Strange Electrons and Plant Immunity:
The 2025 Wolf Prizes

The Wolf Prize, Israel’s most prestigious award, is an international annual prize recognizing excellence in science and the arts. This year, the prize will be awarded to one female scientist and seven male scientists in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, and agriculture, while the arts prize will be awarded in the field of architecture. Each prize includes a $100,000 award, with the ceremony set for June at the Knesset.

Physics: Deciphering the Fractions

The original (“classical”)  Hall effect was discovered in 1879, when student Edwin Hall showed that a magnetic field applied perpendicular to a conductive material can alter the flow of electrons, generating voltage and resistance—contrary to expectations at the time. Decades later, the quantum Hall effect was discovered, revealing that voltage and resistance change not continuously but in fixed, discrete steps. Eventually, the fractional quantum Hall effect was identified, in which electrons behave as if they carry only a fraction of their usual charge—such as 1/5 or 1/7 of an electron’s charge. Three of the scientists who discovered this effect received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1998.

Jainendra K. Jain of Pennsylvania State University developed the theoretical framework to explain this phenomenon, demonstrating that electrons behaving as if they have fractional charges can be treated as "composite fermions"—quasi-particles that behave like electrons bound to magnetic flux. His theoretical explanation aligned with laboratory findings, including those showing that these quasi-particles exhibit superconductivity-like properties.

James P. Eisenstein of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) played a pivotal role in the discovery of a quantum Hall state at the fractional value of 5/2. Prior to this breakthrough, only states with odd-denominator fractions—such as 1/3 or 1/5—had been observed, making his finding a significant milestone. Eisenstein also developed techniques to isolate single-electron layers, enabling the study of electron motion within these layers and revealing previously unobserved quantum phenomena. His work revealed unique electron behaviors in such systems, offering new insights into the nature of quantum effects.

Electrons behave as if they carry fractional charges rather than whole ones. Fractional Quantum Hall Effect | Illustration: Mari Ishida, University of Tokyo

Moty Heiblum of the Weizmann Institute of Science, the only Israeli among this year’s prize recipients, led the experimental study of these unique particles. Heiblum and his colleagues developed ultra-high-purity semiconductor materials, creating narrow gaps between them that allow electrons to move solely in two dimensions. Using innovative techniques they developed, they were able to measure properties of the particles moving within these confined spaces.

“In 1997, we measured the fractional Hall effect for the first time, which paved the way for the Nobel Prize awarded to its discoverers the following year,” Heiblum told the Davidson Institute website. “Our team succeeded in measuring the particles’ charges, and over time, we also managed to measure thermal conductivity—rather than electrical conductivity—leading to the discovery of the elusive Majorana particle, which is extremely difficult to detect by other means.”

“It’s incredibly exciting to receive news of such an award,” Heiblum added. “On one hand, it’s very gratifying; on the other, it’s also surprising. I didn’t expect it, and it feels a bit like being hit over the head with a hammer. I hope the celebrations will pass quickly so I can get back to working with my students—that’s what truly interests me.”

When asked about the potential applications of his and his fellow laureates’ discoveries, Heiblum responded: "This is pure science, not necessarily applied research. Every smartphone contains millions of transistors where electrons move in two-dimensional layers, but at room temperature, we don’t observe the effects we study, which occur close to absolute zero and under strong magnetic fields. There are proposals to use Majorana particles as qubits—the fundamental units of quantum computers—but that’s not my focus. I seek to understand the physics because it’s beautiful."

Potential applications in quantum computing, but the real focus is on the beauty of physics. From left: Jain, Eisenstein, and Heiblum | Photos: Wolf Foundation

Medicine: The Battle Against Viruses

The 2025 Wolf Prize in Medicine will be awarded to Pamela Bjorkman of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) for developing innovative strategies to counter viral defense mechanisms.

Born in Oregon in 1956, Bjorkman earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University, where she began deciphering the three-dimensional structure of the MHC (Major Histocompatibility Complex)—a protein system that presents fragments of pathogens to T cells, enabling an effective immune response. She later joined Caltech, where her lab focuses on studying the human immune response to viruses, with the aim of developing effective vaccines and treatments to enhance the natural immune response.

Bjorkman’s research centers on decoding the 3D structure of proteins involved in immune responses, primarily through crystallography—a method that involves crystallizing the protein and exposing it to X-rays to reveal its spatial structure. Using this and other techniques, she has identified the precise structure of proteins involved in immune responses, including both immune system proteins and pathogen proteins. Bjorkman and her colleagues mapped the structure of key proteins involved in immune responses to influenza viruses and HIV, the virus responsible for AIDS. Her work on HIV highlighted the importance of antibodies that recognize conserved components in the virus’s envelope proteins.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bjorkman has led pivotal research into the structure of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein. She developed strategies to produce similar proteins that elicit a broad immune response against coronaviruses, aiming to improve vaccine effectiveness. In addition, she pioneered an innovative approach for selecting antibodies that target conserved protein regions shared across most variants of a given virus, thereby enhancing the immune response and advancing vaccine design

"Pamela Bjorkman’s work provides a glimpse of a new rational design strategy for future vaccines to deal with humanity’s greatest immunization challenges ," stated the Wolf Foundation in its announcement.

Deciphering the three-dimensional structure of proteins involved in immune responses against viruses. Pamela Bjorkman | Photo: Wolf Foundation

Chemistry: Accelerating Reactions

The 2025 Wolf Prize in Chemistry will be awarded to Helmut Schwarz of the Technical University of Berlin for his contributions to understanding catalytic processes and developing methods for designing catalysts tailored to specific chemical reactions.

Born in 1943, Schwarz studied at the Technical University of Berlin, where he later returned as a faculty member after completing postdoctoral research in the United States. His primary field of research is catalysis—substances known as catalysts that accelerate or enhance chemical reactions without being consumed in the process. Schwarz’s investigations into electron behavior during chemical reactions enabled the identification of specific components within catalysts responsible for increasing reaction efficiency. These insights paved the way for the development of catalysts designed for particular chemical processes. The use of such catalysts allows for cleaner, less polluting, and more energy-efficient production of fuels and other materials.

Schwarz focused his research on gas-phase catalysis, and his contributions were so significant that Gerhard Ertl—Nobel and Wolf Prize laureate in Chemistry— referred to him as the “Mozart of Contemporary Gas-phase Catalysis.” Among other achievements, he developed methods for single-atom catalysis and combined experimental research with quantum calculations to explore ways to optimize chemical reactions.

A major focus of his work has been the carbon–hydrogen bond—one of the most fundamental bonds in nature. His findings provided new insights into how this bond forms and breaks, enabling more efficient utilization of simple hydrocarbons, such as methane (CH₄), a potent greenhouse gas, and helping to reduce environmental damage. Notably, he developed a platinum-catalyzed process for large-scale efficient production of hydrogen cyanide (HCN)—an important industrial chemical—by platinum mediated coupling of ammonia (NH₃) and methane (CH₄), known as the DEGUSSA process.

Schwarz’s research methods rely heavily on mass spectrometry—a technology used to determine the composition of substances by measuring the mass-to-charge ratio of their components. He refined and advanced this technique for applications that allow the investigation of electron transfer between atoms within molecules, a principle underlying many of his discoveries and technological advances.

Schwarz is known as a strong supporter of Israel and frequently collaborates with Israeli researchers. In honor of his 80th birthday, the Israel Journal of Chemistry published a special issue reviewing his contributions. Over the years, he has been awarded honorary doctorates by the Technion, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Research enabling cleaner and greener production of fuels and other materials. "The Mozart of Contemporary Gas-phase Catalysis," Helmut Schwarz | Photo: Wolf Foundation

Agriculture: The Plant Immune System

The human population continues to grow, and with it, the need to provide enough food for billions of people. This challenge falls first and foremost on farmers and is further intensified by the effects of climate change. A major threat to agricultural crops is plant disease, caused by bacteria, fungi, and viruses. This threat becomes even more severe as agriculture increasingly focuses on a narrow range of crops and specific varieties within each crop—a strategy that makes it more vulnerable to diseases and epidemics. The 2025 Wolf Prize in Agriculture will be awarded to three researchers who discovered and deciphered natural mechanisms that enable plants to defend themselves against pathogens.

Brian Staskawicz of the University of California, Berkeley, was the first to identify a gene in a plant-infecting bacterium that influences its virulence. His discovery, made in the 1990s, confirmed a half-century-old hypothesis that plant gene products interact with the virulence genes of pathogens. He was also the first to clone plant genes responsible for disease resistance.

Jeffrey Dangl of the University of North Carolina and Jonathan Jones of the Sainsbury Laboratory in the UK, independently discovered the mechanisms that activate plant immune responses. They identified receptors that recognize proteins from pathogens, both inside plant cells and on their outer surfaces. Both researchers—and Staskawicz as well—independently identified several such receptors. Jones was also the first to clone genes that grant plants resistance to specific pathogens.

In a joint 2006 publication, Dangl and Jones proposed a detailed model of the plant immune system and its modes of action. The model, along with subsequent updates, summarizes current knowledge on how plants detect and respond to disease-causing agents.This work lays the foundation for applying these insights to protect agricultural crops from bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other pathogens.

Discovering how the plant immune system recognizes and fights pathogens. From left: Dangl, Staskawicz, and Jones | Photos: Wolf Foundatio

Architecture: Preservation and Economic Development

The 2025 Wolf Prize in Arts will be awarded to architect Tiantian Xu, founder of the Design and Architecture (DnA) studio in China. Born in 1975, Xu studied architecture in Beijing, earned a master’s degree from Harvard University, and worked in Boston and later in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, before returning to China in 2004 to establish her firm. She leads an innovative approach to rural development, based on the integration of local materials and traditional construction techniques in her projects, while focusing on strategic key points rather than large-scale interventions.   Her work focuses on community, shared spaces, and sustainability.

Her firm has helped revitalize small villages in Songyang County, China, through the construction of public buildings such as a bridge reconnecting two villages separated by a flood, and a water conservation center. Many of Xu’s projects have strengthened local economies and improved working conditions, including the Brown Sugar Factory in Xing Village, a tofu Factory in Caizhai Village, the Huiming Tea Space on the Chimu Mountain, and a rice wine factory.

One of her most remarkable rural projects is the delicate transformation of nine abandoned stone quarries in Jinyun County into extraordinary, environmentally sensitive public spaces. These projects have not only stimulated regional development but also made visible the important cultural and economic history of the area.

"Tiantian Xu is awarded the Wolf Prize both for her outstanding design talent, as well as for her sensitivity and innovation in using that talent to the economic, social and cultural betterment of villages throughout rural China," the award committee stated. "Her work can be characterized as timeless and timely, paving the way to a better future – a time that lies ahead.

Developing rural areas with sensitivity to the environment, sustainability, and the strengthening of their economic foundations. Tiantian Xu | Photo: Wolf Foundation

The Prize That Predicts the Nobel

Ricardo Wolf was born in 1887 in Hanover, Germany, and settled in Cuba before World War I. Together with his brother Siegfried, he developed an efficient method for extracting iron from foundry waste. Their invention was widely adopted by factories worldwide, earning Wolf considerable wealth. Despite amassing his fortune through capitalism, Wolf was a passionate socialist and a staunch supporter of Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba.  In 1960, Castro appointed him as Cuba’s envoy to Israel )a diplomatic position ranked below ambassador).  Wolf held the post until Cuba severed diplomatic ties with Israel in 1973 following the Yom Kippur War,  but he chose to remain in Israel until his death in 1981.

In 1975, Wolf established the foundation that bears his name, awarding prizes to outstanding scientists and artists worldwide. While the foundation also supports young scientists through scholarships and research grants, it is best known for the prestigious Wolf Prize, awarded in the sciences and the arts. The prize is given annually in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, mathematics, and agriculture, as well as in several artistic disciplines, on a rotating basis.

The Wolf Prize is often regarded as a “predictor of the Nobel Prize”, as approximately one-quarter of its laureates in physics, chemistry, and medicine were later awarded a Nobel Prize. A recent example is Gary Ruvkun and Victor Ambros, laureates of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their discovery of microRNA, who had previously been awarded the Wolf Prize in 2014.