Nobel Prize 2024 in Physics: Scientists Honored for Advancing Machine Learning

Oct 9, 2024, 13:00 IST

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for their discoveries and inventions that made machine learning possible through artificial neural networks. Find out more about their contributions and the cash prize they will receive.

Each Nobel Prize winner will receive a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $900,000).
Each Nobel Prize winner will receive a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $900,000).

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics has been awarded to John J. Hopfield and Geoffrey E. Hinton for their important discoveries and inventions that helped make machine learning possible through artificial neural networks.

The 2024 Physics Nobel laureates developed techniques that have greatly aided in the development of contemporary machine learning by utilizing resources from their respective fields.

Contribution of John Hopfield

Princeton University professor John J. Hopfield created a network that employs a technique for storing and re-creating patterns. The Hopfield network makes use of physics to explain the properties of a material based on its atomic spin, which is a feature that turns every atom into a small magnet.

The Hopfeld network meticulously goes over the nodes and modifies their values when it is fed a distorted or partial image, causing the network's energy to decrease. As a result, the network searches in steps for the saved image that most closely resembles the faulty image it was given.

Contribution of Geoffrey Hinton

The Boltzmann machine, a novel network that employs an alternative technique, was developed by University of Toronto professor Geoffrey Hinton using the Hopfield network as a basis. This has the ability to identify distinctive components in a certain kind of data. Professor Hinton applied techniques from statistical physics, the study of systems composed of numerous identical parts.

Images can be classified using the Boltzmann machine, which can also be used to generate new instances of the pattern types it was trained on. Building on this work, Mr. Hinton has contributed to the current explosive development in machine learning.

Nobel Prize 2024: Cash Prize

The Nobel announcement week began on Monday, October 7, 2024, with the announcement of the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology for discovering microRNA and its role in controlling gene activity after transcription.

Each Nobel Prize winner will receive a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (about $900,000). The cash will be presented on December 10. 

Everything You Need to Know About Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize was established by Alfred Nobel, a Swedish inventor, who stated in his will that his estate should be used to fund prizes for those who have greatly benefited humanity in the past year.

The task of presenting the Nobel Prizes in Physics and Chemistry fell to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine went to the Karolinska Institutet; the Nobel Prize in Literature went to the Swedish Academy; and the Nobel Peace Prize went to a committee consisting of five members chosen by the Norwegian Parliament (Storting).

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is responsible for choosing the winners of the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel, which was created by Sveriges Riksbank in 1968.

Vidhee Tripathi
Vidhee Tripathi

Content Writer

Vidhee Tripathi completed her PG Diploma degree in Digital Media from Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. She is a graduate in Science with chemistry honors from Banaras Hindu University. She has 2 years of experience in various aspects of journalism. She was previously associated with the social media wing of Akashvani. At jagranjosh.com, currently she covers current affairs, national news and international news. She is also associated with the education news section of Jagran Josh.

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