The list of the Noble prize winners in Chemistry has been declared by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm. Moungi Bawendi, Louis Brus and Alexei Ekimov, were honoured for the prestigious award in this field for the discovery and synthesis of quantum dots.
Quantum dots have unique properties and spread their light from television screens and LED lamps. They catalyse chemical reactions and their clear light can illuminate tumour tissue for a surgeon, the Academy said in a press release.
Moungi G. Bawendi is originally from France, he has a degree in PhD from the University of Chicago and is a Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Louis E. Brus,is from Cleveland, USA, he did his PhD from Columbia University, New York in 1969. He is also a Professor at the same University. Alexei I. Ekimov, a former USSR holds PhD from Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute, Saint Petersburg. He was Chief Scientist at Nanocrystals Technology Inc, New York.
Who is Moungi G. Bawendi?
Bawendi has been a professor at MIT since 1990. He was born in Paris to a French mother and Tunisian father. The Nobel awardee in Chemistry moved to West Lafayette, Indiana, as a young boy when his father, a mathematician, became a professor at Purdue University.
While talking to the MIT news, he felt "surprise and shock” upon receiving the call from the Nobel committee, The website quotes him saying, "It was such an honor to wake up to."
Education degree; Failed in his first chemistry exam at University:
In 1982, he earned his Undergraduate degree (UG) from Harvard University, where as a first-year student, he failed his first chemistry exam. That experience taught him a valuable lesson in perseverance, which he described at a press conference on Wednesday.
He recalled that the experience nearly "destroyed" him.
The 62-year-old excelled at science throughout high school, without ever having to break a sweat.
But when he arrived at Harvard University as an undergraduate in the late 1970s, he was in for a rude awakening.
"I was used to not having to study for exams," he told reporters Wednesday, adding that he was intimidated both by the enormous size of the hall and the stern presence of a proctor.
"I looked at the first question and I couldn't figure it out, and the second question I couldn't figure it out," he remembered.
In the end, he scored 20 out of a 100, the lowest grade in his entire class.
"And I thought, 'Oh my god, this is the end of me, what am I doing here?'"
Though Bawendi loved chemistry, he realized he hadn't learned the art of preparing for exams, something he quickly set about rectifying.
"I figured out how to study, which I didn't know how to do before" he said, and after that "it was 100s on every exam, pretty much."
His message for young people is simple: "Persevere," and don't let setbacks "destroy you."
"It could easily have destroyed me, my first experience with an F, the lowest grade in my class by far," he added.
In 1993, the chemistry laureate revolutionised the methods for manufacturing quantum dots, making their quality extremely high — a vital prerequisite for their use in today’s nanotechnology.
