Ryerson Hosts a First: Up Close and Personal with a Nobel Laureate
Meeting a Nobel Laureate isn鈥檛 your everyday occurrence. For a group of 70, September 24 was the day to interact with not one, but two, as Ryerson University鈥檚 Faculty of Science welcomed Martin Chalfie and VIP guest John Polanyi.
Events unfolded at the Centre for Urban Innovation as part of the (NPII) program 鈥� the first time the program has come to Canada. The initiative brings Nobel Laureates closer to scientific communities around the world 鈥� sharing their stories, perspectives and inspiration. Ryerson was Chalfie鈥檚 first stop in a three-day universities tour including University of Toronto, Queens and McGill.
Nobel Prize-Winning Research
is a Harvard PhD and joint-recipient of the in Chemistry. His work made possible the embedding of green fluorescent protein into organisms as biological markers. Use of the glowing tags lets researchers follow cellular activity that had previously remained invisible. The development has since become one of the most important tools in bioscience.
Getting Real with a Nobel Laureate
The event opened with an informal, on-stage chat between Chalfie and Dean of Science, David Cramb, and a live audience Q&A. A smaller group then gathered with Chalfie for a Graduate Students鈥� Round Table.
Together, Chalfie and the audience explored a mixed bag on the theme: What is an Authentic Science Experience? Early on, a strong message dominated: get students into the lab to see science as it鈥檚 really done 鈥� an experience that Chalfie says is 鈥渘ot really well described in a textbook,鈥� with its twists, turns, unknowns鈥nd failures.
Walking Students through the Valley of Shadow
Throughout, Chalfie spoke candidly 鈥� about the realities of contemporary science and his own ups and downs along the path. Chalfie recalled how, early on, he had 鈥渢his incredibly stupid idea that real scientists don鈥檛 ask anyone for anything鈥nd that you had to do it all on your own. So, no surprise that I was a complete and utter failure for the entire summer.鈥�
Looking back, Chalfie offered words of wisdom: Failure is an obvious part of exploring problems yet to be solved. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e the first person in the world doing it,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e sort of stumble along. You鈥檙e two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes it feels like 20 steps back and no steps forward.鈥�
, VIP guest and 1986 Chemistry Nobel Laureate, reflected further on the role of supervising professors. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the job of Martin and me to hold people鈥檚 hand as they go through the valley of the shadow of death,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust because there鈥檚 no answer at the moment doesn鈥檛 mean there will never be. As leaders, we know that.鈥�
Redefining Student Success
Looking beyond challenging setbacks, Chalfie spoke of the potentially career-changing experience of working in a lab 鈥� many of his own students entering with different aspirations, but exiting with an ignited passion for research.
Chalfie also spoke of the need to relativize the overall importance of GPAs. Instead, he described his own gauge for student success using more telling factors: letters of recommendation, working style, initiative, enthusiasm, and more of what students want to do next over what they鈥檇 already done.
Food for Scientific Thought
Chalfie also entertained questions on contemporary issues in science. His perspectives left listeners with plentiful possibilities for further discussion on topics such as:
- Finding answers before 鈥� or even without 鈥� creating a hypothesis
- Encroaching subjectivity and dubious practices in 鈥渟elling鈥� science
- The future of machine learning in scientific research
- Using preprint archives for embargo-free access to new findings
Optimistic Outlook for Science
Many young scientists were eager for Chalfie鈥檚 success tips. Wary of slogans to 鈥榝ollow your passion鈥�, Chalfie encouraged lifelong curiosity, continuous sampling of new ideas, and noticing the simplest, often overlooked possibilities around us for scientific exploration.
Asked if it鈥檚 harder to be a scientist in the 21st century, Chalfie returned with the question: 鈥淚t鈥檚 more: If we had the choice, would we like to just keep going? 鈥� And the answer is: Absolutely.鈥�
Toward closing, Chalfie encouraged students: 鈥淓njoy what they鈥檙e doing鈥� Are you excited about doing the science? If that鈥檚 what you get out of it, that鈥檚 perfect.鈥�