Nobel Laureates by Country & Prize, 1910-2010 [INFOGRAPHIC]

  
via forbes.com

Note how abruptly scientific leaders can become followers: in the first decades of the 20th century, when Heidelberg and Freiburg were at the center of the academic universe, Germany won more Nobel prizes than any other country: 38 between 1901 and 1931, outpacing the U.S. by a factor of two and a half. But Nazism and the Second World War decimated Germany’s academic apparatus, and the U.S. recruited many of its best scientists. Between 1950 and 1980, Germany won just 16 Nobel prizes. The United States took 117.

The United States owes much to its commanding lead in scientific research, including technological advancement, prosperity and security. Whether it will be able to retain that lead is an important question whose answer depends on whether the country is willing to maintain its warm embrace of science: generous government support in the form of research grants and measures to make higher education accessible; reasonably open borders that make it possible to bring in the world’s best minds; and rich universities and foundations that support long-term theoretical research. Read the rest at Forbes.

Tagged Basic Research Economics Economy Education History InfoGraphic Literature Nobel Laureates Nobel Prize Science Scientific Research Timeline statistics
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