Nobels at Harvard
How well do you know Harvard’s Nobel laureates?
Through the years, dozens of Harvard scholars and researchers have earned the title of Nobel laureate across all categories. Test your knowledge of Harvard’s connections with the prestigious prize in the following quiz.
Which Nobel laureate wrote, “I rhyme / to see myself, to set the darkness echoing”?
A prized community
“I am standing here because I have students. My students are my muses.”
Claudia Goldin won the 2023 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for her work tracking the evolution of America’s gender wage gap.
“I am standing here because I have students. My students are my muses.”Gary Ruvkun
Professor of Genetics Gary Ruvkun, who received the 2024 Nobel Prize for the discovery of microRNAs, believes that curiosity driven research can be turned into actionable knowledge.
Maria Ressa
Journalist Maria Ressa was a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School when she received the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts “to safeguard freedom of expression.”
Amartya Sen
Economist and philosopher Amartya Sen, one of the founding fathers of modern social choice theory, was awarded a Nobel in 1998 for his work on poverty and famine.
Carolyn Bertozzi
In 2022, Harvard alum Carolyn Bertozzi was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the development of click chemistry and bioorthogonal chemistry.
Karl Deisseroth
Harvard alum Karl Deisseroth reflected on his undergraduate years and on the throughlines that led from early lab experiences to the work that won him the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
After the win, the work continues
For many Nobel Prize recipients, from Harvard and beyond, the award helps them further their research and continue to explore their passions.