Autumn AIThe 2026 Nobels · a dossierThe 2026 Nobel Prize winners,
up close.
Ten laureates, researched by Autumn across 29 publishers: where the call found them, how long they waited, and who made them.
Karl DeisserothMedicine
Peter HegemannMedicine
Georg NagelMedicine
Francis HalzenPhysics
Henri B. KaganChemistry
Kenso SoaiChemistry
Anne CarsonLiterature
Navi PillayPeace
Robert E. HallEconomics
Michael WoodfordEconomics10
laureates
6
prizes
25.5 yrs
median wait for the prize
76
median age
60
sources
01 · The winners
Who won what
Physiology or MedicineOct 5Karl DeisserothAmerican · Stanford UniversityPeter HegemannGerman · Humboldt University of BerlinGeorg NagelGerman · University of Würzburg“for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics”
Karl DeisserothAmerican · Stanford UniversityPeter HegemannGerman · Humboldt University of BerlinGeorg NagelGerman · University of Würzburg“for their discoveries concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics”PhysicsOct 6Francis HalzenBelgian · University of Wisconsin–Madison“for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”
Francis HalzenBelgian · University of Wisconsin–Madison“for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory and the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin”ChemistryOct 7Henri B. KaganFrench · Université Paris-Sud, OrsayKenso SoaiJapanese · Tokyo University of Science“for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”
Henri B. KaganFrench · Université Paris-Sud, OrsayKenso SoaiJapanese · Tokyo University of Science“for the discovery of non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis”LiteratureOct 8Anne CarsonCanadian“for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature”
Anne CarsonCanadian“for her bold and inventive oeuvre that, in playful dialogue with the classical tradition, has created new forms for contemporary literature”Economic SciencesOct 12Robert E. HallAmerican · Stanford UniversityMichael WoodfordAmerican · Columbia University“for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation”
Robert E. HallAmerican · Stanford UniversityMichael WoodfordAmerican · Columbia University“for microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation”02 · The call
Where the call found them
4:30 a.m. wake-up
Woken by Stockholm at 4:30 a.m., with an exam to give that morning: “They're probably hoping I'll cancel the exam.”
Michael WoodfordEconomics12:27 a.m., Pacific
Had just gone to bed after writing late into the night, and missed the call. Stockholm rang his wife's phone instead: “May we speak with Karl?”
Karl DeisserothMedicineMinutes before 11:00
Ignored an email from a stranger asking him to call back. Then he recognized the country code from his sailing trips: Sweden. It was the committee chair.
Peter HegemannMedicineSources1nobelprize.org
A terrace in Italy
On a sunny terrace above olive trees, between Naples and Rome: “I thought it's still too early to get this prize.”
Georg NagelMedicineA hotel in Bergamo
Was in his hotel room in Bergamo, Italy, writing a proposal, when the physics committee called.
Francis HalzenPhysicsSources1nobelprize.org
Out of reach
Reporters couldn't reach him. His daughter spoke instead: the creativity of his work “opened up new avenues for research.”
Henri B. KaganChemistrySources1reuters.com
At the supermarket
Was grocery shopping near his home in Shiki, Saitama, when the call came: “One of the most exciting days in my life.”
Kenso SoaiChemistryHome in Reykjavík
Eating crackers over the London Review of Books, she kept switching off the ringing phone until her husband answered. Her verdict: “I think you're all insane.”
Anne CarsonLiteratureCourtroom 600, Nuremberg
At a conference in the courtroom of the postwar trials. The committee couldn't reach her, so the Nobel Institute's director told her in person: “I don't believe it until I hear it from you!”
Navi PillayPeaceMonday morning
Monday morning statement: “This is a wonderful surprise.”
Robert E. HallEconomics03 · The wait
Nine of ten waited over 20 years
Robert E. HallEconomics · 831978 · Consumption paper48 yrsHenri B. KaganChemistry · 951986 · Non-linear effects40 yrsAnne CarsonLiterature · 761986 · Eros the Bittersweet40 yrsKenso SoaiChemistry · 761995 · Soai reaction31 yrsNavi PillayPeace · 851998 · Akayesu judgment28 yrsPeter HegemannMedicine · 712003 · Channelrhodopsin-223 yrsGeorg NagelMedicine · 732003 · Channelrhodopsin-223 yrsMichael WoodfordEconomics · 702003 · Interest and Prices23 yrsKarl DeisserothMedicine · 542005 · Optogenetics paper21 yrsFrancis HalzenPhysics · 822013 · Cosmic neutrinos13 yrs04 · The dossiers
The laureates
MedicineKarl DeisserothSays his first love was writing. A psychiatry rotation talked him out of neurosurgery.Open dossier →MedicinePeter HegemannIt began with one question: how does a single-celled green alga swim toward light?Open dossier →MedicineGeorg NagelTaught at a Swiss grammar school before starting his PhD in 1984.Open dossier →PhysicsFrancis HalzenProposed in 1988 that Antarctic ice could catch neutrinos. It took decades to build.Open dossier →ChemistryHenri B. KaganHis family survived the war hiding in a French village under assumed names. He won at 95.Open dossier →ChemistryKenso SoaiWas buying groceries when Stockholm called. The committee called his reaction one of the most spectacular experiments ever.Open dossier →LiteratureAnne CarsonFound a bilingual Sappho in a shopping mall as a teenager and decided to learn Greek.Open dossier →PeaceNavi PillayStarted her own law firm in apartheid-era Durban in 1967. Now sits on a genocide case at the ICJ.Open dossier →EconomicsRobert E. HallChaired the NBER Business Cycle Dating Committee for 46 years, from 1978 to 2024.Open dossier →EconomicsMichael WoodfordWent to Yale Law School before economics. Studied his co-laureate's work in his first year of grad school.Open dossier →05 · Origins
Most stayed close to home
Western Europe
2
arcs cross an ocean: Halzen, Tienen to Madison and Carson, Toronto to Reykjavik.
- Karl Deisseroth: born in Boston, based in Stanford at the award
- Peter Hegemann: born in Münster, based in Berlin at the award
- Georg Nagel: born in Weingarten, based in Würzburg at the award
- Francis Halzen: born in Tienen, based in Madison at the award
- Henri B. Kagan: born in Boulogne-Billancourt, based in Orsay at the award
- Kenso Soai: born in Hiroshima, based in Tokyo at the award
- Anne Carson: born in Toronto, based in Reykjavik at the award
- Navi Pillay: born in Durban
- Robert E. Hall: born in Palo Alto, based in Stanford at the award
- Michael Woodford: born in Chicopee, based in New York at the award
06 · Connections
Who trained whom
Karl DeisserothMentor · Richard TsienStudents · Feng Zhang, Viviana Gradinaru, Edward Boyden, Kay Tye, Ilana Witten, Priya RajasethupathyPeter HegemannMentor · Dieter OesterheltGeorg NagelMentor · Ernst BambergFrancis HalzenMentee · Markus AhlersHenri B. KaganMentor · Jean JacquesKenso SoaiMentor · Teruaki MukaiyamaAnne CarsonMentor · Alice CowanNavi PillayMentor · N. T. NaickerRobert E. HallMentor · Robert SolowStudents · Pete Klenow, Valerie RameyMichael WoodfordMentor · Timothy Kehoe07 · How this was made
How we made this
Research task CompletedPrompt
Research all the officially announced 2026 Nobel Prize winners and create a comprehensive article titled “Who Are the 2026 Nobel Prize Winners?” For each winner, cover their nationality, birthplace, education, universities attended, career history, major achievements, and contributions to their field. Focus heavily on their professional backgrounds and connections: where they've worked, previous employers, institutions they've been affiliated with, key collaborators, mentors, colleagues, and notable people they've worked alongside throughout their careers. Include interesting, lesser-known facts about their early careers, professional relationships, and career progression…
- Laureates
- 10
- Fields each
- 16
- Sources
- 95