Current Affairs October 2018 - Awards

---

---

1 - 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics

The 2018 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded collectively to Arthur Ashkin, Gerard Mourou, and Donna Strickland for their pioneering discoveries in ‘laser physics.’

• Ashkin was honoured for his invention of “optical tweezers”.

• Mourou and Strickland were honoured for generating ultra-short optical pulses, which are the shortest and most intense laser pulses ever created by a human being.

• Donna Strickland became the third female Nobel laureate in Physics after Marie Curie in 1903 and Maria Goeppert Mayer in 1963.

2 - 2018 Nobel Prize in Medicine

The 2018 Nobel Prize for Medicine was given collectively to ‘James P. Allison (US) and Tasuku Honjo (Japan)’ “for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation.”

• Allison is the Head of Department - Immunology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.

• Tasuku Honjo is Deputy Director-General and Distinguished Professor of Kyoto University Institute for Advanced Study (KUIAS).

3 - 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2018 was divided into two halves, one half awarded to Frances H. Arnold "for the directed evolution of enzymes", the other half jointly given to George P. Smith and Sir Gregory P. Winter "for the phage display of peptides and antibodies."

• Frances Hamilton Arnold is an American chemical engineer and Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering and Biochemistry at the California Institute of Technology.

• George P. Smith is an American biologist and He is a Curators' Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, US.

• Sir Gregory Paul Winter (CBE FRS FMedSci) is a British biochemist best known for his work on the therapeutic use of monoclonal antibodies.

4 - 2018 Nobel Prize for Peace

Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad were jointly given 2018 Nobel Prize for Peace “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”.

• Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynecologist. He founded and works in Panzi Hospital in Bukavu, where he specializes in the treatment of women who have been raped by armed rebels.

• Nadia Murad Basee Taha is an Iraqi Yazidi human rights activist who lives in Germany.

5 - 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature

The 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature has been postponed.

6 - 2018 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (Sveriges Riksbank Prize)

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2018, was jointly given to William D. Nordhaus (American economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University) for his work - “integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis” and Paul M. Romer (American economist) for his work “integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis.”

7 - US Plans To Honour Mahatma Gandhi With Congressional Gold Medal

Six influential US lawmakers, including four Indian-Americans, have moved a resolution in the US House of Representatives to award the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal to Mahatma Gandhi posthumously in recognition of his promotion of peace and non-violence. On 23^rd September 2018, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney introduced the resolution (H R 6916) in the US House of Representatives from New York.

The Congressional Gold Medal is the highest civilian honour given by the US Congress. Some of the eminent foreigners who have been received this award are Mother Teresa (1997), Nelson Mandela (1998), Pope John Paul II (2000), the Dalai Lama (2006), Aung San Suu Kyi (2008), Muhammad Yunus (2010), and Shimon Peres (2014).

8 - 5 Distinguished Personalities Selected for Rachana Awards

Rachana – Catholic Chamber of Commerce and Industry has selected final list of 5 distinguished people for the Rachana Awards 2018.

They are:

9 - Marsel van Oosten Won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018

Dutch photographer Marsel van Oosten has won Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 for his photo titled “The Golden Couple.” The Golden Couple is the remarkable photo of a pair of endangered golden snub-nosed monkeys in central China’s Qin Ling Mountains (shown in the picture).

For the second place, in the competition was awarded to 16 years old Skye Meaker, who won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 award.

These awards are given by London’s Natural History Museum and two winning images will be showcased in an exhibition featuring 98 other entries at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition, running from October 19^th until July 1^st 2019, (by the Natural History Museum in London).

10 - Arshdeep Singh Won Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Asia) Award

10 years old Arshdeep Singh won the Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Asia) Award 2018, for his photograph ‘Pipe Owls,’ at the Natural History Museum, London.

Native of Jalandhar, Punjab, Arshdeep Singh started taking photographs at the age of 6. His work has been published in various national and international publications including Lonely Planet UK, Lonely Planet Germany, Lonely Planet India, BBC Wildlife UK, etc.

11 - Carnot Prize 2018 Confirmed to Union Minister Piyush Goyal

Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has been awarded the 4^th annual Carnot Prize 2018 by Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, United States.

The award has been presented to Piyush Goyal as a recognition to the major transformations in India’s energy sector, which aims to eliminate energy poverty with sustainable energy solutions.

Given by Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania School of Design, United States, Carnot Prize is given to the leading revolutions in energy policy through scholarship or practice.