The nominating institution SLAC Stanford on the breakthrough:
The advent of the high-temperature superconducting materials in 1986 has motivated the enduring search for novel systems that one day may carry lossless electricity at room temperature. Using a novel Jenga building block approach, we have discovered a superconducting nickel oxide. This new class of nickelate superconductors arouses intriguing new questions and offers fresh terrain in the study of high-temperature superconductivity.