Members in the Media

“If ITER is built on money having to do with energy or oil, that is perfectly good...But if it is taken from the public support of research in physics or biology then I would be very upset,”
Sebastien Balibar, École Normale Supérieure, BBC News, June 17, 2009.

“Certainly the worst way to play better golf is to study physics.”
Robert Adair, The Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2009.

“We would grow some crystals and we would come back to him and he would measure them again and say ‘Oh, you’ve gone too far’ or ‘You haven’t gone far enough’ and then we would try again.”
Jim Analytis, Stanford University, on the difficulties growing crystals of bismuth telluride to be used in spintronics research, ABC 7 News, June 17, 2009.

“The cuts will absolutely impact academics…Everyone has said it’s not going to affect the core mission of the institution–which is teaching–but indirectly, it will. ”
Eric Mazur, Harvard, The Boston Globe, June 17, 2009.

“It has been said that major curriculum change is a sacred undertaking not unlike moving a cemetery: Lots of things in it are dead, but they have many friends who aren’t.”
George Campbell Jr., Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, on the challenge of breaking down barriers between academic disciplines, The Philadelphia Inquirer, June 28, 2009.

“My concerns regarding the potentially damaging economic impacts on Michigan were not addressed.”
Vernon J. Ehlers (R-MI), on why he voted against the climate bill in the House, DetroitNews, June 27, 2009.

“There’s an old tradition, that which is partly true and partly not so true, that journalism and the media never represent science right; and a lot of scientists do get uptight about that.”
Sidney Perkowitz, Emory University, National Public Radio, June 26, 2009.

“The fact that we’re going to be in the Davis Cavern just tickles us pink,”
Tom Shutt, Case Western Reserve University, starting construction of a dark matter detector in an abandoned mine in South Dakota, The Associated Press, June 22, 2009.

“There’s so much neat science in NASCAR…It’s a great way to educate people. NASCAR fans are fervent and will wade through net force and molecules if it helps them understand why something happens to their driver.”
Diandra Leslie-Pelecky, University of Texas at Dallas, USA Today, July 1, 2009.

“I’ve always been interested in how art and science shed light on one another… The relationship of art and science is something I think about a lot.”
Peter Galison, Harvard University, The Wall Street Journal, July 10, 2009.

“It has been known for several decades that this unknown star was actually the planet Neptune…Neptune would have looked just like a faint star almost exactly where Galileo observed it.”
David Jamieson, University of Melbourne, on how Galileo may have been the first to discover the planet Neptune, MSNBC.com, July 10, 2009.

“In the near- and medium-term, it’s going to be extremely difficult for graphene to displace silicon as the main material in computer electronics…Silicon is a multibillion-dollar industry that has been perfecting silicon processing for 40 years.”
Tomas Palacios, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Kansas City Star, July 12, 2009.

“I think scientists need to talk to people more. After all, we work for the people, all people, the taxpayers. We should do our bit to explain where your money is going and why our work is interesting, important, and what it means to you and your future.”
Michael Tuts, Columbia University, on his conversations with people while flying, The New York Times, July 13, 2009.

“Your honor, I am nearly 72 years old, and this is the first time I have stood accused in a court of law,”
J. Reece Roth, University of Tennessee, after being sentenced to four years in jail for improperly sharing United States military secrets with foreign nationals, The KnoxvilleNews Sentinel, July 2, 2009.

“Whatever targets you thought you were going to make… it will be undermined by the fact that you have…additional emissions that you hadn’t planned on.”
David Fahey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, describing how the chemicals used to replace ozone-depleting CFCs are potent greenhouse gases, The Washington Post, July 20, 2009.

“Life occurs at the nanometer scale.”
Mark Hersam, Northwestern University, The Philadelphia Enquirer, July 27, 2009.

“You could imagine using multiple emulsions: take the fats that add flavor to the milkshake, and structure them in a way they don’t have as much fat. You could add something that adds some health benefit.’’
David Weitz, Harvard University, on using nanotechnology to engineer healthier food, The Boston Globe, July 27, 2009.

“I love to do research that is both high-risk and high-value…At NIST, I get to be a scientist all the time. I also like the idea of doing something that could impact US industry and really have a long-term potential payoff for society.”
Ian Spielman, NIST, Washington Post, July 27, 2009.