October 13, 2000

Modern-day heroes: Nobel laureates

American citizens, trained in U.S. schools, again dominated the Nobel Prizes this year, led by our newest local heroes, UCSB professors Alan Heeger, who shared the Nobel prize in chemistry, and Herbert Kroemer, who shared the Nobel prize in physics.

Researchers Heeger, Alan MacDiarmid of the University of Pennsylvania, and Japan's Hideki Shirakawa developed plastics that can conduct electricity and therefore can be used in better solar panels, anti-static screens and may eventually produce applications from paper-thin television screens to illuminated wallpaper.

Kroemer and Russia's Zhores Alferov, shared half of the physics prize for a new kind of semiconductor used in satellite communications, mobile phones, CD players and barcode readers. Kroemer pioneered a radical new kind of transistor called a heterotransistor which could handle much higher frequencies than its predecessors and went on to revolutionize satellite communications and mobile telephones.

Another American, Jack Kilby, of U.S. electronics group Texas Instruments Inc., also shared the prize in physics. He unleashed the information technology revolution by building the first miniaturized computer chip in 1958.

Two American neuroscientists, Paul Greengard of Rockefeller University and Eric R. Kandel of Columbia University, shared the prize in medicine. They helped discover the key mechanisms by which nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other to create moods, memories and mental illness U.S. economists James Heckman and Daniel McFadden won the 2000 Nobel economics prize. The two are specialists in microeconometrics, a field combining economics and statistics. McFadden teaches at Berkeley and Hechman is a professor at the University of Chicago. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awards the annual prizes. These are true, modern-day heroes. We salute them all for their contributions to modern knowledge.

Congratulations to all the winners - and to all the teachers they've had, at every level throughout the years, who helped prepare them for this honored recognition. We should acknowledge their contributions to make this world a better place.

Our local winners have brought great pride to their institution and to our community. All the winners bring pride to our nation. It is hoped that they can serve as role models for the young people who follow in their very accomplished footsteps.