How the 2023 Nobel Prize for Chemistry Captures the Transformative Promise of Nanotechnology

Today's Nobel Prize for Chemistry goes to a trio of scientists for their pioneering work on quantum dots -- a foundational pillar of modern nanotechnology

Image: Midjourney

You know it’s going to be an interesting day when you get a message at 5:45 AM asking if you are up for writing an article about a breaking news story — with just four hours before a near-final draft is due!

That was me this morning — as the people I had early meetings scheduled with discovered rather fast! On a normal day I’d probably have skipped on the challenge. But this wasn’t a normal day.

The breaking news was the announcement that the 2023 Nobel Prize had been awarded to three scientists for their work on quantum dots — Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov.

This is a technology that was a big part of my work around developing nanotechnology responsibly and beneficially over a decade ago. It’s also something I’ve written about before. And so — despite my better judgement — I decided to accept the challenge, tight deadlines and all.

The article was for The Conversation and I’m pleased to say that, with the help of a stellar editor, we got it out with time to spare.

The published article can be read at the link below:

Rather than summarize it here, it’s worth hopping over to The Conversation and reading it in full — especially as it explores the connection between quantum dots and “base coding” which I suspect is an angle you won’t find elsewhere.

Enjoy!