Students
inspired by Nobel laureate
By Mike Sundberg
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
Acclaimed
physiology and medical researcher Nobel
Laureate, and professor at University of
Washington in Seattle, Edmond Fisher was
an honorary guest at Cal State Long Beach
Tuesday.
Born
in Shanghai, China, and educated in Switzerland,
Fisher earned a doctorate degree in chemistry
at the University of Geneva. After working
for a year at the California Institute of
Technology, Fisher relocated to the University
of Washington, where he joined the department
of biochemistry and also where he and his
partner Edwin G. Krebs completed their 1992
Nobel Prize winning work.
Addressing
a group of more than 150 students and faculty,
Fisher spoke on various scientific topics,
ranging from recent ethical issues in regards
to stem cell research, to the role that
science will play in the future. In his
lecture, Fisher also emphasized the importance
that technology will play in science in
the coming century.
“New
technologies are the only way [I] can see
our world surviving,” Fisher said.
In
response to such concerns about the dangers
of science, Fisher explained that, “It is
not science that is dangerous, it is ignorance,
and the ignorance of those who use science
in dangerous ways [is what threatens society].”
“I
felt very motivated to continue striving
for my goal of becoming a medical researcher,”
Quente Bryant, freshmen biochemistry major
said.
Over
the last 27 years, the College of Natural
Sciences and Mathematics has had the privilege
of meeting and learning from Nobel Prize
winners.
“I
really enjoy hearing the lectures given
by Nobel Laureates,” Sarah Wilkins, senior
biology major said. “I learn so much from
them.”
Mike
Bronson, a current senator for the College
of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, said
he felt the campus was very privileged to
have Edmond Fisher visit.
“Its
not every day that you get to see a Noble
Prize winner give a presentation,” Bronson
said.
Stacy
Huntington, president of the student council
of the College of the Natural Science and
Mathematics, said that for the past 27 years,
the program has always been a success.
“Every
year we have been overrun with excitement
over it,” Huntington said.
In
regards to winning the Nobel Prize, Fisher
maintains a strong sense of modesty. When
he received the award, he said that it both
exhilarated him and caught him off guard.
“Getting
the Noble Prize is different than winning
a gold medal in the Olympics,” Fisher explained.
“Olympic athletes know why they got the
award and how they worked for it. But with
the Nobel Prize winners, nothing would have
been different whether there was a prize
at the end or not.”
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