Tips For Research [And Life] From Nobel Prize Winner Dr. David MacMillan!
The Curio Cat was invited to an inspiring, exclusive lecture with Dr. David MacMillan at UC Irvine: Here’s what we learned!
“There’s never been a better time to go into science than now…” said Nobel Prize winner Dr. David MacMillan to a captivated audience inside UC Irvine’s Barclay Theater. The packed auditorium, full of students, faculty, and a few others lucky enough to score an invite, was bursting with anticipation, excitement, and laughter.
Not only is Dr. MacMillan a Nobel Prize winning chemist and UC Irvine alumnus, but he is also quite the comedian! Generating uproarious laughs, he regaled the audience with tales of how his research was inspired by the English soccer team’s many losses on the field and how he wore his kilt incorrectly at the Nobel Prize acceptance ceremony and felt like a “moron”!
Dr. MacMillan’s Journey Through Research
Dr. MacMillan joyously recounted his journey from a happy, modest childhood in a small town called Bellshill, Scotland to his time at the University of Glasgow, where he received his undergraduate degree. His doctoral adventures took him all the way to Irvine, California, where he received his PhD in Chemistry – a time of his life that he remembers fondly, made obvious by his emotional sincerity during the discussion.
After completion of his PhD, he found himself at Harvard, then UC Berkeley, then CalTech, and finally as a distinguished professor at Princeton, where he remains to this day.
He is one of the founders of organocatalysis, which has massive implications for humanity and ultimately led to him winning a Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
What was it like finding out he had won the renowned Nobel Prize?? We captured the hilarious story on video and will post it very soon, so be sure to stay tuned! It’s definitely an inspirational must-watch!
5 Rules for Student Research [And Life In General] from Dr. David MacMillan
Luckily, Dr MacMillan had time to take questions after his heartfelt thank you to his family.
One of the audience members asked what words of wisdom the good doctor would share with the next generation interested in a life of research. So, without further adieu, here are 5 of Dr. MacMillan’s inspiring rules to help guide in student research and just life in general:
- If you’re going to do it, do it right.
- You’ll never get perfection, but you should always be striving for it.
- Do things that fill you with passion and that you truly care about. Figure out what it is that gets YOU excited and chase it! Don’t worry about what other geniuses think or are doing.
- Try to be creative with it. Think outside the box and don’t limit yourself OR your imagination! In another interview he gave, he stressed that it’s not about the answers, but the questions! You’ve got to come up with questions and then really good questions before you ever get to the solutions.
- And finally – NO REGRETS! “Don’t be remorseful. Never worry about whether or not you did the right thing, even if you fail. Because failure is just another weird word for experience. You have to experience it to be able to get to where you’re going to get to!”
In Conclusion:
At the end of this incredibly inspiring night, The Curio Cat team got to shake the hand of a truly amazing human being. And our very own research guru, Derek, even got to hold Dr. MacMillan’s Nobel Prize for a once-in-a-lifetime photo op!
We also published a video of our exhilarating experience – see it below or check it out on our YouTube channel here! Be sure to like, comment and subscribe!
Do you know any students wanting to get involved in research or publications? Check out our very own STEM Summer Research Program here! Space is limited so contact us here today for more information or to sign up!
SOURCES OF INFORMATION:
Dr MacMillan himself during the talk of course! And:
https://chemistry.princeton.edu/faculty/david-macmillan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_MacMillan
https://www.princeton.edu/news/2022/05/06/nobel-prize-laureate-david-macmillan-talks-science-ukraine-students-part-globalhttps://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2021/macmillan/183036-david-macmillan-interview-february-2022/
