Elevating Yonsei’s International Status as a Research-Oriented University Six Nobel Laureates from the fields of Economics, Chemistry, Physics, and Medicine/Physiology Gather at Yonsei As part of Yonsei University’s ongoing efforts toward becoming an internationally acclaimed research-oriented university, the 2nd Yonsei Nobel Forum was held on September 10-12, under the theme of “Creativity and the Future.” This year’s honorary guests included Nobel Laureates James A. Mirrlees (U.K., 1996 Economics), Vernon L. Smith (U.S.A., 2002 Economics), George F. Smoot (U.S.A., 2006 Physics), K. Barry Sharpless (U.S.A., 2001 Chemistry) and Ryoji Noyori (Japan, 2001 Chemistry), and H. Robert Horvitz (U.S.A., 2002 Medicine/Physiology). The Yonsei Nobel Forum was a huge success, raising the level of awareness among society, especially among young students, of the importance of the basic sciences and academics. It also kindled dreams in budding scientists and scholars of a future in which their research would benefit humanity and gain world-wide acclaim. The Road to New Research Frontiers Interest in the Yonsei Nobel Forum was evidenced by the large audience that gathered at the opening ceremony of the Yonsei Noble Forum, held September 11 in the Centennial Hall. A large contingent of reporters from various media corporations covered the event. University President Jung Chang-Young stated in his welcoming address the importance of research in making Yonsei one of the world’s best educational and research institutions. He went on to describe the ‘Global 5-5-10’ Project, an ambitious initiative to launch five academic and research fields into the Global top 10 in the next five years. After naming the twelve fields selected for this initiative, President Jung went on to say: “The Yonsei Nobel Forum is held for the purpose of stimulating the desire to discover new things and heightening intellectual creativity, thereby opening up new research frontiers. I hope that the Yonsei Nobel Forum will become a space for communicating knowledge and for nurturing intellectual creativity in the Korean academia.” Kim Woo-sik, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Science and Technology, offered his congratulations to the second successful hosting of the Nobel Forum: “We are living in the 21st- century, which is founded on knowledge. In this new paradigm, one talented science technician can provide for the livings of 10,000 people. Yonsei University has been a model for seeking truth and freedom for the past 122 years. I trust Yonsei to continue to fulfill its role as a place where knowledge and scholars are born. The Yonsei Nobel Forum will strengthen fundamental areas of study, as well as point the direction in which the future of Korean science and technology must move.” Plenary Session 1 Challenges and Responses for the World Economy The lectures for the first plenary session were given by Professor Vernon L. Smith of George Mason University, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2002 for combining classic economics and psychology into a new field of empirical economics, and Professor James A. Mirrlees of the University of Cambridge, who was awarded the 1996 Nobel Prize for Economics for his research on incentives under asymmetric information. Both guest speakers focused on the challenge of Globalization in the world economy. In his lecture, Professor Smith pointed out that “Globalization is an expansion of a mutually cooperative exchange order through the market, which replaces the usual logic of politics and conflict. Of course, globalization through the specialization of knowledge and technology has come to be largely dependent on a market that has become much more complex.” He also added that the ability of the market to increase the origination of new wealth is decided by factors such as decentralization, diversity, cooperation, discovery, and interdependence. The lecture by Professor Mirrlees, took on a more cautionary note. “In the past few years,” he remarked, “the global economy has become larger at an alarming pace. Resources, however, are no longer increasing. Technology is important, but in order to decrease the damage to the environment, energy prices must be drastically increased through taxes to compensate for what future generations must experience as a result.” Plenary Session 2 A Trip into the Future of Life Science The Nobel Prize is only a By-Product of Doing Something Enjoyable In the second plenary session, Professor Robert Horvitz of M.I.T, 2002 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for his work in determining programmed cell death, gave a lecture titled “A Journey to the Future Life Science,” Professor Horvitz’s message was simple but not easy to practice: “do what you enjoy.” “While I was a student at M.I.T.,” he said, “I majored in abstract mathematics and economics. I happened to go to a Biology class in my senior year, and that changed my life. As a result of not fearing to change my path, I was able to receive the Nobel Prize. However, the Prize is not the goal, but only a by-product. It is a gift that was given to me in the process of following my heart through life.” Professor Horvitz gave the rapt audience an easy-to-follow explanation of how the understanding of programmed cell death is an important step toward discovering the causes and cures for various serious illnesses, including AIDS and Parkinson’s disease. He explained, “If more cells die than is normal, it causes neurodegenerative diseases, and cells that do not die cause cancer. Now that we know which gene causes programmed cell death, continued research will allow us to conquer some incurable diseases in the near future.” Plenary Session 3 Perceiving the New Future with a Keen Vision Titled “Seeing Beyond the Majority”, the third plenary session consisted of lectures by Professor George F. Smoot of UC-Berkeley, awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics for his research on cosmic background radiation that gave us a better understanding of how the universe was created, and Professors Barry Sharpless of the Scripps Research Institute and Ryoji Noyori of Nagoya university, co-awarded the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery of an oxidation reaction catalyst that allows scientists to synthesize only selected substances. The three professors agreed that the future is not something that is in front of us, but rather something that must be drawn out from within ourselves. They emphasized in particular the importance of “perceiving” with a keen vision, rather than merely “seeing,” in order to looking beyond the majority into a new future. Professor Smoot advised the students attending the lecture: “If you can’t see anything new, this means you do now know how to see. But abandoning all habits of thought and moving away from narrow-minded methods is crucial for new thought. Think critically and endeavor endlessly to see things differently.” Professor Noyori further expanded on this point. “The Nobel Laureates in Chemistry for the past 20 years have come from areas that are not traditional areas of chemistry but areas such as molecular biology or nanoscience. This means that the traditional paradigm of science is changing; hence researchers and educators worldwide must perceive this change and bring forth scientists of the next generation.” College of Business and Economics Think Creatively; Break Away from Theory Before the main events were held, a College of Business and Economics forum was held on September 10 in the Kakdanghun auditorium. In this forum titled “Humans and Uncertainty,” Professor Vernon L. Smith told students who dream of becoming Nobel Laureates themselves: “Stay curious and don’t be tied up by economic theory.” Similarly, Professor James A. Mirrlees told the students to “Be curious and don’t give up trying to solve problems.” Professor Smith showed students the importance of moving away from strict economic theory, saying, “It helped greatly that I had studied science in my undergraduate years and acquired the habit of experimenting. Through experimental research on the relationship of price formation and the market, I realized how much actual human economic activities were different from theories.” Professor Mirrlees explained the asymmetric distribution of information among economic subjects through the concept of lax morals. “Classic economic models presuppose that all subjects will be able to obtain the same information, ignoring variables such as immorality and incentives. If too much money is at stake in an insurance policy, there will be people who try intentionally to get into accidents for the insurance money. This asymmetric distribution of information among economical subjects is an important factor in economics.” Professor Mirrlees shared his experience, saying that a philosophy class he had tagged along to with a cousin while he was an undergraduate student caused him to change his interest from mathematics to economics. He also asked the students to remain passionate and keep on solving the socio-economic puzzles. College of Science Passion for the Pursuit of Knowledge and Pride as a Scientist With the theme of “Creativity and Leadership,” Professors Barry Sharpless, Ryoji Noyori, and George F. Smoot spoke to the students of the College of Science at a lecture session held on September 10 in the Science Hall. The Nobel Laureates shared their experiences that led to the Nobel Prize and emphasized that “A creative mindset as a scientist, and pride in being one are important.” Professor Sharpless explained that in experiments, whether a reaction is caused “in” water or “on” water makes a significant difference in the reaction time and stated that creativity could cause surprising results. He also gave students the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) rule, saying that “It is common for people to be enticed by complexity. Complex methods usually look like they are better than simple methods at first, and people often choose the complicated way because they don’t want to be thought of as ‘too simple.’” However, he continued, scientists in the field of basic sciences must “study what is simple, what is applicable, what is useful to humanity.” Professor Noyori spoke about the Manhattan Project, which developed the nuclear bomb by using Einstein’s theory of relativity during World War II, and said, “Wisdom is required to organize information into knowledge that will become socially valuable, but this wisdom must be a ‘good wisdom’ which upholds the values of the people.” Along the same lines, he stated that the chemistry world must move toward “Green Chemistry.” Professor Smoot turned the audience’s attention back to the basics. “In the global economic system,” he said, “technological competition among nations is becoming fierce, but I believe what will decide the winners and losers is the fields of basic science.” He also encouraged the young scientists to “have passion and confidence toward scientific principles and the pursuit of knowledge,” assuring them that “not only geniuses, but anyone [with the qualities mentioned] can become a scientist. The confidence which allows a scientist to continue research, which is much like a marathon, is not made possible by a high IQ score, but rather by trying to solve problems beginning with the small ones and achieving a sense of satisfaction in the process.” College of Medicine On September 12, Professor Robert Horvitz gave a lecture at the Eun Myeong Auditorium of the College of Medicine, titled “The Marvels of Modern Biomedical Science.” Many students interested in biomedical science gathered to hear the rare lecture by a Nobel Laureate.