NOBEL LAUREATES FROM 2024 HONORED AT NYC PARKS’ NOBEL MONUMENT CEREMONY

NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa yesterday joined Swedish Consul General Erik Ullenhag, U.S. Representative Jerrold Nadler, Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine Laureate Dr. Victor Ambros, Executive Director of the Nobel Foundation Hanna Stjärne, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, students from the nearby Anderson School P.S. 38, and members of the community to unveil eight new Laureates' names inscribed on the Nobel Monument at Theodore Roosevelt Park. After the celebration, Dr. Ambros spoke with students from the Anderson School about the importance of hard work and curiosity.

"This annual celebration of our Nobel winners demonstrates how our public parks provide spaces for great minds of all ages and backgrounds to connect with nature and with one another," said NYC Parks Commissioner Iris Rodriguez-Rosa. "The Nobel Monument is a symbol of our city's commitment to free inquiry, celebrating intellectual achievement. Events like this are so important for inspiring the next generation of scientists and artists, and I'm so grateful to our partners at the Swedish Consulate General for their enduring partnership on this event."

Dr. Ambros and Dr. Gary Ruvkun were awarded this year's Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their 1993 discovery of microRNA. This class of tiny RNA molecules plays an important role in gene regulation, affecting how organisms develop and function by determining which "instructions" different types of cells receive from an organism's genome.

The Nobel Monument was installed in 2003 as a joint initiative of the Consulate General of Sweden and NYC Parks with the purpose of honoring American Nobel Laureates, as well as the prize's founder, Alfred Nobel. The pink granite obelisk, designed by Swedish sculptor Sivert Lindblom with a bronze relief portrait of Nobel by A. Lindberg, was placed in the park named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the United States' first recipient of the Nobel Prize. President Roosevelt was awarded the 1906 Peace Prize for his role bringing an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

"The message I want to tell you students is: you're good enough. You bring something that nobody else can bring," said Laureate Dr. Victor Ambros. "You want to be a scientist? Go for it. You want to be an artist, a musician? Go for it. Because you can do it. That's what I've learned from my experience: a random, normal person can bring something to the table. The cliche about following your dreams is true. It really can happen."

The 2024 American Nobel Laureates whose names were just inscribed on the monument are: Daron Acemoglu (Economics), Victor Ambros (Physiology/Medicine), David Baker (Chemistry), John J. Hopfield (Physics), Simon Johnson (Economics), John Jumper (Chemistry), James A. Robinson (Economics), and Gary Ruvkun (Physiology/Medicine).

No other country has been home to as many Nobel Prize recipients as the United States. Since the prize was first presented in 1901, hundreds of Americans have attained universal recognition for their achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, and literature, and for their efforts to achieve world peace, and their names have been inscribed on the Nobel Monument.