The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1977 was awarded to Ilya Prigogine "for his contributions to non-equilibrium thermodynamics, particularly the theory of dissipative structures".

Thermodynamics is a central branch of modern science. The great contribution of Prigogine to thermodynamic theory in his successful extension of it to systems which are far from thermodynamic equilibrium. Prigogine has demonstrated that a new form of ordered structures can exist under such conditions, and he has given them the name ''dissipative structures" to stress that they only exist in conjunction with their environment. The most well-known dissipative structure is perhaps the so-called Benárd instability. This structure is wholly dependent on the supply of heat and disappears when this ceases. Dissipative structures display two types of behaviour: close to equilibrium their order tends to be destroyed but far from equilibrium order can be maintained and new structures be formed.