy. The contribution of the laureates has made it possible to study processes that are so fast that they were previously impossible to trace.
Ferenc Krausz, one of the laureates, decided to spend his entire prize on charity and help Ukrainians by donating funds to the Science4People initiative, which helps rebuild Ukrainian schools. This foundation was founded by Krausz himself in 2022.
Nobel Week 2024
On Monday, October 7, Nobel Week started, during which the winners of this year's prize will be determined.
Traditionally, the winners of the Medicine and Physiology prize were the first to be determined. They were scientists Victor Ambros and Gary Ravkan for the discovery of microRNA molecules that regulate gene function.
The Nobel Prizes are awarded annually for outstanding achievements in chemistry, physics, literature, physiology, or medicine and contributions to peace.
In addition, there is a prize in economics awarded by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on the same principles as the other Nobel Prizes, which have existed since 1901.
The next laureates, in the field of chemistry, will be determined tomorrow, October 9.
