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Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt and Arieh Warshel have won this year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on multiscale models of chemical systems, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday in Stockholm.
The trio of scientists “made it possible to map the mysterious ways of chemistry by using computers,” the academy said.
Their research, which began in the 1970s, led to the creation of the computer models that can predict the outcome of chemical processes, it said.
The discoveries have helped researchers study “every tiny little step in complex chemical processes that are invisible to the naked eye.” Among other contribution, the work has led to more efficient solar cells and more effective drugs.
The three will split a prize worth 8 million kronor ($1.2 million).
Austrian-born Karplus, who also holds US citizenship, shares the award with Levitt, who has US, British and Israeli citizenship, and Arieh Warshel, a dual citizen of US and Israel.
All work at universities in the United States. Karplus also does research in France.
Warshel, a professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, said he felt “extremely well” on learning of his Nobel win.
“What we did, is to develop a method how proteins actually work.
“It’s like seeing a watch and seeing how it actually works,” he said during a conference call with reporters.
Last year, US researchers Robert J Lefkowitz and Brian K Kobilka shared the chemistry prize for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors, which enable each cell to sense its environment.
The chemistry prize was the third of the annual Nobel prizes to be announced.
Francois Englert of Belgium and Peter Higgs of Britain were on Tuesday awarded the physics prize “for the theoretical discovery of a mechanism that contributes to our understanding of the origin of mass of subatomic particles.”
On Monday, Americans James Rothman and Randy Schekman, and German-born Thomas Suedhof shared the medicine prize for discovery of a major transport system in cells.
The Nobel prize for literature is due on Thursday and the peace award on Friday.
The prizes were endowed by Swedish industrialist and dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel.
The Nobel for economic sciences – a prize not endowed by Nobel and awarded since 1968 – is due to be announced on October 14.
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