Haldane credits British brain drain for Nobel physics nod, says might have chosen chemistry

Record ID: 84901

  • Title: Haldane credits British brain drain for Nobel physics nod, says might have chosen chemistry
  • Date: 4th October 2016
  • Summary: PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 4, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS RECIPIENT, DUNCAN HALDANE, AND PRINCETON UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS SITTING AT TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS RECIPIENT, DUNCAN HALDANE, SAYING: "I think my life's work was validated whether or not I got such a prize and I was very happy that I've actually been fortunate enough to be able to make such contributions to this field. And I don't think anyone needs a prize to validate one's work, and one doesn't spend the time worrying about if you're going to get a prize." AUDIENCE LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS RECIPIENT, DUNCAN HALDANE, SAYING: "When I finished my work I didn't consciously have my brain drained here, but in some sense the opportunities were here, and a lot of, at that time, the exciting work was going on in the States. And I think at that time there was some kind of policy in Britain, perhaps I'm not sure if Mrs. Thatcher was in power then, but there was some attempt by the funding agencies to stress usefulness of work as opposed to, I guess, the National Science Foundation has always said inspiration-based studies or studies based on what they call it looking, looking for something interesting. You can't get up in the morning and say I'm going to discover something extremely useful. Usually something extremely useful is actually discovered for completely other reasons." HALDANE AND OFFICIALS AT TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS RECIPIENT, DUNCAN HALDANE, SAYING: "There's such a new way of looking at what quantum mechanics can do, and now there's a huge amount of inputs from what's now called quantum information theory which is really different ways of looking at old problems. And we're really, the topological materials at least have been proposed as one of the roots to the quantum computer which is the dream - so far the unrealized dream - but that a lot of people are working on. But I can see now that there's this whole field has burgeoned and has spread as more and more this kind of this new way of thinking has led to new discoveries. And it's quite...whatever the future will bring, I think it's a very rich field of quantum engineering, quantum information technology and condensed matter all coming together. And we've gone a long way from the way physics, condensed matter physics was when I started." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (English) NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS RECIPIENT, DUNCAN HALDANE, SAYING: "My last year, for one year, of school there was an extremely good chemistry teacher. So, I could have gone into chemistry. But the last year was a kind of a physics teacher, was, was quite inspiring. And then, I didn't know what I would actually go...at Cambridge one wasn't, as some other English universities, you're tied down to what you said you wanted to do when you came in, but at least it was sciences. But I didn't have to decide which kind of science. I found, well actually after a few experiences in chemistry or biology lab, I decided I should not let myself near any kind of nasty chemicals or radioactive materials. After having a few spills on myself I decided I was going to be a physicist." VARIOUS OF HALDANE AND OFFICIALS CLAPPING
  • Embargoed: 19th October 2016 20:34
  • Keywords: Quantum Princeton university Thatcher Britain
  • Location: PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES
  • City: PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Science
  • Reuters ID: LVA00152LDC93
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Princeton University physics professor and Nobel Prize recipient Duncan Haldane on Tuesday (October 4) said the atmosphere of discovery in the United States helped contribute to his prize-worthy research, crediting British "brain drain" for inadvertently propelling him.
    "I didn't consciously have my brain drained here, but in some sense the opportunities were here, and a lot of, at that time, the exciting work was going on in the States," Haldane said in a news conference that bounced between humor and physics theory at the university.
    "There was some attempt by the funding agencies to stress usefulness of work as opposed to, I guess, the National Science Foundation has always said inspiration-based the studies or studies based on what they call it looking, looking for something interesting. You can't get up in the morning and say I'm going to discover something extremely useful. Usually something extremely useful is actually discovered that completely other reasons," he added.
    Haldane, along with David Thouless and Michael Kosterlitz, share the prize for their discoveries on abrupt changes in the properties, or phases, of ultra-thin materials.
    Their research centers on topology, a branch of mathematics involving step-wise changes like making a series of holes in an object.
    Phases are obvious when matter goes from solid to liquid to gas, but materials can also undergo topological step changes that affect their electrical properties. One example is a superconductor, which at low temperatures conducts electricity without resistance.
    "There's such a new way of looking at what quantum mechanics can do," Haldane said, adding he hoped his research would lead to the "quantum computer".
    "I can see now that there's this whole field has burgeoned and has spread as more and more this kind of this new way of thinking has led to new discoveries. And it's quite...whatever the future will bring, I think it's a very rich field of quantum engineering, quantum information technology and condensed matter all coming together. And we've gone a long way from the way physics, condensed matter physics was when I started."
    Superfast quantum computers, one of the holy grails of science, should be able to test multiple solutions to a problem at once and could in theory solve in seconds problems that take today's fastest machines years to crack.
    Haldane admitted if it were not for dangerous chemicals, he might have become a chemist.
    "My last year, for one year, of school there was an extremely good chemistry teacher. So, I could have gone into chemistry. But the last year was a kind of a physics teacher, was was was quite inspiring," he said.
    "After a few experiences in chemistry or biology lab, I decided I should not let myself near any kind of nasty chemicals or radioactive materials. After having a few spills on myself I decided I was going to be a physicist," he said.
    Haldane and Kosterlitz will receive 25 percent apiece, and Thouless will take 50 percent of the 8 million Swedish crown ($937,000) prize.
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