Alumni Magazine - Fall 2008 - (Page 33) Do you know any funny chemists? I know some unusual chemists. Should I encourage him to choose chemistry so it’s easier to make a decent living? I don’t think it’s a making-a-living sort of thing. I think it’s doing what you enjoy doing. I spent my entire life essentially being a chemist. The act of discovery, of learning something that no one else in the world knows, to finally figure out how a very small portion of nature works is amazingly rewarding. In chemistry to have a discovery like that, to see the potential of some practical application of it, and to dream those dreams of how what you’ve uncovered about the workings of nature might affect people’s lives in some meaningful way is tremendously rewarding. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. So I suspect someone who’s good at that and feels that he can give some joy to others will find it tremendously rewarding. How much time do you get to work with students now? I’ve had to step back quite a bit in the last year, but as I’ve said, I’ve got a group of postdocs and research scientists who are pretty skilled and reasonably independent. I usually try to get with them in the evenings and on Saturdays. The truth of the matter is that in order to be effective you have to be able to prioritize things in your personal life and in your professional life and also be able to delegate. stand the consequences of their actions. There is always the law of unintended consequences, and I think it’s our responsibility to treat our students as the adults that they are and help them make the proper choices and then deal with the issues if they make improper choices. “The act of discovery, of learning something no one else in the world knows, to finally figure out how a very small portion of nature works is amazingly rewarding.” So an age doesn’t matter? That’s the arbitrariness of a drinking age. It’s really a maturity level. There may be some individuals at 18 who have the good sense and the good judgment to be able to make those decisions and handle that responsibility appropriately. I can guarantee you that there are folks at 21 or 25 or 35 who don’t have the good sense or the good judgment to handle that responsibility appropriately. It’s an issue that deserves very close scrutiny and very good information before making a decision. I don’t think the data are there yet. … We experimented with something called prohibition, and it became apparent that didn’t work. When you take an activity and make it illegal, it doesn’t necessarily go away. Often it just goes underground. What do you like to do in your spare time? Maybe people don’t know you’re a fabulous tango dancer or something. No, I’m not a fabulous tango dancer, but I do enjoy downhill skiing. That’s my great passion. Anita and I enjoy going to movies. We both enjoy reading. We enjoy travel quite a bit, although this year we won’t get much time to indulge that. You’re still passionate about chemistry. In a lot of ways I think scientists, particularly those who are really dedicated to it, never grow up. They retain that curiosity from childhood, an insatiable desire to understand how things work, and are willing to pursue that and work hard to discover that. There are a lot of rewards there. As far as a career as a comedian, I would suggest he talk to Jeff Foxworthy (Cls 80), not a professor of chemistry. But I can see where there might be a lot of rewards there too. As a performer you bring happiness and joy to a lot of people. I remember reading somewhere quite recently that people who laugh more often tend to live longer. I don’t know if the data are very good supporting that, but given the options of laughing or being sad I’d much prefer to laugh. Some university presidents are pushing for a legal drinking age of 18. The Institute stated it isn’t a proponent of a change. It is a complex issue and there are a couple of ways to look at it. If you ask me as a parent, you’ll get a different answer than if you ask me as a university administrator. What are your priorities for Tech during this fiscal year? This is going to be a challenging year. I think everybody has been reading in the newspapers about the economic circumstances. One priority is to maintain our focus on the core mission of teaching and research. We have a responsibility to students to make sure that they’re not shortchanged in this time of economic uncertainty. And then we have a commitment to quality. I personally believe there’s no market for mediocrity in higher education. Georgia Tech for a long time has been focused on the highest quality education and the most Why’s that? As a parent, you never want your children to grow up and get into trouble. Our two sons are now grown men and out on their own. But the issue is a complex one and the answer is really awareness and education. We have to help our students make good choices. We need to make sure that they under- Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine • Fall 2008 33
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