The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield of Princeton University, and Geoffrey E. Hinton of the University of Toronto “for foundational discoveries and inventions that enable machine learning with artificial neural networks.”
Both physicists were recognized for their groundbreaking contributions to methods in artificial intelligence and machine learning, which were rooted in theories from the field of physics.
Hopfield developed an artificial neural network, known as the “Hopfield network,” which utilizes an energy-based method from spin systems to store and reproduce patterns. Building on this, Hinton created a new type of network, the Boltzmann machine, which employs tools from statistical physics to classify images or create new patterns.
Yesterday two Americans, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA. This discovery revealed a new dimension in gene regulation and how different cell types develop.
Nobel announcements continue with chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, and the Peace Prize to be announced Friday.
The Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded 117 times to 225 Nobel Prize laureates between 1901 and 2023.
The Nobel Academy awards prizes in five separate disciplines to individuals who, during the preceding year, contributed through their research or work to the betterment of humankind. The stated mission was set in the 1895 will of Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist Alfred Nobel.
