Columbia, Cornell profs win Nobels

Awards in economics andAwards in economics andphysics are latest in longAwards in economics andphysics are latest in longstring of Ivy Nobel Prizes Nobel laureates have historically been well-represented on the faculties of the eight Ivy League universities -- and three more professors can now be added to that list. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced Tuesday that Columbia University Professor William Vickrey has received the 1996 Nobel Prize in Economics. Two Cornell University professors -- David Lee and Robert Richardson -- are sharing the Nobel Prize in Physics with one other researcher, the Academy announced Tuesday. Professor Emeritus William Vickrey, who has studied and taught economics at Columbia for more than 60 years, shares this year's Nobel Prize in Economics with British professor James Mirrlees. The Academy said the $1.2 million prize was awarded to the two economists for "their fundamental contributions to the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information." Vickrey's research, much of which was considered radical when he first began, focuses on the economic theory of public policy and the economics of uncertainty. Some of his proposals include a method to tax income evenly no matter when it was earned, and a system of billing motorists during peak hours of road congestion. Vickrey, who is known among economists as "the father of congestion pricing," said such pricing is a classic example of supply and demand. In a congestion pricing system, those who shift their driving schedules to non-peak hours reduce congestion, air pollution and energy use, according to Vickrey. "You're not reducing traffic flow, you're increasing it, because traffic is spread more evenly over time," Vickrey said in a statement. "Even some proponents of congestion pricing don't understand that." Under Vickrey's proposed system -- a modified version of which is used in Singapore -- electronic units installed in vehicles would activate recording devices embedded in the road to bill motorists during rush hours. Vickrey, who teaches political economy at Columbia, said he admits those who set public policy have not always accepted his ideas. "People see it as a tax increase, which I think is a gut reaction," he said. "When motorists' time is considered, it's really a savings." At Columbia, students and faculty alike were thrilled Vickrey received the Nobel Prize, which they said was much deserved. "We are exuberant," Columbia spokesperson Fred Knubel said. "The president of Columbia, George Rupp, introduced him at our news conference and said that the award was an honor to Dr. Vickrey and Columbia University as well. That shows how proud Columbia is." Mirrlees, professor of Economics at the University of Cambridge, received the award for relating Vickrey's research to taxation. Lee and Richardson, both of whom teach physics at Cornell, share this year's Nobel Prize with Stanford University Physics Professor Douglas Osheroff. Osheroff worked on the Prize-winning research with the two professors in 1971, while he was a Cornell graduate student. The physicists received the award for their discovery of the superfluid helium-3, a breakthrough in low-temperature physics, Cornell spokesperson Larry Bernard said. "There was no way to know in 1971 how important this research would become 25 years later," Bernard said. "It's a testament to the value of funding research without knowing what the ultimate result might be," Bernard added. Bernard noted that Lee still taught his 8 a.m. undergraduate course yesterday, despite finding out about his Nobel award earlier that morning. "That beautifully illustrates the role of teaching at a research university," Bernard said. "Of course, instead of giving his scheduled lecture, he talked about his research." The research that Lee and his partners performed revealed that the helium isotope helium-3 can be made a superfluid, a compound that can flow without resistance at about two-thousandths of a degree above absolute zero, or negative 273.15 degrees Centigrade. Lee said he has always felt his research made a significant contribution to the field of physics, but he did not expect it to bring him a Nobel Prize. "I couldn't believe it," Lee said in a statement, describing the 5:30 a.m. phone call he received from Sweden to announce his win. "I always felt that this was an important discovery but this was a surprise. I thought, I guess I'm dreaming."

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