31 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Laureates later won the Nobel
The Nobel Prizes 2024 have honored the work of five researchers who were previously distinguished by the BBVA Foundation with its Frontiers of Knowledge Awards. The judging committee of these prizes--awarded by the BBVA Foundation for the past 15 years--has shown an ability to get ahead of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, thereby making the Frontiers of Knowledge awards a reliable herald of international scientific excellence. On no fewer than 31 occasions, winners of the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards have gone on to win Nobel Prizes months or years later.
Scientists David Baker, Demis Hassabis and John Jumper, Nobel Laureates in Chemistry, Geoffrey Hinton, Nobel Laureate in Physics, and Daron Acemoglu, Nobel Laureate in Economics have been the latest to join a long list of researchers whose contributions were recognized by the BBVA Foundation Awards before the Nobel Prizes.
The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognize and encourage excellence in scientific research and the arts, especially contributions of unique impact for their originality and significance. The name of these awards refers both to research work that broadens the scope of knowledge--advancing the frontier of what is known--and to the convergence and overlapping of different disciplines.
A Nobel for the makers of AlphaFold
Proteins are essential to life, yet their intricate three-dimensional structures have long posed a tough challenge for scientists. David Baker, Demis Hassabis, and John Jumper created AlphaFold, an AI that predicts protein shapes from genetic sequences, overcoming a long-standing scientific hurdle. This breakthrough promises to revolutionize biology and medicine by offering precision in understanding protein functions, aiding in the development of new drugs and treatments. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2024 honors this significant advancement in molecular biology.
Before receiving the Nobel Prize, the three researchers were honored with the BBVA Foundation's 15th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Biology and Biomedicine in 2013. This accolade recognized their pioneering use of AI in tackling some of modern science's most complex challenges.
The ‘father’ of artificial intelligence
Geoffrey Hinton, awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, is a trailblazer in machine learning, known for advancing neural networks and deep learning. Born in London in 1947, Hinton's background in Experimental Psychology and AI underpins his work on systems that emulate the human brain, enabling autonomous machine learning. His research has been pivotal in developing key technologies like speech and image recognition, and it has paved the way for AI innovations across sectors from medicine to automotive. His contributions were previously honored with the 9th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Information and Communication Technologies in 2016.
A new approach to understanding poverty
In 2017, Daron Acemoglu received the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Economics, Finance, and Management for his groundbreaking theory on the pivotal role of institutions in economic development. His research demonstrates that nations with inclusive institutions, which ensure equal opportunity and property rights, thrive more than those with extractive ones that concentrate power among elites. Through econometric analysis and historical data, Acemoglu has illustrated how political structures impact long-term growth, shifting the focus on poverty and development. In 2024, he will be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics alongside Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson.
The 31 winners honored by the BBVA Foundation and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Twelve Frontiers laureates have gone on to win the Nobel Prize in Economics: Lars Peter Hansen (2013), Jean Tirole (2014), Angus Deaton (2015), William Nordhaus (2018), Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo (2019), Paul Milgrom and Robert Wilson (2020), David Card (2021), Ben Bernanke (2022) and Claudia Goldin (2023).
Six Frontiers laureates subsequently received the Nobel Prize in Medicine from the Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institutet: Shinya Yamanaka (2011), James P. Allison (2018), David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian (2021) and Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman (2023).
Six Frontiers Prize winners have also received the award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in the category of Chemistry: Robert J. Lefkowitz in 2012, and Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna in 2020.
Finally, in the case of the Nobel Prize for Physics, seven Frontiers laureates went on to receive the award from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences:Didier Queloz and Michel G. E. Mayor (2019), Klaus Hasselman and Syukuru Manabe (2021), and Ferenc Krausz and Anne L’Huillier (2023).
Awards with a global reach
The Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognize and encourage contributions of unique impact, especially those that broaden the scope of what is known, bring about the emergence of new fields or are the result of interaction between different disciplines in science, the arts and the humanities.
The awards, worth €400,000 in each category, have become internationally established as the only family of global awards that places research on the planet on the same level as basic science, medicine or economics.