The Ig Nobel Prizes

By Damla Kose

What has been your most noble experience? For some people, it is receiving a Nobel prize, one of the most prestigious awards a person can receive in their respective fields. While receiving a Nobel Prize constitutes a major motivation to increase constructive contributions towards humanity, many people are unaware of its satirical underrated sibling: The Ig Nobel. Organised by the Annals of Improbable Research, a scientific humour magazine, the Ig Nobel Prize aims to celebrate unusual scientific achievements while “honour[ing] achievements that first make people laugh, and then make them think.” Its name is a pun on the word ‘ignoble’ (meaning not honourable). But is the Ig Nobel Prize really ignoble?

"Back then, many people had assumed that it was an April Fool’s spoof when his research was published in the April 1997 issue of Physics World"

Sir Andre Geim is the first individual to have won both a Nobel Prize and an Ig Nobel Prize. In 2000, Geim received an Ig Nobel Prize for using magnets to levitate a frog, showing that water is able to act against Earth’s gravitational force under a magnetic field. Back then, many people had assumed that it was an April Fool’s spoof when his research was published in the April 1997 issue of Physics World. Then, in 2010, he received a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on graphene, which is a special type of carbon with a myriad of modern uses and is also the world’s first two-dimensional material.

Graphene is known as a ‘wonder material’ due to its strength, transparency, flexibility, conductivity and light weight. The future applications of graphene push the limitations of the human mind: flexible batteries with a longer lifespan, graphene oxide membranes for water filtration, next-generation electronics, targeted drug delivery, smart implants and many more.

While his work on floating a frog with a magnetic field might seem trivial in comparison, it escalated research towards future moon-landings two decades later. Earlier this year, Chinese scientists who were inspired by Geim’s work utilised a powerful magnetic field within a vacuum chamber to simulate low-gravity conditions, similar to those found on the Moon. The researchers aim to test equipment and tools to observe their reaction in a low-gravity environment, aiding them in selecting the correct equipment for future space missions. This would speed up the upcoming plans to land on the Moon as well as other human spaceflights.

In this example, Geim’s research on graphene and floating frogs have led to major contributions to science and humanity. So why is the Nobel Prize still considered by many as being more noble than its counterpart? Graphene is worth the label of nobility because of its application potential, which was immediately recognised by the scientific community, despite the research being relatively new. It is known that the future applications of graphene will change the world. However, when Geim floated a frog with magnets, neither he nor the scientific community were aware of the future possible contributions of this research – making it seem like a cheap trick

An article published in The National titled, ‘A Noble Side to Ig Nobels’, points out that, despite criticisms of trivial research, the Ig Nobel Prize also motivates significant breakthroughs. For example, the 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in Biology was awarded to a study on malaria mosquitoes (Anopheles gambiae) which found that the insects considered the smell of human feet and that of Limburger cheese equally appealing. Although this research seems trivial, it inspires a way to combat the malaria epidemic. Scientists baited traps with Limburger cheese and placed them in various locations in Africa to cope with malaria outbreaks. Similarly, Prof. Dorian Raymer and Dr Douglas Smith received an Ig Nobel Prize in Physics by investigating a character’s observation in Jerome’s comic novel Three Men in a Boat on how a rope gets tangled if not handled carefully. They realized that similar to the rope, stringlike molecules like DNA can get tangled as well, which will lead to incorrect readings of genetic code and could result in potentially fatal results. Fortunately, DNA has evolved to untangle itself in various ways. This research has led to the development of anti-bacterial and anti-cancer agents that target the anti-knotting abilities of DNA.

"However, the examples mentioned raises questions about whether scientific work can only be noble when its results contribute to science in an intuitive way. "

Despite the prior examples, many people criticise the Ig Nobel Prize. Former Imperial College London professor and Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK government, Sir Robert May, raised his concerns about British scientists becoming frequent Ig Nobel laureates. He was worried that receiving such awards may harm the career prospects and reputation of British scientists.

However, the examples mentioned raises questions about whether scientific work can only be noble when its results contribute to science in an intuitive way. This reminds one of the dilemma of ‘art for art’s sake or art for society’. Nowadays, science is accepted if it has direct impacts on society. However, the Ig Nobel Prize exemplifies how science for science’s sake can also be a noble cause. In contrast to a Nobel Prize, which is a gold medal and a massive monetary award, an Ig Nobel Prize itself is made of inexpensive materials that are subject to disintegration. The fact that the Ig Nobel Prize focuses on scientific contributions that are done regardless of fame and money makes this seemingly trivial prize, and the research it celebrates, worthy of nobility. ■

Damla Kose is a BSc Chemistry student.

Somewhere beyond

Kelly Briggs