autoevolution
 

Volkswagen Wins A Prize For Dieselgate Research, It's An Ig Nobel

Volkswagen has received an award it never dreamed of winning, the Ig Nobel.
"The Stinker", the official mascot of the Ig Nobel Prizes. 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from Ig Nobel's brochure
The German manufacturer won the Ig Nobel Award for Chemistry, and it got it thanks to its Dieselgate scandal. As the makers of the “anti-Nobel” awards explain, these distinctions are given to those that develop things that make people laugh, then think.

The Volkswagen emissions scandal, caused by the use of the “defeat device” has nothing funny about it, but it sure makes one think.

The 26th ceremony was held in the American city of Cambridge, on the campus of the Harvard University. Volkswagen did not send a representative to the ceremony, but the organizers have explained that the German company was chosen because it managed to “solve the excessive emissions problem every time its cars are tested.

We admit, this description is funny and made us LOL back in the autoevolution office.

The Ig Nobel awards were inspired by an American magazine of science and humor called the “Annals of Improbable Research,” and real Nobel Winners give the awards. The real Nobel Awards, this time, and the 2016 edition had four scientists awarded for their work over the years.

Choosing a winner in each category is certainly difficult, as the organizers have to select a research paper that was meant to tackle real-world problems. Unfortunately, the works that end up getting the Ig Nobel never manages to bring any good to society.

Most of the time, it is useless, like the research made by a group that studied the "perceived personality of rocks," as the BBC notes. In Volkswagen’s case, it caused a massive disruption of the automotive industry, which has also increased scrutiny of diesel engines and emissions testing procedures.

Every winner of the Ig Nobel Awards received a trophy shaped like a large clock, as well as bill that serves as tender for ten trillion dollars in Zimbabwe.

Unfortunately for any winner of this unwanted distinction, you cannot use the prize money for a night out drinking your sorrow, as inflation has caused ten trillion Zimbabwe dollars to be worth about a few cents in U.S. currency.

 

The 2016 Ig Nobel Awards Ceremony

If you liked the article, please follow us:  Google News icon Google News Youtube Instagram X (Twitter)
press release
About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
Full profile

 

Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?

You will only receive our top stories