Nobel laureate Steven Chu Harvard speech: life is too short, you have to fall in love with something

At least I am a nerd (A Nerd)

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share this wonderful day with you.

I'm not sure I deserve the honor of being a commencement speaker at Harvard University.

On this podium last year was the billionaire British novelist J.K. Rowling, who was first a student of classical literature. Standing here the year before last was Mr. Bill Gates, a super-rich man, a philanthropist and a "computer nerd". Unfortunately this year, your speaker is me, although I am not very rich, but at least I am a "nerd".

The affirmation of VS's mother for the Nobel Prize in Physics

I am very grateful to Harvard University for giving me an honorary degree, which is very important to me, perhaps more important than you might think. You know, academically, I am an outlier in our family. My brother got his M.D. From MIT and his PhD from Harvard University. My brother got a law degree from Harvard University.

When I get the Nobel Prize, I think my mother will be happy. But I was wrong. On the morning of the announcement, I called her, and she only said, "this is good news, but I want to know when you will come to see me next time." now, among our brothers, I finally got a Harvard degree. I think this time, she'll be satisfied.

Life is too short.

You have to fall in love with something

The next second movement is door-to-door advice. Such advice is seldom valuable, almost destined to be forgotten and never put into practice. But, as Oscar Wilde said, "all you can do about advice is to give it to others, because it is of no use to you." So, here is my advice.

First, when you make achievements, don't forget your predecessors. Thank your parents and friends who support you, the professors who inspired you, especially the professors who did not give good lessons, because they forced you to teach yourself. On the whole, self-study ability is essential to excellent liberal arts education and will be the key to your success. You also have to hug your classmates and thank them for the many long overnight conversations they have had with you, which brings immeasurable value to your education. Of course, you also have to thank Harvard University. But even if you forget this, the alumni association will come to remind you.

Second, be a generous person in your future life. In any negotiation, leave the last bit of benefit to the other side. Don't take all the money on the table. In cooperation, don't keep the honor to yourself. Any party who cooperates successfully should receive 90% of all honors. In the movie "Harvey", Jimmy Stewart's role, Elwood P. Dowd, fully understands this. "many years ago, my mother said to me, 'Elwood, if you live in this world, you can either be a smart person or a good person,'" he said. I have been a smart man for many years. But I recommend you to be good people. You can quote me.

My third piece of advice is that when you start a new stage of your life, please follow your hobby. If you don't have a hobby, look for it, and don't stop until you find it. Life is too short to walk empty-handed. You must pour your affection into something. At your age, I am super single-minded, and my goal is to become a physicist. After graduating from my undergraduate degree, I spent another eight years at the University of California, Berkeley, finished graduate school, finished my post-doctorate, and then went to Bell Labs for nine years. Over the years, all the central and professional pleasures I have focused on have come from physics.

The source of pride is the difference between the life and creation you touch.

I have one last piece of advice, that is, hobbies are important, but you shouldn't just think about them. When you are white-haired, old and looking back on your life, you need to be proud of what you have done. Neither the material life nor the possessiveness you realize will produce pride. Only those people and things that have been influenced and changed by you will make you proud.

After nine years at Bell Labs, I decided to leave this warm and comfortable ivory tower and enter what I see as the "real world"-the university. My view of Bell Labs, to quote Mary Poppins, is "actually perfect." But I want to leave that kind of life which is just a scientific paper. I'm going to teach and cultivate my own offspring in science.

I have a good friend and outstanding colleague Ted Geballe at Stanford University. He also went to Bell Labs from Berkeley and left Bell Labs for Stanford University a few years ago. He gave the best description of our motives:

"the greatest advantage of working in a university is the students. They are full of vitality, enthusiasm, freedom of thought, and have not been changed by the weight of life. Although they don't realize it, they are the best audience you can find in this society. If there is only a time in your life when you are free and creative, then that time is when you are in college. When they entered the school, the students had no doubt about the words in the textbook. gradually, they found that the textbooks and professors were not omniscient, so they began to think independently. From then on, I began to learn from them. "

The students I have taught, the postdoctoral students I have taught, and the young colleagues I have worked with are all excellent. More than 30 of them are professors now. Many of their research institutions are among the best in the world, including Harvard University. I learned a lot from them. Even now, I occasionally surf the Internet on weekends to consult students who are still engaged in biophysics.

I started my teaching career with the idea of giving back to the society. In my life, I get more than I give, so I want to give back to the society.

Dear students, you play an important role in our future. When you pursue your personal aspirations, I hope you will also develop a spirit of dedication, actively speak out, and help improve the world in all ways, large and small. This will bring you the greatest satisfaction.

Finally, please accept my warmest congratulations. I wish you success, and I hope you will protect and save our planet, for your children, and all the children in the future.