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The 2014 Kyoto Prize
2014
11 /11 Tue
Place：Kyoto International Conference Center
The 2014 Kyoto Prize Kyoto Prize Laureates
Lecture topics
The Struggles and Dreams of a Young Chemical Engineer
Abstract of the lecture
I grew up in Albany, New York, U.S.A. and was first attracted to chemistry when I was 11 years old and received a chemistry set. I loved conducting chemical reactions that caused color changes, and making rubber and other materials. In college and graduate school, I majored in chemical engineering. When I graduated, most of my classmates went into the oil industry. But even though the jobs were high paying, I was not excited about that because I wanted a job where I would be able to help people by improving their education or their health. So I applied to colleges to teach and to medical schools to do health related research. However, no one would hire me. Finally, Judah Folkman, a famous surgeon, offered me a job at Boston Children’s Hospital. I ended up being the only engineer doing research in the hospital and I got many ideas about how to apply engineering to medicine. When I finished that job, I applied for faculty positions, but no engineering department would hire me because they felt I wasn’t doing engineering. Finally, I got a job offer at the Nutrition and Food Science department at MIT. However, things went very poorly there in the beginning. Many scientists said that my early discoveries (in the areas of polymer science and how blood vessel growth could be halted) were wrong because they went against conventional wisdom. My first 9 research grants were rejected, and 2 of the most senior faculty told me that I should leave the department and look for another job. But I did not give up and eventually numerous scientists and companies started using my research and eventually I did receive grant support. Today, many of the concepts that we developed have led to products that have improved or saved people’s lives. Throughout my life-with its challenges and setbacks–I’ve developed the philosophy to dream big dreams that can change the world and regardless of the obstacles that stand in your way, to never give up on those dreams.
Lecture topics
Adventures in Physics and Math
Abstract of the lecture
I was interested in astronomy from a very young age. This was not so unusual since I was growing up in the 1950's and everyone was interested in space. I had a small telescope and a highlight was to see the rings of Saturn–though in hindsight I wish I had developed a little more skill at finding Saturn and the few other objects that should have been easy to find through my telescope. At the age of about 11, I became very interested in math and this was a passion for a few years. Still, the path by which I decided to become a scientist involved a few zigzags. When (at the age of 21) I decided to aim for theoretical physics rather than math, this was on the basis of very little understanding of either field. I was fascinated by the elementary particles. Particle accelerators had been producing fantastic surprises at an amazing pace for a couple of decades, and one of the high water marks actually occurred early in my second year of graduate school with the discovery of the J/psi particle (announced on November 11, 1974). If particle accelerators had continued that pace of surprising discoveries, I probably would have aimed to become an expert at interpreting what they were producing. Matters, however, took a turn that few if any people in the field at the time anticipated after 1974, accelerators started confirming the Standard Model of particle physics, which has held up far better than its inventors could possibly have anticipated. Instead, new opportunities emerged, in understanding the Standard Model better, trying to go beyond it in String Theory, and relating the methods of modern theoretical physics to modern concepts in mathematics. These new opportunities became the main theme of my career. One thing I have learned in this journey is that one cannot approach research with too many preconceptions about what one wants to do. One has to be open to opportunities where they arise. Sometimes a given problem is just too difficult at a given point in time. Sometimes the question one is asking is not really the right one. Life can be full of surprises. To do one’s best in research, one must try to remain open to new ideas and questions. This can be easier said than done, especially as we get older, but we have to try to maintain this openness.
Lecture topics
Light, Life and Colour
Abstract of the lecture
