Nobel laureate Engineers

Science and Technology together drive the modern world. But, there is a subtle difference between the two, apparent in the attitudes of the people involved. Scientists make original theories while engineers put into practice. Here are a few engineers who dared to venture into the theoretical aspects and achieved the highest distinction in science, the Nobel! The list shows the name of the person, discipline, year and field of prize, commendation of the Nobel committee, in that order. The list is by no means complete, we hope!


26. John Bardeen
Electrical Engineer
1956 Physics & 1972 Physics

1956 "for their jointly developed theory of superconductivity, usually called the BCS-theory"

1972 "for their researches on semiconductors and their discovery of the transistor effect"


25. Charles K Kao
Electrical Engineer
2009 Physics

"for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication"




24. Koichi Tanaka
Electrical Engineer
2002 Chemistry

"for their development of soft desorption ionisation methods for mass spectrometric analyses of biological macromolecules"




23. Hideki Shirakawa
Chemical Engineer
2000 Chemistry

"for the discovery and development of conductive polymers"





22. Jack S Kilby
Electrical Engineer
2000 Physics

"for his part in the invention of the integrated circuit"





21. Mario J Molina
Chemical Engineer
1995 Chemistry

"for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"




20. Paul J Crutzen
Civil Engineer
1995 Chemistry

"for their work in atmospheric chemistry, particularly concerning the formation and decomposition of ozone"




19. Martin L Perl
Chemical Engineer
1995 Physics

"for the discovery of the tau lepton"






18. Georges Charpak
Civil Engineer
1992 Physics

"for his invention and development of particle detectors, in particular the multiwire proportional chamber"




17. Charles J Pedersen
Chemical Engineer
1987 Chemistry

"for their development and use of molecules with structure-specific interactions of high selectivity"





16. Karl Alexander Muller
Electrical Engineer
1987 Physics

"for their important break-through in the discovery of superconductivity in ceramic materials"




15. Simon van der Meer
Electrical Engineer
1984 Physics

"for their decisive contributions to the large project, which led to the discovery of the field particles W and Z, communicators of weak interaction"




14. Ivar Giaever
Mechanical Engineer
1973 Physics

"for their experimental discoveries regarding tunneling phenomena in semiconductors and superconductors, respectively"




13. Dennis Gabor
Electrical Engineer
1971 Physics

"for his invention and development of the holographic method"





12. Hannes Olof Gosta Alfven
Electrical Engineer
1970 Physics

"for fundamental work and discoveries in magnetohydrodynamics with fruitful applications in different parts of plasma physics




11. Lars Onsager
Chemical Engineer
1968 Chemistry

"for the discovery of the reciprocal relations bearing his name, which are fundamental for the thermodynamics of irreversible processes"




10. Giulio Natta
Chemical Engineer
1963 Chemistry

"for their discoveries in the field of the chemistry and technology of high polymers"





9. Linus Pauling
Chemical Engineer
1954 Chemistry

"for his research into the nature of the chemical bond and its application to the elucidation of the structure of complex substances"




8. Edward Mills Purcell
Electrical Engineer
1952 Physics

"for their development of new methods for nuclear magnetic precision measurements and discoveries in connection therewith"




7. Petrus Josephus Wilhemus Debye
Electrical Engineer
1936 Chemistry

"for his contributions to our knowledge of molecular structure through his investigations on dipole moments and on the diffraction of X-rays and electrons in gases"



6. Paul Dirac
Electrical Engineer
1933 Physics
"for the discovery of new productive forms of atomic theory"






5. Irving Langmuir
Metallurgical Engineer
1932 Chemistry
"for his discoveries and investigations in surface chemistry"






4. Nils Gustaf Dalen
Electrical Engineer
1912 Physics
"for his invention of automatic regulators for use in conjunction with gas accumulators for illuminating lighthouses and buoys"





3. Henri Becqurel
Electrical Engineer
1903 Physics

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by his discovery of spontaneous radioactivity"




2. Jacobus Henricus van t'Hoff
1901 Chemistry

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the laws of chemical dynamics and osmotic pressure in solutions"




1. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
Mechanical Engineer
1901 Physics

"in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered by the discovery of the remarkable rays subsequently named after him"