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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →The Nobel committee may know exactly when it will call; the person on the other end may be asleep, teaching, or unsure whether the call is real. Accounts from several laureates show no single way to experience the moment—and they do not establish that every winner spent the preceding days expecting it.
When does the Nobel committee call?
For the Nobel Prize in Physics, former committee member Mats Larsson says the committee calls laureates a few minutes after making its decision, then goes to the press conference. “We call the laureates a few minutes after the decision has been made, although we do not always manage to reach them,” he told INFN in an interview published 30 September 2026. Read the INFN interview.
That account is specific to Physics; it should not be treated as a description of the call procedure for every Nobel category. Even within Larsson’s account, the committee may not reach the laureate directly or straight away.
What might the call interrupt?
Local time and ordinary commitments shape what happens when the call comes through. Some laureates have been asleep; Anne L’Huillier was teaching when the Physics committee tried to reach her in 2023. After the committee contacted her husband to find a way to reach her, L’Huillier spoke with them after class and then returned to teaching.
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Other stories show how different the first moments can be. These are individual accounts, not a survey of laureates, so they cannot tell us which reaction is most common.
Disbelief: Brian Kobilka
Kobilka initially let the phone ring because he thought it might be a wrong number. Once he heard the news, he recalled the experience as a blur. The calls continued through the night, and a news agency came to his home. Stanford Report’s account describes his reaction and the sudden attention that followed.
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Asleep and caught off guard: Paul Milgrom
Milgrom’s phone was off while he slept. His co-winner and neighbor, Robert Wilson, came to his door to wake him. Stanford Report recounts Wilson saying, “Paul, wake up! You’ve won the Nobel Prize.” Milgrom said he was disoriented and wondered whether Wilson meant that “we” had won. Read Stanford Report’s account.
Someone else answers: Katalin Karikó
Karikó was asleep when the call came; her husband answered. The Nobel Prize’s interview description says the call woke her at home outside Philadelphia. Read the Nobel Prize interview.
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A missed call: Willard Boyle
Boyle’s Nobel Prize interview recalls a mix-up: he woke but did not reach the telephone in time for the Royal Swedish Academy’s call. The account also recalls the phone ringing at five o’clock and a voice from Stockholm. Read the Nobel Prize interview.
Teaching when the committee calls: Anne L’Huillier
L’Huillier’s class was still in progress when the Physics committee tried to contact her in 2023. After reaching her by way of her husband, the committee spoke with her once she had finished teaching. About ten minutes later, she told them she was delighted—and that she had to get back to class. Larsson’s INFN interview describes the episode.
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Does a laureate spend the days waiting for the call?
Not necessarily. The stories above record what happened when particular people were contacted; they do not establish what all laureates expected beforehand or whether they were actively waiting. The Nobel nomination process is confidential: according to Larsson, candidates cannot nominate themselves, and nominations are kept confidential for 50 years or longer in some circumstances. Qualified nominators submit names, which are then reviewed by committees and specialists. The Nobel Prize’s nomination information explains the confidentiality rules.
That secrecy helps explain why the call can come as a surprise, but it cannot tell us what any individual privately believed. Nor does being nominated mean a person knows they are under consideration.
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What happens after the news?
For some recipients, the shift from private surprise to public attention is immediate. Kobilka described calls continuing through the night and a news agency arriving at his home. In L’Huillier’s case, the award news briefly interrupted a teaching day, but she returned to her class. The change can be abrupt, yet the experience depends on the person’s circumstances rather than following one standard script.
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