Originally posted October 4, 2010

Because I’ve got to hold out hope for something

October 4, 2010

This morning, as you are reading this, the first of this year’s Nobel Prizes have been awarded for Physiology or Medicine. (Added morning of 10/4: The prize went to Robert G. Edwards, the scientist who developed in vitrofertilization.) But, I am writing this on the 3rd, and I don’t know who the winner will be. I certainly know I won’t win it. I also won’t be winning the award for Chemistry (or is it Biology now … I can never remember any more). All I can hope for is that one of my favorite chemists will win! (Sorry for the shameless plug, but I am certain that the Nobel committee religiously reads our blog.)

As if the impending Nobels weren’t enough to make me feel inadequate as a researcher, I’ve also had to go yet another year without being named a MacArthur Genius (shocking!).

Thankfully, the good people at Improbable Research have given me reason to hope for my future through their Ig Nobel Awards. (“What does that mean, Ig Nobel?” “Ig Nobel is when you’re MORE than Nobel!”) Really, though, the Ig Nobels combine passion for science, cutting edge research and a sophomoric sense of humor that should be just up my alley for a future award. (Fingers crossed)

So, for your reading pleasure, here are this years awardees along with the primary citations.

ENGINEERING PRIZE: Using remote controlled helicopters to safely remove whale snot. Awarded to Karina Aceveddo-Whitehouse, Agnes Rocha-Gosselin and Diane Gendron. Primary Citation

MEDICINE PRIZE: Discovery that rollercoasters relieve the symptoms of asthma. Awarded to Simon Rietveld and Ilja van Beest. Primary Citation

TRANSPORTATION PLANNING PRIZE: Optimizing Tokyo’s railways by studying how slime would overtake the city. Awarded to Toshiyuki Nakagaki, Atsushi Tero, Seiji Takagi, Tetsu Saigusa, Kentaro Ito, Kenji Yumiki, Ryo Kobayashi of Japan, Dan Bebber and Mark Fricker. Primary Citation

PHYSICS PRIZE: A study showing that the fashionable fad of wearing socks outside of your shoes reduces your chance of slipping and falling during the icy wintertime. Awarded to Lianne Parkin, Sheila Williams and Patricia Priest. Primary Citation

PEACE PRIZE (and my personal favorite): Swearing makes you feel better. F*cking H&ll it does!! Awarded to Richard Stephens, John Atkins and Andrew Kingston. Primary Citation

PUBLIC HEALTH PRIZE: Bearded men have more bacteria on them than non-bearded men do. (Watch yourself, DRW) Awarded to Manuel Barbeito, Charles Mathews and Larry Taylor. Primary Citation

ECONOMICS PRIZE: Development of new and unusual ways to invest money. Awarded to the executives of Goldman Sachs, AIG, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Magnetar. Primary Citation

CHEMISTRY PRIZE: For proving that oil and water do mix. Awarded jointly to BP (bu-dum-ching!) and Eric Adams, Scott Socolofsky, and Stephen Masutani. Primary Citation

MANAGEMENT PRIZE: For showing that promoting at random (instead of by merit or old-boy-network) would make companies more efficient. Awarded to Allesandro Pluchino Andrea Rapisarda and Cesare Garofalo. Primary Citation

BIOLOGY PRIZE: This is straight from the article title … I can’t possibly make this any better. “Fellatio by Fruit Bats Prolongs Copulation Time” Yessir it does! Awarded to Libiao Zhang, Min Tan, Guangjian Zhu, Jianping Ye, Tiyu Hong, Shanyi Zhou, and Shuyi Zhang. Primary Citation

One of the fun things about research is that you never are quite sure where it is going to lead you. But, if you happen to win an Ig Nobel, chances are you are having fun doing research. And that is truly one of the greatest things you can hope for if you are a scientist.

-mrh