Center for the Study of Jobs and Education in Wisconsin
And United States
175 Nobel Prizes in Science: U.S. Science Education the World?s Best
By Dennis W. Redovich
October 2003
The United States leads the world in technology and the quality of its scientists because U.S. science education is the worlds best. From 1951 to 2003 Americans have won 185 or 55% of the 334 Nobel Prizes awarded in Medicine, Physics and Chemistry. In October 2003 the United States won five of the seven Nobel Prizes for science achievement. The country of citizenship of Nobel Prize winners in 2003 is; Medicine: American 1, Great Britain 1, Physics: American 2, Russia 1, Chemistry: American 2.
The media and experts the media chooses to quote frequently declare the following:
1. American elementary and secondary education is below the academic level of education in other countries, particularly in science and mathematics.
2. The quality of American colleges and universities is generally considered to be exalted in the world of postsecondary education.
How could both of these statements be correct? I believe that the first statement is absolute nonsense and the second is absolutely true. American colleges and universities attract students from all over the world, particularly in science and engineering because it is believed that they are the best in the world. I believe American university students who primarily come from American high schools that produce large numbers of bright, innovative, competitive, and hard working graduates create the high quality of American colleges and universities. Another reason for the superiority of American postsecondary education is the exemplary democratic American culture, which is the most competitive and utilitarian in the world.
Certainly, the primary reason for the high quality of American baccalaureate and graduate education is not because postsecondary instruction and teachers have been shown to be superior to elementary and secondary education teachers in the United States. Universities are as good as their students. The best ?teachers? in the world are, without a doubt, primary school teachers. But even kindergarten teachers in the United States are not spared the wrath of the American school bashers.
It is incomprehensible how American school critics, including politicians and conservative think tanks, are allowed to get away with the bashing of all American K-12 schools based on dim-witted analysis of invalid and useless international tests without serious challenge by an academically disadvantaged media. The recognition of the absurd criticisms of American education, and science in particular, by too many political leaders, illustrates the absolute ignorance of what is being accomplished in American schools.
Unfortunately, school bashers of all persuasions dominate the media.
Unbelievably American K-12 schools are said to be in crisis in math and science if in any given year Americans do not receive a majority of Nobel Prizes. However American K-12 public education systems get none of the credit for the United States leadership in science, technology and the global economy for the last 60 years.
Nobel Prizes in Science -Chemistry, Physics and Medicine 1951 to 2003
The United States is by far the leading country in the world since 1951 in awards of Nobel Prizes in Science, which include Chemistry, Physics and Medicine-Physiology. United States scientists received 185 or 55% of the 334 Nobel Prizes in Science awarded from 1951 to 2003. The United States has received a majority of Nobel Prizes in Science each decade from 1951 to 2000. From 1991 to 2003 U.S. scientists earned 49 (57%) of the 86 Nobel Prizes in Science. The following table shows the top 10 countries in the world in numbers of Nobel Prizes in Science awarded 1951 to 2003.
Top 10 Countries in the World - Nobel Prizes in Science 1951 to 2003
Country of Citizenship Chemistry Physics Medicine Total Nobel Prizes
Nobel Prizes-Science Nobel Prizes Nobel Prizes Nobel Prizes In Science 1951-2002
96 117 123 334
1. United States 45 (47%) 70 (60%) 70 (57%) 185 (55%) 0f all Prizes
2. Great Britain 19 (20%) 7 (6%) 19 (15%) 45 (13%)
3. Germany 10 (11%) 12 (10%) 9 (7%) 31 (9%)
4. Russia 1 (1%) 9 (8%) 2 (2%) 12 (4%)
5. France 0 4 (3%) 5 (4%) 9 (3%)
6. Sweden 0 2 (2%) 6 (5%) 8 (2%)_
7. Japan 4 (4%) 3 (3%) 1 (1%) 8 (2%)
8. Canada 3 (3%) 2 (2%) 0 5 (2%)
8. Dutch 1 (1%) 4 (3%) 0 5 (2%)
10. Switzerland 2 (1%) 0 3 (2%) 5 (2%)
The remaining countries of the world won 22 Nobel Science Prizes 1951 to 2003
Chemistry 11 (12%) Physics 4 (3%) Medicine 7 (6%) Total 22 (7%)
Nobel Prizes in Science 1901-2003
1901 to 1950 and 1951 to 2003 Nobel Prizes for sciences were awarded as follows:
Nobel Prizes for Chemistry 1901 to 2001
Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total
1901-1950 7 (15%) 39 (85% 0 46
1951-2003 45 (47%) 40 (42%) 11(11%) 96
Nobel Prizes for Physics
1901-1950 9 (17%) 43 (80%) 2 (4%) 54
1951-2003 70 (60%) 41 (35%) 6 (5%) 117
Nobel prizes for Medicine and Physiology
1901-1950 15 (25%) 44 (73%) 1 (2%) 60
1951-2003 70 (58%) 47 (39%) 4 (3%) 121
Total Nobel Prizes for Science
Americans All of Europe All Other Countries Total
1901-1950 31 (19%) 126 (79%) 3 (2%) 160
1951-2003 185 (55%) 127 (38%) 22 (7%) 334
1901-2003 216 (44%) 253 (51%) 25 (5%) 494
(Sources: World of Winners Gale Research, World Almanac 1999, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel October 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003)
The percentage of Americans receiving Nobel prizes in Science (chemistry, physics, physiology or medicine) increased from 19%, 31 prizes 1901 to 1950, to 55%, 185 prizes from 1951 to 2003. The Europeans completely dominated the winning of Nobel prizes for the first 30 years (Germans and British were the biggest winners). Americans received only 6 prizes in the first 30 years (Europeans earned 86) and Americans received their first prizes in Physics 1907, Chemistry 1914 and Physiology or Medicine 1930. Since 1950 Americans have dominated the winning of Nobel prizes in Physics and Physiology or Medicine and have been about equal in Chemistry. However, since 1980 Americans have won 25 Chemistry prizes while all of Europe has won 11.
Critics of American science education have implied that foreign-born scientists are the primary reason for the American dominance in science since World War II. That is not the case. In the tabulations by country in this study the country designated for the scientist is the country where the scientific work was done. For example, Albert Einstein received a 1921 Nobel Prize for work he did in Germany and was counted as a German recipient and not as a U.S. citizen. Dramatic increases of American recipients of Nobel prizes have occurred since 1970 with a few foreign-trained scientists earning prizes. On the other hand, many foreign born scientists come to the U.S to receive their advanced science education and then remain in the U.S. because the world knows that the U.S. is the best in science. If a Nobel Prize winner is not a U.S. citizen and earns a Nobel Prize in the U.S. they are counted as a recipient from their native country.
The visible quality accomplishments of American scientists and engineers are recognized throughout the world. At a European conference for institutional research held in Trier Germany in 1989 a German presenter pointed out that Americans had received 41 Nobel Prizes for chemistry and physics from 1979 to 1989 while all of Europe earned 20. The speaker used this data as part of his criticism of European science education as compared to the United States. When I asked him how many Nobel Prizes the Japanese had received in the last ten years he said two. (Japan has won only 8 Nobel Prizes in Science 1901-2003, 2 in 2002) Japanese universities are not highly regarded in the world for their academics, but Europeans and Americans have feared the economic strength of Japan until the later 1990s when their economic strength severely declined and continues to decline in 2002. (Unbelievably, in the 1980s and early 1990s American economists were stupidly saying that the superiority of the Japanese economy was because their K-12 education systems were superior to the United States.)
The quality of American education continues to improve as the media berates it based on irrelevant and invalid standardized testing. Insane is too mild a term for the standardized testing mania that is sweeping the United States. Some praise for American students at all educational levels might motivate our exemplary American schools to improve even more. There is no doubt; American schools produce the finest scientists in the world. And the American educational systems, most notably including American K-12 education, continue to upgrade the quality of their science graduates each year.
My views are based on 49 years of active experience in American education as an administrator, educational researcher and a chemist who taught chemistry at the secondary and university level in the 1950?s and 60?s.
Dennis W. Redovich, redovich@execpc.com
Originally written October 1992 and revised each year October 1993 to 2003
See www.jobseducationwis.org for Center reports on American Education
As a public speaker or as a consultant he may be contacted at 6438 Sycamore St. Greendale WI 53129 414-421-1120
Dennis W. Redovich retired as Director of Research, Planning and Development from the Milwaukee Area Technical College in 1991 after 28 years of service. He has taught chemistry and math at three Wisconsin high schools (Clinton, Wilmot and Whitefish Bay) and chemistry at MATC, UW-Milwaukee and Marquette University. Education: B.S. University of Wisconsin-Madison 1955, M.S. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 1960, M.A.T. Indiana University 1963, Ed.D. Marquette University 1971. Presently Dr. Redovich is an educational consultant, public speaker and Center Director of the Center for the Study of Jobs & Education in Wisconsin. Dennis W. Redovich has presented at six international educational conferences (U. of Twente Holland 1987, Trier Germany 1989, Brussels 1992, Jerusalem Israel 1996, Helsinki Finland 1997 and Beijing China 1999).
Advisory Board
Anne Arnesen WISKIDS, Dr. Gerald Bracey Education Researcher, August Cibarich Ret. Economist WI DWD, Leon Todd Consultant, Attorney Ed Garvey, Bob Haase Sen. Citizens, Prof. Maureen Keyes UWM, U.S. Rep. Jerry Kleczka, Tim McElhatton MPS Research, Sen. Gwen Moore, Prof. Alex Molnar ASU, Robert Miranda Ed. For the People, Dr. Lee McMurrin Ret. MPS Supt., Susan Ohanian Education Author, Dan Pryzbyla Ret. MPS/Chicago Teacher, Dr. Michael Rosen MATC, Edwin J. Taibl Ret. President MATC, Mike Tokheim WTCS System, Prof. William Velez UWM, Dr. Karin Wells Economist WI DWD, John Weigelt MPS-ASC
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