In recognition of his invention of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, he shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Michael Smith and earned the Japan Prize in the same year.
Zbog toga što je izumio tehniku Polimerazne lančane reakcije (PLR), podijelio je Nobelovu nagradu 1993. sa Michaelom Smithom te osvojio i Japansku nagradu iste godine.