Nobel Laureates

An extraordinary number of Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences have been awarded to University of Chicago faculty members, students, or researchers at some point in their careers. Some of the Nobel winners whose work is closely associated with the University are Milton Friedman (Economic Sciences, 1976), Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar (Physics, 1983), Saul Bellow (Literature, 1976), Charles Huggins (Physiology or Medicine, 1966), and Willard Libby (Chemistry, 1960). In addition, Alexei Abrikosov of Argonne National Laboratory (which has been operated by the University of Chicago for the U.S. Department of Energy since the laboratory was established in 1946) shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physics “for pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids.” The University of Chicago’s first Nobel Laureate was Albert A. Michelson. The first American to win the Nobel Prize in any of the sciences, Michelson was recognized in 1907 for his measurements of the speed of light. Robert A. Millikan (Physics, 1923) did both of his prize-winning experiments on campus in the Ryerson Laboratory.

Chemistry

Economic Sciences

Literature

Peace

Physics

Physiology or Medicine

* University of Chicago alumnus
‡ Current member of faculty