“We have outstanding researchers in all these areas here at the University of Delaware. The prize winners themselves work in collaboration with their students and Jochen Lauterbach, University of Delaware professor of chemical engineering, was involved by working with his doctoral adviser, Gerhard Ertl, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces,” Thomas Apple, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of chemistry and biochemistry, said in his opening remarks.
Free public lectures highlighting the research and careers of the newly minted 2007 Nobel Laureates will be presented on Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, from noon to 2 p.m., at UD's Trabant University Center Theatre. The talks, sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, will be presented by UD faculty. The first set of short lectures, on Wed., Oct. 17, focuses on the Nobel winners in the natural sciences and their areas of scholarship--including knockout mice, giant magnetoresistance, and surface chemistry. Presentations on the Nobel winners in literature, peace, and economics are slated for Wed., Oct. 24. |
“We are all part of the venture and adventure that leads to these awards,” Apple said. “The awards are given to a select few, but there are many, many contributors, including these researchers that we have here today, so we are all part of this.”
Apple said the symposium, which drew dozens of students and faculty members, was “such a unique and great idea that we just heard that other institutions are copying this.”
Catherine Kirn-Safran, research assistant professor of biological sciences, gave a presentation on the work of Mario R. Capecchi, Martin J. Evans and Oliver Smithies, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in medicine for producing specific genetic alterations in mice.
Edmund Nowak, associate professor of physics and astronomy, gave a talk about the importance and relevance of the work done by Albert Fert and Peter Grunberg, who won the Nobel Prize in physics for the discovery of giant magnetoresistance (GMR), the technology best known for its application in the iPod.
Jochen Lauterbach, professor of chemical engineering, spoke about his doctoral adviser, Gerhard Ertl, who won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces. Lauterbach said Ertl is a unique researcher who places a premium on quality work.
“If you had just one really good paper, that was good for him,” Lauterbach said. “For him, quantity didn't really matter, quality was very important.”Lauterbach cited a quote about determination and patience that Ertl shared with his students, which, Lauterbach said, still holds true today: “I think you never should give up, you should always try to solve the problem as far as it is possible, and you must be patient. You must be patient. That's very important.”
Kittipat Malakit, a third-year doctoral candidate in physics from Thailand, and Kaitlyn Kenney, a senior chemistry major from Madison, Conn., both said the symposium was very informative and interesting.
“It gives you a lot of hope and promise,” John Meyers, a senior chemistry major from Middlesex, N.J., said of the presentations on the Nobel laureates. “It blows my mind when people work on something that they love and somewhere down the road someone takes the idea and commercializes it. It's a driving force for me to pursue higher education.”
Every year since 1901 the Nobel Prize has been awarded for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and for peace. In 1968, the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was established. Each prize consists of a medal, personal diploma and a cash award of about $1.5 million.
Article by Martin Mbugua
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson