| Media Note Office of the Spokesman Washington, DC November 30, 2001 Fulbright Program Alumni Win Nobel Prize
Two U.S. alumni of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ Fulbright Program, Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University and George A. Akerlof of the University of California at Berkeley, were honored at a White House reception on Tuesday celebrating their 2001 Nobel Prize in economics. President Bush recognized the Nobel laureates for using their "great gifts" to the fullest in their contributions to society. Stiglitz and Akerlof’s contributions form the core of modern information economics. Stiglitz, who was Chief Economist and Senior Vice President for the World Bank (1997-99) and Chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors (1995-97), and Akerlof, since 1994 senior non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, both earned doctorates in economics from MIT in 1966 and were awarded Fulbright fellowships at the beginning of their careers. Stiglitz was a Fulbright Fellow in economics at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom (1969-70). Akerlof was a Fulbright Scholar at the Indian Statistical Institute in New Delhi (1967-68). Stiglitz and Akerlof, who share this year's Nobel Prize in economics with A. Michael Spence of Stanford University, "laid the foundation for a general theory of markets with asymmetric information" during the 1970s. "The Fulbright Program played a pivotal role in my professional development, both by providing me with an opportunity to broaden my intellectual horizons, studying with some of the world’s leading economists at Cambridge University, and enabling me to see the world through quite different perspectives," said Joseph Stiglitz. "Some of the research collaborations I began during that year have lasted over the following three decades. The international perspectives served me well, especially when I became Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank." This is the second consecutive year in which the Nobel Prize has been awarded to an alumnus of the Department of State's Fulbright Program. Dr. Alan G. MacDiarmid of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Dallas received the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2000. Dr. Stiglitz, Dr. Akerlof and Dr. MacDiarmid join a distinguished group of 27 Fulbright Program alumni from seven countries who have been awarded the Nobel Prize for their contributions to humanity in the fields of chemistry, economics, medicine and physics (see attached list). The Department of State's Fulbright Program promotes mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries through educational and cultural exchange. Since the Program's inception in 1946, more than 250,000 Fulbright grantees from 140 countries have had the opportunity to teach, study, or conduct research while exchanging ideas and developing joint solutions to shared problems. Media contact: Catherine Stearns, (202) 203-5107 or email cstearns@pd.state.gov Department of State Fulbright Program alumni who are Nobel Laureates: Dr. George A. Akerlof – USA, Economics 2001 Dr. Joseph Stiglitz – USA, Economics 2001 Dr. Alan G. MacDiarmid – New Zealand, Chemistry 2000 Dr. Douglass C. North – USA, Economics 1993 Dr. Erwin Neher – Germany, Medicine 1991 Dr. Trygve Haavelmo – Norway, Economics 1989 Dr. Susumu Tonegawa – Japan, Medicine 1987 Dr. James M. Buchanan – USA, Economics 1986 Dr. Franco Modigliani – USA, Economics 1985 Dr. Carlo Rubbia – Italy, Physics 1984 Dr. William Alfred Fowler – USA, Physics 1983 Dr. Bengt Samuelsson – Sweden, Medicine 1982 Dr. Philip W. Anderson – USA, Physics 1977 Dr. Rosalyn S. Yalow – USA, Medicine 1977 Dr. Milton Friedman – USA, Economics 1976 Dr. Wassily Leontief – USA, Economics 1973 Dr. Paul Samuelson – USA, Economics 1970 Dr. Hannes Alfven – Sweden, Physics 1970 Dr. Lars Onsager – USA, Chemistry 1968 Dr. Hans Bethe – USA, Physics 1967 Dr. Robert Sanderson Mulliken – USA, Chemistry 1966 Dr. Charles Hard Townes – USA, Physics 1964 Dr. James D. Watson – USA, Medicine 1962 Dr. Emilio Segre – USA, Physics 1959 Dr. Joshua Lederberg – USA, Medicine 1958 Dr. Chen Ning Yang – USA, Physics 1957 Dr. Felix Bloch – USA, Physics 1952 Inquiries about the Fulbright Program may be made to Rhonda E. Boris, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, (202) 619-4360 or email rboris@pd.state.gov Released on November 30, 2001 |
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