Nobel laureates affiliated with Uppsala University

Among the University’s alumni there are 16 Nobel Prize laureates, of which the following 8 received their prizes for discoveries made during their time at Uppsala University:

Allvar Gullstrand, Professor of Ophthalmiatrics (eye diseases), was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1911. He was both a theoretician and a practitioner, and among other things developed new instruments for eye examinations.

The Svedberg, Professor of Physical Chemistry, received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1926. He constructed the first ultracentrifuge for determining the size and form of various macromolecules, a separation method that has been of immense value to biochemistry and molecular biology.

Nathan Söderblom was a Professor at the Faculty of Theology and later Archbishop of Sweden. His ecumenical work received recognition in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1930.

Manne Siegbahn, Professor of Physics, introduced modern nuclear physics to Sweden. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1924 for his contributions to X-ray spectroscopy.

Arne Tiselius, Uppsala’s first Professor of Biochemistry, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1948. The method he devised, electrophoresis of proteins, played a major role in establishing Uppsala as a leader in biochemical separation methods.

Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary-General of the United Nations 1953–1961, studied economics at Uppsala University. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961.

Kai Siegbahn, Professor of Physics (son of Manne Siegbahn) received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981. His work in high-resolution electron spectroscopy provided an important analytical method for studying the effects of chemical binding.

Svante Pääbo, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Svante Pääbo received a doctorate in medicine from Uppsala University in 1986 and was visiting professor in Uppsala between 2003 and 2015.

Nobel Lectures in Uppsala

It has long been the tradition for the newly awarded Nobel Laureates to be invited to Uppsala University in connection with the Nobel banquet in Stockholm.

The visit programme includes a reception with the Vice-Chancellor and lunch at Uppsala Castle, as well as appreciated and highly popular public lectures by the visiting Nobel Laureates.


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