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Michael Nobel (born in Stockholm) is a member of the Nobel family, a descendant of Ludvig Nobel, a former head of the Nobel Family Society (1995–2006),[1] a co-founder and former Chairman of the Nobel Charitable Trust, and most commonly known for his part in developing the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). At present, Nobel serves on several international boards that focus on scientific, medical and charitable initiatives. He is an advocate and authority on environmental issues and alternative energy technology.[2][3][4]
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A member of the Nobel-Oleinikoff branch of the Nobel family, Michael Nobel is the grandson of Marta Helena Nobel-Oleinikoff (née Nobel) and the great-grandson of industrialist and humanitarian Ludvig Nobel, the founder of Branobel and one of the world's richest men in his time. Ludvig was also the brother of Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite and established five prizes in the family name. His legal last name was originally Nobel-Oleinikoff, but his father Sven Nobel-Oleinikoff would eventually change their branch's legal name to simply Nobel, his mother's name (there are no male-line descendants of either of the Nobel brothers alive today). Sven Nobel-Oleinikoff was Chairman of the Nobel Family Society for several years, as was his son.
Dr. Michael Nobel has a lengthy educational background which began at Harvard Business School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In 1967, Nobel completed his studies at the Graduate Institute of Communications in Stockholm. Years later, in 1979, Dr. Michael Nobel obtained a doctorate in psycho-pedagogy at the University of Lausanne. His thesis evaluated the effectiveness of substance abuse prevention programs in Switzerland.[5]
Dr. Nobel is a consultant on energy issues and gives regular keynote lectures on the subject. He serves as a guest professor at the Solutions Science Research Laboratory at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, University of Japan, one of the world’s foremost institutions in its field.[6][7]
Nobel is a chairman or board member of twelve international companies in diagnostics, treatment and information in the field of medicine, most notably as chairman on the Board of Directors, Governors or Scientific Advisors. Michael Nobel is also serves on several not for profit organizations in youth education and development as well as founder and trustee of the Nobel Charitable Trust Foundation and he chairs its sister organization NCT Asia, an organization that bestows scholarships for sustainable energy discoveries and organizes conferences and symposiums in the same field.[8][9][10]
Notably, The Director of the Nobel Foundation, Michael Sohlman, and the elected head of the Nobel family disapproves of the institution of the Nobel Charitable Trust (NCT) [11]
In 1980, Michael Nobel participated in the introduction of MRI, a field he worked in for 24 years. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a technique used in diagnostic imaging to create a detailed visual of internal structures. It provides contrast between the different soft tissues of the body making it especially useful in brain, muscles, heart, and cancer research.
Dr. Michael Nobel has been a consultant to UNESCO in Paris and the United Nation’s Social Affairs Division in Geneva. He also worked for seven years as a researcher in social sciences at the Institute for Mass Communication at the Lausanne University and at the Department of Social Psychiatry at the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine in the field of primary drug abuse prevention.
In 2005, Dr. Michael Nobel received the Albert Einstein Medal for Outstanding Achievements in Life Sciences and Technology and in 2007 the International Order of Perfection, First Class in Moscow. Over the years, Nobel has received several international citations and awards for his work in the fields of medicine and conflict resolution. Dr. Michael Nobel has received an honorary doctorate from Soka University and an honorary professorship from the National Academy of Science of Azerbaijan. Michael Nobel also sits on a number of prominent international prize committees
Dr. Michael Nobel was awarded the Gandhi, King, Ikeda Award from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 2002. It had only been given once before, to Prince El Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan. In 2004, he became the Board of Trustees Citation Recipient from the Midwest Research Institute of Kansas City and was appointed foreign member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. Nobel has also received the UNESCO medal for outstanding contributions to the cultural dialogue between nations. Two Rotary clubs, in Miami and Karlskoga, have appointed him honorary member and Rotary International has conferred on him the Paul Harris Fellowship Award. [12]
Additionally, Michael Nobel has received the keys to the city from not only one, but two Hollywoods — California and from Hollywood in Broward County.
Most recently, Dr. Michael Nobel was awarded the Gusi Peace Prize in 2010, an honor from the Philippines dedicated to "Excellence and distinction to individuals or groups worldwide who have distinguished themselves as brilliant exemplars of society or who contributed toward the attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity." [13][14]
In 2007, the Nobel Charitable Trust, founded by Michael Nobel, Gustaf Nobel, Peter Nobel, and Philip Nobel, announced their plans to establish a new Nobel prize, the Michael Nobel Energy Award, that will award innovations in alternative energy technology. It will be the first new Nobel prize established by the Nobel family since Alfred Nobel established his prizes. However, it will be awarded by the Nobel Charitable Trust and not by the Nobel Foundation, although both are organisations founded by the Nobel family.[15][16]
The plan was announced at nanoTX 07. The Nobel Foundation quickly reacted by threatening legal action for "clear misuse of the reputation and goodwill of the Nobel Prize and the associations of integrity and eminence that has been created over time and through the efforts of the Nobel Committees".[17] The Director, Michael Sohlman, of the Nobel Foundation and the elected head of the Nobel family disapproved to the institution of the so called 'Dr. Michael Nobel Award' as well as the Nobel Charitable Trust (NCT) and Nobel Family Benevolent society.[18]