California Adds Two Nobel Laureates to Its 130+ Total With Medicine and Economics 2026 Honorees

Stanford’s Hoover Institute’s Senior Fellow Emeritus, Robert E. Hall, and Stanford’s Karl Deisseroth, the D.H. Chen Professor of Bioengineering have both been awarded Nobel Prizes for their groundbreaking work. Drs. Hall and Deisseroth’s awards constitute the 40th award of a Nobel to Stanford faculty and the over 130 Nobel’s awarded to California residents.

Dr. Robert E Hall, Senior Fellow Emeritus, Hoover Institute; Professor of Economics, Stanford

A Palo Alto native and product of local schools before attending the University of California, Berkeley and receiving his PhD from MIT, Dr. Hall has spent his life explaining the operations of the larger economy (macroeconomics) through the operations of individual and regional economic decisions (microeconomics).

His most noted work is as a chief proponent of the Flat Tax for nearly 45 years or research, writing, and advocacy.

He is sharing the 2026 Nobel in Economics for his work in building large scale economic models based on actual day-to-day economic behavior of individuals and their organizations. In turn, these models have been a far better predictor for policy makers than previous models which dated back to the turn of the last century.

Dr. Karl Deisseroth, DH Chen Professor of Bioengineering, Stanford

Dr. Deisseroth is sharing the 2026 Nobel Prize in Medicine for his description in the field of optogenetics in which proteins not native to mammals can be synthesized into mammalian neurons, which in turn produce those neurons upon stimulation from blue light. Optogenetics has grown into a major field of study in the role neuron activation has in all manner of daily life from mood, to vision, to sleep and waking patterns.

For over a century since the introductions of field specific Nobel Prizes, California has been called home by over 130+ Nobel prize winners and the groundbreaking work they and their colleagues have achieved in the advancement of nearly every field of research.

Innovation and the culture needed to encourage groundbreaking innovation is a key part of the success story of the West and the Association of Western Employers congratulate Drs. Hall and Deisseroth on the awards and achievements in their fields.