Japan and the Nobel Science Prizes: The First Half Century, 1901-1949

日本与诺贝尔科学奖：上半个世纪，1901 年至 1949 年

• 批准号: 0241042
• 负责人: James Bartholomew
• 金额: $ 14万
• 依托单位: Ohio State University Research Foundation -DO NOT USE
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2003
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2003-02-15 至 2007-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0241042&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Japan; Nobel; Science; Prizes; First

Support is requested to complete the research for a book dealing with the Japanese scientific community and the Nobel Prizes during the first half of the twentieth century. The book will have ten chapters in all, seven case study chapters of eight Japanese Nobel candidacies (two combined in one chapter) and additional chapters discussing the social, political, and intellectual context of the project; Japanese scientists' activities as Nobel nominators; and the conclusions drawn from the study. The time parameters reflect the Nobel institution's 50-year rule regarding use of archival materials. Conception of the project reflects earlier historical work on the creation of a modern tradition of scientific research in Japan after 1868 but with some attention to developments in the preceding centuries. It is also informed by the intense public and professional interest in the Nobel Prizes evident in Japan since 1981. Although the physicist Yukawa Hideki succeeded in winning a Nobel Prize in 1949, several other strong Japanese candidates were unsuccessful in the period. A number of essays and short books have briefly discussed some of these candidacies but never with any use of archival materials. These commentaries often assume that each Japanese candidate was wrongly denied an award, and that some form of racism was likely responsible. While not denying that racism existed at the time among some in the international scientific community and acknowledging that such beliefs could sometimes have influence, this study broadens the frame of reference and advances several other factors to explain developments: Japanese factionalism, meddling by Japanese officials, the shift away from German and French and toward English after World War I, and Japanese concentration in medicine, a particularly broad, highly competitive research arena.

请求提供支助，以完成一本关于日本科学界和二十世纪上半叶诺贝尔奖的书的研究工作。本书共分十章，七章是关于八位日本诺贝尔候选人的案例研究（两章合在一章），另外几章讨论了该项目的社会、政治和知识背景;日本科学家作为诺贝尔提名人的活动;以及从研究中得出的结论。时间参数反映了诺贝尔机构关于使用档案材料的50年规则。该项目的概念反映了1868年后日本建立现代科学研究传统的早期历史工作，但也注意到了前几个世纪的发展。这也反映了自1981年以来日本公众和专业人士对诺贝尔奖的浓厚兴趣。虽然物理学家汤川秀树在1949年成功地获得了诺贝尔奖，但在此期间，其他几位强大的日本候选人都没有成功。一些论文和短篇书简要地讨论了其中的一些候选人，但从未使用任何档案材料。这些评论通常假设每个日本候选人都被错误地拒绝获奖，并且某种形式的种族主义可能要负责。虽然不否认当时在国际科学界的一些人中存在种族主义，并承认这种信念有时会产生影响，但本研究报告扩大了参考框架，并提出了其他几个因素来解释事态发展：日本的宗派主义，日本官员的干预，一战后从德语和法语转向英语，以及日本对医学的关注，一个特别广阔的、竞争激烈的研究竞技场。