The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced on Wednesday that the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded in two halves: one half to David Baker for his pioneering work in computational protein design, and the other half jointly to Demis Hassabis and John M. Jumper for their groundbreaking contributions to protein structure prediction.
David Baker, a professor at the University of Washington, made history in 2003 by designing a novel protein that had never previously existed. His research group has since developed numerous innovative protein structures, and he expressed his excitement and honor upon receiving this prestigious award.
In 2020, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper introduced AlphaFold2, a cutting-edge AI model from Google’s DeepMind. This model achieved the remarkable feat of accurately predicting the structures of nearly all known proteins, approximately 200 million in total. Hassabis serves as the CEO of Google DeepMind in London, while Jumper is a Senior Research Scientist there.
The announcement coincided with Nobel Week in Stockholm, which recognizes achievements across six distinct fields. Chemistry, as established by Alfred Nobel’s will, remains a vital category, reflecting its profound impact on science and industry.
