Dan Shechtman Quotes

I was a subject of ridicule and lectures about the basics of crystallography. The leader of the opposition to my findings was the two-time Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, the idol of the American Chemical Society and one of the most famous scientists in the world.

I think the main lesson that I have learned is that a good scientist is a humble scientist who is open-minded to listen to other scientists when they discover something.

Korean students are hard working, talented, and they do what they need to do. They succeed in exams. They are highly motivated to succeed in tests.

I know there is a stereotype that I am naive, but I know what I want, and I know what I’m doing to get there.

The good news is world population growth rate decreases systematically and is expected to reach zero by 2050, thanks to urbanisation and women‘s education.

Sustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource.

As far as innovation goes, I can tell you that Korean students are reluctant to step out of line. If I ask questions, nobody raises their hands – not because they don’t know the answers, but because they don’t want to step out of line.

The frontiers of science, on the very small scale and very large scale, require large investments and international effort.

In the forefront of science, there is not much difference between religion and science. People harbor beliefs. That’s what happens when people believe something religiously.

I hope that I have had some effect on the fact that Israel is a start-up nation.

I always say that people are like peanut shells on the ocean: the waves will take them everywhere.

On April 8, 1982, I was alone in the electron microscope room when I discovered the Icosahedral Phase that opened the field of quasi-periodic crystals.

I told myself, ‘I am teaching entrepreneurship, so I should be an entrepreneur myself.’

Science is the ultimate tool to reveal the laws of nature, and the one word written on its banner is Truth.

Me as president would not be like anybody else as president. Everyone does the job differently.

The message from the Technion when I was a student was: ‘You will be so good that when you graduate, everyone will want to hire you.’

When my grandchildren are older and my great-grandchildren start growing up, first of all, I want them to be in Israel. I don’t want them to leave the country because they have no choice.

A president should look for what binds the people together rather than what drives them apart. As soon as you are identified with one side of the political map, you are no longer everybody‘s president.

A humble scientist is a good scientist.

The Technion didn’t teach students how to open a start-up.