Peking University, Beijing, November 17, 2008: On the afternoon of the 12th of November, the University held a ceremony to confer the title of honorary professor to Nobel Prize winner Roger Kornberg, who also gave a lecture after the ceremony.
Roger Kornberg is a famous biologist in the United States and a professor at Stanford University. He was awarded with a Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription in 2006. His studies described the genetic transcription in detail for the first time, making it possible for human beings to have access to the transcription process, which plays a critical role in medical studies. The genetic transcription technology is currently widely applied in genetic studies.
After his speech, Professor Roger Kornberg with his rich experience background, answered questions from the audience, some concerning the specific bio-chemical and ecological problems, while others asking for advice as to how to be a good scientist and how to make scientific achievements.
“For a beginner in chemistry, the fundamental knowledge is of utmost importance, for it lays the foundation for deeper and wider research in the future,” Roger said in the interview with PKU News. He also said that persistence is the most valued quality for a scientist for it might take years of devoted research for you to make achievements in your academic career. “Take myself as an example, my research, as I mentioned in my speech, has lasted for over 30 years.” Professor Kornberg hoped students at PKU would keep persistence in their academic career.
Edited by: Yan Jiefei
Translated by: LIN Jingxian
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
