Dan Shechtman Quotes

#1. Let us advance science to create a better world for all.

Dan Shechtman

#2. I was a subject of ridicule and lectures about the basics of crystallography. The leader of the opposition to my findings was the two-time Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, the idol of the American Chemical Society and one of the most famous scientists in the world.

Dan Shechtman

#3. Science is the ultimate tool to reveal the laws of nature, and the one word written on its banner is Truth.

Dan Shechtman

#4. Young people in Israel are encouraged to design, produce and sell their products from high school. Technical universities also matter. Teach and introduce entrepreneurship courses in technical universities.

Dan Shechtman

#5. Select a subject that interests you and make an effort to become an expert in that field. I promise you, if you make the effort, and you become an expert, you will have a wonderful career.

Dan Shechtman

#6. Colleges will try to get the good students. That's the way to go. When I chaired my department of Materials Engineering at the Technion in 1990, we started a program for which we set the bar very high. It was the highest at the Technion, above electrical engineering and medicine.

Dan Shechtman

#7. I can unite the people of Israel, so I won't speak about controversial issues, which divide the people.

Dan Shechtman

#8. As far as innovation goes, I can tell you that Korean students are reluctant to step out of line. If I ask questions, nobody raises their hands - not because they don't know the answers, but because they don't want to step out of line.

Dan Shechtman

#9. I think I can change things for the better in this country. I'm doing it now as well, in many areas, mostly in education, higher education and technological entrepreneurship. But I think I could do a lot more from a presidential position.

Dan Shechtman

#10. The good people look for challenges. When teaching becomes a prestigious profession, then you'll get good people.

Dan Shechtman

#11. When my grandchildren are older and my great-grandchildren start growing up, first of all, I want them to be in Israel. I don't want them to leave the country because they have no choice.

Dan Shechtman

#12. In the forefront of science, there is not much difference between religion and science. People harbor beliefs. That's what happens when people believe something religiously.

Dan Shechtman

#13. On April 8, 1982, I was alone in the electron microscope room when I discovered the Icosahedral Phase that opened the field of quasi-periodic crystals.

Dan Shechtman

#14. I'm proud of my family, very proud - I have ten grandchildren, four children, and one wife.

Dan Shechtman

#15. I fell in love with science and decided to continue for my Ph.D., and from there on, I was a scientist.

Dan Shechtman

#16. The frontiers of science, on the very small scale and very large scale, require large investments and international effort.

Dan Shechtman

#17. The message from the Technion when I was a student was: 'You will be so good that when you graduate, everyone will want to hire you.'

Dan Shechtman

#18. I hope that I have had some effect on the fact that Israel is a start-up nation.

Dan Shechtman

#19. A humble scientist is a good scientist.

Dan Shechtman

#20. Israel, in general, should learn from other nations. We have a tendency to teach the world. In many cases, we should learn from the world, because they make advances.

Dan Shechtman

#21. In most cases, the news is not really news. But in some cases, discoveries are made and should be listened to.

Dan Shechtman

#22. Sustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource.

Dan Shechtman

#23. A president should look for what binds the people together rather than what drives them apart. As soon as you are identified with one side of the political map, you are no longer everybody's president.

Dan Shechtman

#24. I told everyone who was ready to listen that I had material with pentagonal symmetry. People just laughed at me.

Dan Shechtman

#25. Me as president would not be like anybody else as president. Everyone does the job differently.

Dan Shechtman

#26. Korean students are hard working, talented, and they do what they need to do. They succeed in exams. They are highly motivated to succeed in tests.

Dan Shechtman

#27. I told myself, 'I am teaching entrepreneurship, so I should be an entrepreneur myself.'

Dan Shechtman

#28. The good news is world population growth rate decreases systematically and is expected to reach zero by 2050, thanks to urbanisation and women's education.

Dan Shechtman

#29. The Technion didn't teach students how to open a start-up.

Dan Shechtman

#30. Wherever I go in the world, I'm treated like royalty.

Dan Shechtman

#31. I always say that people are like peanut shells on the ocean: the waves will take them everywhere.

Dan Shechtman

#32. I think the main lesson that I have learned is that a good scientist is a humble scientist who is open-minded to listen to other scientists when they discover something.

Dan Shechtman

#33. I know there is a stereotype that I am naive, but I know what I want, and I know what I'm doing to get there.

Dan Shechtman

#34. I am a proud Zionist. I can tell you about every blossom that grows in this land. I know the history and the Bible.

Dan Shechtman