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The Nemmers Prize

Celebrating Brilliant Minds

About the Nemmers Prizes

Five cross-disciplinary prizes are awarded every other year

Awarded by Northwestern University, the prestigious Nemmers Prize recognizes renowned leaders from institutions outside of Northwestern who have made lasting contributions to new knowledge or the development of significant new modes of analysis. The prizes carry some of the largest stipends in their fields.

Family of Prizes

The nomination process for the Nemmers Prize differs slightly depending on discipline. Learn more about eligibility and requirements and make a nomination in your field of interest.

Multidisciplinary Nemmers Prize Winners with President Schill

Past Winners

Nemmers Prize winners are authorities in everything from quantum chaos to planetary habitats to music composition. They come from around the world, and they represent diverse perspectives that challenge the way we think. Shown here is Northwestern President Michael H. Schill (second from right) with 2022 Nemmers Prize winners Bhargav Bhatt (Mathematics), Emily Brodsky (Earth Sciences) and Ariel Pakes (Economics).

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The Nemmers Story

Erwin Esser Nemmers served on the faculty of the Kellogg Graduate School of Management from 1957 until his retirement in 1986. He was a man of wide-ranging interests who earned an undergraduate degree and master’s degree in music, a law degree from Harvard, a degree in aeronautical engineering from Iowa, and doctorates in both economics and law from Wisconsin. He and his brother, Frederic Esser Nemmers, were principals in a Milwaukee-based, family-owned church music publishing house. Together, they contributed $14 million to Northwestern upon their deaths and designated the gifts for two purposes: the establishment of four endowed professorships in the Kellogg Graduate School of Management and the establishment of the university-wide Nemmers Prizes.
Erwin Nemmers
Nemmers Prize Medals

Additional Information

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