Nobel prize laureate inspires students
Nobel prize laureate inspires students
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Douglas Dean Osheroff may not know all the answers, but the 1996
Nobel laureate in physics has certainly strived his best through
the years to find the answers to all his queries.
With the same patience that researchers display while working
in their laboratories, Osheroff encouraged students of President
University to ask questions.
"I understand it is hard for you to ask questions ... I've
been there too. But don't worry, I will answer any questions,"
the American physicist said on Saturday.
Osheroff was at the university in Cikarang, Bekasi, to close
his brief visit for a scientific speech in Indonesia on Nov. 18
and Nov. 19.
Encouraged by his sincerity, one student rose from her seat
and asked the professor how he had achieved so much and how he
had managed to remain so persistent in his research.
"When I heard you were coming here, I was very excited as even
in China we have never met a Nobel prize winner before. One of
our obstacles as a student is that we give up too easy on our
research. How can you keep doing your research without ever
giving up?" questioned Hwang Wu Ming, an international student at
the university.
Osheroff, who finished his undergraduate studies at Caltech in
1967, and obtained his Ph.D. at Cornell in 1973, smiled and
replied that it was not true that people should never give up,
saying that sometimes nature did not cooperate with humans.
"The question is when to know that you should be doing
something different. Sometimes failure is an invitation to
something different ... But don't give up, keep working. But
don't hit your head against the wall forever," he said.
Osheroff, born on Aug. 1, 1945 in Aberdeen, Washington, and
married to fellow scientist Phyllis Liu, whom he met at Cornell
in 1970, advised the students that although it seemed that it was
a long journey to reach his level, it was not impossible to
achieve, adding that as a student who failed in his Calculus exam
at Caltech, he never imagined he would achieve so much.
He has named co-recipient of the Nobel prize in physic in 1996
with David M. Lee and Robert C. Richardson for the discovery of
superfluidity in helium-3.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science said "the discovery
heralded the start of intensive research on the new quantum
liquid, which had a great significance for our knowledge of how
the laws of quantum physics, formulated for microscopic systems,
sometimes directly govern macroscopic systems also".
The academy added that the discovery had recently also been
used to test a theory for the forming of galaxies.
"This is a great moment for me as he really inspires me to
learn science seriously. He is so humble, and really wants to
listen to us," a student said after a photo-op.
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Douglas Dean Osheroff may not know all the answers, but the 1996
Nobel laureate in physics has certainly strived his best through
the years to find the answers to all his queries.
With the same patience that researchers display while working
in their laboratories, Osheroff encouraged students of President
University to ask questions.
"I understand it is hard for you to ask questions ... I've
been there too. But don't worry, I will answer any questions,"
the American physicist said on Saturday.
Osheroff was at the university in Cikarang, Bekasi, to close
his brief visit for a scientific speech in Indonesia on Nov. 18
and Nov. 19.
Encouraged by his sincerity, one student rose from her seat
and asked the professor how he had achieved so much and how he
had managed to remain so persistent in his research.
"When I heard you were coming here, I was very excited as even
in China we have never met a Nobel prize winner before. One of
our obstacles as a student is that we give up too easy on our
research. How can you keep doing your research without ever
giving up?" questioned Hwang Wu Ming, an international student at
the university.
Osheroff, who finished his undergraduate studies at Caltech in
1967, and obtained his Ph.D. at Cornell in 1973, smiled and
replied that it was not true that people should never give up,
saying that sometimes nature did not cooperate with humans.
"The question is when to know that you should be doing
something different. Sometimes failure is an invitation to
something different ... But don't give up, keep working. But
don't hit your head against the wall forever," he said.
Osheroff, born on Aug. 1, 1945 in Aberdeen, Washington, and
married to fellow scientist Phyllis Liu, whom he met at Cornell
in 1970, advised the students that although it seemed that it was
a long journey to reach his level, it was not impossible to
achieve, adding that as a student who failed in his Calculus exam
at Caltech, he never imagined he would achieve so much.
He has named co-recipient of the Nobel prize in physic in 1996
with David M. Lee and Robert C. Richardson for the discovery of
superfluidity in helium-3.
The Royal Swedish Academy of Science said "the discovery
heralded the start of intensive research on the new quantum
liquid, which had a great significance for our knowledge of how
the laws of quantum physics, formulated for microscopic systems,
sometimes directly govern macroscopic systems also".
The academy added that the discovery had recently also been
used to test a theory for the forming of galaxies.
"This is a great moment for me as he really inspires me to
learn science seriously. He is so humble, and really wants to
listen to us," a student said after a photo-op.