Wolfgang Ketterle Ph.D.

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2001
Nobel co-recipients Eric A. Cornell, Carl E. Wieman

Physicist - Atomic Physics. Hobbies: Running, Bicycling.

"...the quest for pure knowledge and the pursuit of goals which are only vaguely defined and change as the research progresses... I didn't anticipate that the best was still to come".

Quotations

1. It was clear to me early on that after high school I would go to university to study physics, mathematics or computer sciences. I decided on physics, as I thought it would combine the real world and mathematics.
2. Before starting university, I received a fellowship from ...(German National Merit Foundation). Part of the fellowship was the opportunity to attend special summer schools.... Most importantly, those schools brought together a select group of highly talented students. The interactions with them reinforced my motivation to set high goals in life for myself.
3. I also became involved with the peace movement and a group working on third world issues.
4. At MIT, where half of the graduate students are foreigners, there is no prejudice, but rather a tolerance and appreciation for unconventional ideas and styles of work