Nobel Week at the Institute
Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson PhD ’89, and James A. Robinson shared the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel for 2024 "for studies of how institutions are formed and affect prosperity." Their work traces increased prosperity in nations today back to having more inclusive institutions during the colonial period. Acemoglu is an Institute Professor in the Department of Economics. Johnson received his PhD in Economics at MIT in 1989 and is the Ronald A. Kurtz (1954) Professor of Entrepreneurship at the Sloan School of Management.
Victor Ambros ’75 PhD ’79 and Gary Ruvkun shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for 2024 “for the discovery of microRNA and its role in post-transcriptional gene regulation.” microRNAs are small, highly conserved RNA molecules that play a crucial role in gene regulation. Ambros received his BS in Biology at MIT in 1975, followed by a PhD in 1979 with David Baltimore. Ambros and Ruvkun both completed their training at MIT with the Nobel Laureate and David H. Koch Professor H. Robert Horvitz ’68.