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How the 2023 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Captures the Transformative Promise of Nanotechnology

Today's Nobel Prize for Chemistry goes to a trio of scientists for their pioneering work on quantum dots -- a foundational pillar of modern nanotechnology

By Andrew Maynard · October 5, 2023 · Original post · Download Markdown · Print / save as PDF


[Image: Image: Midjourney — view image]

You know it’s going to be an interesting day when you get a message at 5:45 AM asking if you are up for writing an article about a breaking news story — with just four hours before a near-final draft is due!

That was me this morning — as the people I had early meetings scheduled with discovered rather fast! On a normal day I’d probably have skipped on the challenge. But this wasn’t a normal day.

The breaking news was the announcement that the 2023 Nobel Prize had been awarded to three scientists for their work on quantum dotsMoungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov.

This is a technology that was a big part of my work around developing nanotechnology responsibly and beneficially over a decade ago. It’s also something I’ve written about before. And so — despite my better judgement — I decided to accept the challenge, tight deadlines and all.

The article was for The Conversation and I’m pleased to say that, with the help of a stellar editor, we got it out with time to spare.

The published article can be read at the link below:

Link to article

Rather than summarize it here, it’s worth hopping over to The Conversation and reading it in full — especially as it explores the connection between quantum dots and “base coding” which I suspect is an angle you won’t find elsewhere.

Enjoy!