Rejection is a bitter pill, especially for scientists who pour years of effort into their work. Yet, history proves that rejection often precedes groundbreaking success.
Many of the world’s most celebrated scientific breakthroughs—work that later earned Nobel Prizes—were initially dismissed by academic journals.
This isn’t to say the peer-review process is flawed. On the contrary, rejection can refine ideas, ensuring they’re robust and impactful.
Peer review involves a meticulous evaluation by independent researchers who assess whether a study’s methods and conclusions hold up under scrutiny.
This rigorous process can delay publication but often improves the final product.
If you’ve ever faced rejection, take heart: even Nobel laureates had to contend with naysayers.
Here are eight remarkable examples of rejected scientific work that eventually changed the world.
1. Enrico Fermi’s Paper on Weak Interaction (1933)
Imagine being told your work is “too remote from reality.”
That’s exactly what happened to Enrico Fermi when he submitted his paper on weak interaction, one of the four fundamental forces of nature, to Nature.
Titled “An Attempt of a Theory of Beta Radiation,” Fermi’s paper was rejected.
However, the German journal Zeitschrift für Physik accepted it, and it laid the foundation for his groundbreaking research into beta decay.
Five years later, Fermi was awarded the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discoveries related to nuclear reactions.
His work remains fundamental to our understanding of particle physics today.
2. Hans Krebs and the Citric Acid Cycle (1937)
Even textbook-famous scientists aren’t immune to rejection.
Hans Krebs, known for the Krebs cycle, submitted his paper on the citric acid cycle to Nature, only to be told the journal had a backlog of submissions.
Feeling stymied, Krebs turned to the Dutch journal Enzymologia, which published his work later that year.
It proved to be a pivotal contribution to biochemistry, and in 1953, Krebs received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his discovery.
3. Murray Gell-Mann and the Naming of “Strange Particles” (1953)
Sometimes rejection doesn’t stem from the content but from something as simple as a title.
Murray Gell-Mann, who classified elementary particles, initially titled his paper “Isotopic Spin and Curious Particles.”
The editors of Physical Review rejected the title as insufficiently formal, forcing Gell-Mann to rename it “New Unstable Particles.”
Despite the editorial wrangling, his work earned him the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to particle classification.
4. Rosalyn Yalow’s Radioimmunoassay Method (1955)
Decades before winning the 1977 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Rosalyn Yalow faced skepticism from reviewers.
Her groundbreaking technique, radioimmunoassay, was rejected by The Journal of Clinical Investigation because it seemed implausible that humans could produce antibodies small enough to bind to insulin.
Undeterred, Yalow proved her critics wrong.
Today, radioimmunoassay is a cornerstone in medical diagnostics, used to measure hormones, drugs, and other substances in the body.
5. The Higgs Model and Initial Rejection (1964)
It’s hard to believe that the mechanism behind the Higgs boson, often called the “God particle,” was once deemed unworthy of rapid publication.
Peter Higgs, who co-developed the theory, had his seminal paper rejected by Physics Letters.
After revisions, the paper found a home in Physical Review Letters.
Nearly five decades later, in 2013, Higgs shared the Nobel Prize in Physics after experiments at CERN confirmed his theory.
6. Richard Ernst and NMR Spectroscopy (1966)
Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy revolutionized chemistry, yet its inventor, Richard Ernst, faced significant hurdles.
His paper, “Application of Fourier Transform Spectroscopy to Magnetic Resonance,” was rejected twice by the Journal of Chemical Physics.
Eventually published in the Review of Scientific Instruments, Ernst’s work earned him the 1991 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Today, NMR spectroscopy is indispensable for studying molecular structures.
7. Dan Shechtman and the Discovery of Quasicrystals (1984)
When Dan Shechtman submitted his paper on quasicrystals to Physical Review Letters, it was rejected for being “irrelevant to physicists.”
The journal suggested it was better suited to metallurgical researchers.
Shechtman’s work was ultimately published by Metallurgical Transactions A.
In 2011, he won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering quasicrystals—structures that defy traditional laws of crystallography.
8. Kary Mullis and the Invention of PCR (1993)
The polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which amplifies DNA, is now one of the most widely used techniques in molecular biology.
But when Kary Mullis submitted his first PCR paper to Science, it was rejected.
Ironically, three years later, PCR was named Molecule of the Year by the same journal.
Mullis received the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his invention, cementing PCR’s place in scientific history.
Why Rejection is a Stepping Stone to Success
These stories challenge the assumption that rejection equates to failure. If anything, they highlight the resilience and determination of the scientific community.
Rejection often forces researchers to refine their ideas, collaborate with new partners, or seek alternative outlets—steps that can lead to even greater success.
As Princeton professor Johannes Haushofer illustrated in his viral “CV of Failures,” setbacks are an integral part of any career.
They don’t define your potential; they prepare you for eventual breakthroughs.
Keep Pushing Forward
The path to innovation is rarely smooth. These eight examples underscore an important truth: even the greatest scientific minds faced skepticism and setbacks.
Their perseverance not only earned them Nobel Prizes but also transformed how we understand the world.
So, the next time rejection knocks on your door, remember these pioneers. Your greatest contribution might be just one revision—or one resubmission—away.
