Aaron Ciechanover Quotes

In 1948 I entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, undecided between studies of chemistry and physics, but my first year convinced me that physics was more interesting to me.

I mean, I knew I wanted to do this kind of thing in school, but to actually have somebody that would bring you into that world, that was really exciting, you know?

I was terrible at maths, but I could grasp science, and I used to love to read about the lives of the scientists. I wanted to be a scientist or an inventor.

I'm a school teacher, and later on, well past my formal education, I became very interested in science.

In theory, I always think I should totally go back to school, because I don't want to start sinking slowly... I want to learn, blah blah blah. Then I think about actually going and sitting in classes and, man, it sounds terrible.

Yes, from the time I was in junior high school I decided I wanted to be a chemist. I didn't quite know what a chemist was, but I kept it up and got my Ph.D. in physical chemistry.

Take all the courses in your curriculum. Do the research. Ask questions. Find someone doing what you are interested in! Be curious!

I didn't want to become a professor or get tenure or teach or anything. All I wanted to do was get a degree because Louis Leakey said I needed one, which was right, and once I succeeded I could get back to the field.

To learn something new every day is still exciting!

As an undergraduate, I did maths and physics. That doesn't make me a scientist. So I try to read and understand and talk to scientists.

Make sure you meet the right people, people who know that industry and are willing to help you. Do your homework - read books about the industry, talk to people. If you don't know something, ask.

The only thing that mattered was what you were to do in life, and it wasn't about money. It was about teaching, or learning.

Vast is the field of Science. The more a man knows, the more he will find he has to know.

Sometimes people come out of school right now and they immediately want a job doing something. And there's nothing wrong with just listening and learning and watching.

You don't read in your own field. You read in that field when you're young, so that you can learn.

Brian and I were both science students. You know science sort of math and physics side, you know.

You discover yourself through the research of your work.

Science should be the most fun job on the planet. You get to ask questions about the world around you and go out and seek the answers. Not to have fun doing that is crazy.

I feel like if you read something, and it makes you so curious about a topic that you then go read something else, that's exciting.

When I think back on my favorite teachers, I don't remember anymore much of what they taught me, but I sure remember being excited about learning it. What has stayed with me are not the facts they imparted, but the excitement about learning they inspired.

What is research but a blind date with knowledge?

I definitely felt by the time I got to grad school - which was a great experience - I was like, 'What's the difference between the teachers and the students? Why are the teachers teachers if they want to be acting?' It didn't make sense to me anymore. It's not like you learn how to set a broken bone and you get the stamp of approval.

I'm passionate about learning. I'm passionate about life.

I wanted to be a teacher.

The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.