By Eric Heng
The Emery
Ann Arbor Huron HS
1st Place Division 1, News Writing
Feature Columnist
JUDGING CRITERIA
- Sharp attention-getting leads
- Expresses personal opinions; uses consistent style
- Reflects thought/research, freshness, individuality
- Effective use of facts/quotes or supporting material
- Informative, interesting, entertaining
- Upholds journalistic integrity
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar
This month, John B. Goodenough will become the oldest Nobel laureate at 97 years young. His work propelled the lithium ion battery to prominence. Goodenough is known for his gregarious laugh, which could often be heard throughout whichever building he happened to be in, which also followed his words of advice when he was first told about his laudation: “Don’t retire too early!” Goodenough, alongside M. Stanley Whittingham and Akira Yoshino, will be awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to the development of the rechargeable lithium-ion battery. The lithium-ion battery is revolutionary because it is both light and deteriorates slowly, which allows rechargeable batteries to be reused many times over, while still carrying enough energy to power your phone. A lithium ion battery works by storing and releasing energy between lithium ions and atoms. Goodenough revolutionized the process by optimizing the power out of the battery by using different lithium compounds. And now, you have lithium-ion batteries in the latest renewable energy options and wireless products. In fact, there’s probably one humming along, powering your iPhone or Samsung as you read this. It looks like Goodenough’s work was clearly good enough.
The Nobel Prize is awarded every year in November to individuals or organizations who have made outstanding contributions to the fields of chemistry, physics, medicine, economics and peace. Each laureate is also awarded roughly one million dollars in prize money, split among the laureates. Some discoveries that won Nobel Prizes are now so commonplace they are taken for granted. Penicillin in antibiotics, the double-helix structure of DNA, and the discovery of insulin- all life-changing discoveries that are now simply established fact. So yes: the science Nobel Prizes can be anything from abstract, more theoretical research (this year’s Nobel in Physiology or Medicine involved the discovery of the specific metabolic pathway that cells use to sense oxygen, for example), to obviously applicable technology (like Goodenough’s batteries). This year’s Nobel in Physics, given to James Peebles, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz for their joint discovery of the first exoplanet, lies somewhere in between. But more importantly, the mission of the Nobel Prizes is a celebration of humanity’s achievements. The excitement of science is its process of continuous discovery and development. Each Nobel Prize reminds us of the search for truth, and the innovations that come with it. That’s why each Prize is awarded for remarkable work that has wide-ranging affects not only in their respective fields, but directly usable to peoples’ lives – if not today, then tomorrow. The next time you look at your phone, recognize the great achievements throughout history necessary to construct it. Of course, it’s up to us to continue creating great discoveries worthy of Nobel prizes. It’s up to us to be good enough.