His first book, "Virus Dynamics" (written with Robert May) was published by Oxford University Press in 2001. Nowak is a corresponding member of the Austrian academy of sciences. He won the Weldon Memorial Prize, the Albert Wander Prize, the Akira Okubo Prize, the David Starr Jordan Prize and the Henry Dale Prize. Nowak's 2006 book "Evolutionary Dynamics: Exploring the Equations of Life" earned him praise from other scientists along with the R.R. Hawkins Award for the Outstanding Professional, Reference or Scholarly Work of 2006 from the Association of American Publishers.