Below is a list of the prizewinners during the period 1971 – 1980 with a description of the works which won them their prizes:

(1971) G HERZBERG – for his contributions to the knowledge of electronic structure and geometry of molecules, particularly free radicals; (1972) C B ANFINSEN – for his work on ribonuclease, especially concerning the connection between the amino acid sequence and the biologically active confirmation; S MOORE & W H STEIN – for their contribution to the understanding of the connection between chemical structure and catalytic activity of the active centre of the ribonuclease molecule; (1973) E O FISCHER & G WILKINSON – for their pioneering work, performed independently, on the chemistry of the organometallic, so called sandwich compounds; (1974) P J FLORY – for his fundamental achievements, both theoretical and experimental, in the physical chemistry of macromolecules; (1975) J W CORNFORTH – for his work on the stereochemistry of enzyme-catalyzed reactions; V PRELOG – for his research into the stereochemistry of organic molecules and reactions; (1976) W N LIPSCOMB – for his studies on the structure of boranes, illuminating problems of chemical bonding; (1977) I PRIGOGINE – for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures; (1978) P MITCHELL – for his contribution to the understanding of biological energy transfer through the formulation of the chemiosmotic theory; (1979) H C BROWN & G WITTIG – for their development of the use of boron- and phosphorus-containing compounds, respectively into important reagents in organic synthesis; (1980) P BERG – for his fundamental studies of the biochemistry of nucleic acids, with particular regard to recombinant- DNA; W GILBERT and F SANGER – for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids.

Readership: Chemists and other scientists.

"These volumes present impressive coverage of the substantial foundation of the road on which advances in Chemistry was laid during two decades ... The volumes are thus rich source-books for historians of Chemistry ... A general impression of astonishment is created. The depth and range of the lectures is remarkable ...These are accounts of the prize-winner's work at two levels. Each scientist is introduced to the general audience (before receiving his prize) by a spokesperson appointed by the Swedish Academy. Their brief statements usually succeed in clearly placing the recipients contributions in the wide field of chemical science, and, incidentally, reveal some of the considerations which have led to his award. Then the scientist gives his own account of his work. This is not only valuable as a summary of all-important developments, it often indicates the source which triggered the studies and the factors (frequently colleagues) contributing to their success ... These volumes offer a rich lode to be mined by students of Chemistry. They are, in every sense, weighty volumes and will add greatly to any reader's appreciation of the research interface of Chemistry."

"Judging from these two chemistry volumes the Nobel Foundation made an excellent decision ... The lectures present a panoramic view of the frontiers of chemistry in the two decades covered ... These volumes are worthy of their contents. They are elegant, produced with taste and care. The prices are surprisingly low if compared with prices of similar volumes on the market. World Scientific is to be congratulated for this project in its entirety ... I recommend them to all chemists, and in particular, to all graduate students."