Thank you for making the third year of Sigma Xi's Nobel Prize prediction contest, October Madness, a great success! While our top predictions for the prizes in chemistry, physics, and physiology or medicine did not go on to win Nobel Prizes, this was the second year that a nominee on our brackets won! That honor goes to Rainer Weiss and Sigma Xi member Kip S. Thorne who, with Barry C. Barish, won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics for contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves.
LIGO team leaders explains what gravitational waves are and how they detected them in this video.
Drawing Winner
The public sent in their nominations for our October Madness brackets before the Nobel Prizes were announced. Those who nominated someone who went on to win a 2017 Nobel Prize were entered into a drawing. Sigma Xi members had the chance to win a free year of membership dues while non-members could win a year of dues for the Sigma Xi Affiliate Circle.
The winner of this year's drawing is Sigma Xi member Ian Redmount, who was among those who nominated Kip Thorne for our brackets. Congratulations on winning a year of membership dues, Ian! Watch for an email from me with more details.
What's Next
Check back here on Keyed In next summer for the 2018 edition of October Madness! You can also follow along on Sigma Xi's social media with #OctoberMadness.
A Look Back at the 2017 Edition of October Madness
Announcement of Champions
Finals
Final 4
Elite 8
Sweet 16
Call for Nominations
Heather Thorstensen is the manager of communications for Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society.