Frenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Dutch scientist Bernard Feringa and British-born J Fraser Stoddart  won the 2016 Nobel Prize in chemistry for developing molecular machines.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said that, the laureates share the 8 million kronor ($930,000) prize for the "design and synthesis" of molecules with controllable movements, which can perform a task when energy is added.

According to the academy, the molecular machines "will most likely be used in the development of things such as new materials, sensors and energy storage systems."

The chemistry prize was the last of this year's science awards. The medicine prize went to a Japanese biologist who discovered the process by which a cell breaks down and recycles content.

The Guardian reported,  Rienk Eelkema, assistant professor at Delft University of Technology got his PhD under Bernard “Ben” Feringa. He describes Feringa as enormously enthusiastic.

“He is very ambitious in that he always wants his group to work at the same (or higher) level as world-leading groups in his topics. He would typically frame this in football terms: ‘we should compete in the Champions League’ or something to that effect. This would create an atmosphere where people had the feeling they were doing something interesting and important, and that there was a sense of urgency in a good, motivating way,” Eelkema said.

Also Read: British Trio wins 2016 Nobel Prize for Physics!

Nandini