Nobel Prize winners make better computers
In 2008 the Nobel Prize in Physics went to the co-discoverers of the material phenomenon known as giant magnetoresistance (GMR). GMR is basically what happens when you bring together really thin layers of different metals: you get a very powerful magnetic effect.
This discovery led to the ability to read data on high density hard drives, paving the way for the 100-gigabyte hard drive you have on your computer today. GMR was cited by the Nobel Prize committee as "one of the first applications of nanotechnology."