Photo Flash: New Inscriptions Unveiled at Nobel Monument in NYC

New inscriptions to the nation's only Nobel Monument were unveiled on September 22 by NYC Parks Commissioner Veronica M. White, Ambassador of Sweden to the U.S. Björn Lyrvall, Ambassador of Norway to the U.S. Kåre Aas, and Dr. Robert J. Lefkowitz, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry of 2012. Also in attendance was Dr. Peter Agre, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry of 2003; Dr. Robert Wilson, Nobel Laureate in Physics of 1978; Dr. Lee Goldman, Dean of the Columbia University Medical Center; Jean Donahue, principal at the Bronx High School of Science; as well as several members of the New York Academy of Sciences and faculty from New York University and Columbia University. Scroll down for a photo!

"The parks of New York City are home to numerous monuments, both large and modest, from commemorative plaques to triumphal arches - but the Nobel Monument in Theodore Roosevelt Park is unique in that it honors intellectual achievement," said Commissioner White. "We are proud to pay tribute to the five newest American Laureates by adding their names to this grand monument, so that New Yorkers and visitors alike may reflect on their vast contributions to society."

No other country has had as many Nobel Prize recipients as the United States since the awards were first presented in 1901. The first American to be awarded the Nobel Prize was President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Since then, 332 Americans have had universal recognition of their achievements in physics, chemistry, literature, economy, physiology / medicine and for work in peace.

The American Nobel Laureates of 2012, whose name inscriptions were unveiled on the monument, are:

David J. Wineland, Physics

Robert J. Lefkowitz, Chemistry

Brian K. Kobilka, Chemistry

Alvin E. Roth, Economics

Lloyd S. Shapley, Economics

Dr. Lefkowitz, attending and speaking on behalf of all the honorees, is a native New Yorker and a graduate of Bronx High School of Science, Columbia College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Currently, he serves as James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University as well as Professor of Biochemistry. He has been an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute since 1976. Dr. Lefkowitz was awarded the Nobel Prize for his studies of G-protein-coupled receptors.

The Nobel Monument was erected in 2003 in a joint project initiated and overseen by the Consulate General of Sweden and the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation with the purpose of honoring all American Nobel Laureates as well as the founder of the Nobel Prize, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel. The monument was fittingly placed in the park named after President Roosevelt, the United States' very first recipient of the Nobel Prize. It is the only monument in a City park with the names of living persons inscribed.

The monument, which now includes the names of all 332 American Nobel Laureates, was designed by renowned Swedish sculptor Sivert Lindblom and financed through the generous support of Merck Company Foundation, Skanska, Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation, Ambassador and Mrs. Lyndon L. Olson Jr., and NCR Corporation.