Three U.S. scientists won the Nobel Chemistry Prize for pioneering work on computer programs that simulate complex chemical processes and have revolutionized research in areas from drugs to solar energy.
Michael Levitt, a British and US citizen of Stanford University, US-Austrian Martin Karplus of Strasbourg University, and US-Israeli Arieh Warshel of the University of Southern California share the prize.
The trio devised computer simulations to understand chemical processes. In doing so they laid the foundations for new kinds of pharmaceuticals.
“The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry 2013 have made it possible to map the mysterious ways of chemistry by using computers,” said the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
“Today the computer is just as important a tool for chemists as the test tube”. “Detailed knowledge of chemical processes makes it possible to optimise catalysts, drugs and solar cells” they added.
