Dan Shechtman

“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.”

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

“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.”

“A humble scientist is a good scientist.”

“כאשר דניאל שכטמן הכניס את הגילוי למחברת שלו, הוא שרטט שלושה סימני שאלה לידו. האטומים בגביש מולו הפיקו סימטריה אסורה. זה היה בלתי אפשרי כמו כדורגל שבנוי משש צלעות.”

“כדי לעודד זוכי נובל עתידיים, גם להורים יש תפקיד: לפתח את חופש המחשבה מגיל צעיר, לעודד לשאול שאלות, ובשום אופן לא להגביל את המחשבה. אנחנו, הישראלים, זקוקים נואשות לצעירים שיישאו את שרביטי המדע. יש הרבה כאלה בארץ, השאלה אם יש מספיק.”

“בקדמת המדע אין הרבה הבדלים בין דת למדע. יש לאנשים אמונות. זה מה שקורה כשאנשים מאמינים במשהו כמו בדת. הוויכוח עם ליינוס פולינג היה כמעט תיאולוגי.”

“אמרתי לכל מי שהיה מוכן להקשיב, שיש לי חומר עם סימטריה מחומשת, ואנשים התחילו לצחוק עליי.”

“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.”

“Sustainable development requires human ingenuity. People are the most important resource.”

“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.”

“Crystallographers believed in X-ray results, which are of course very accurate. But the x-rays are limited, and electron microscopy filled the gap, and so the discovery of quasicrystals could have been discovered only by electron microscopy, and the community of crystallographers, for several years, was not willing to listen.”

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

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

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“I told myself, 'I am teaching entrepreneurship, so I should be an entrepreneur myself.'”

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