Five Questions for Professor Roy J. Glauber 2005 Nobel Laureate in Physics

What significance does the Nobel Prize have for you?
It represents a very strong acknowledgement of the great significance of one's work.  It is very flattering and confirming.

What is your experience and general impression of Sweden?
I have visited Sweden many times and have many friends there. I have always found Swedes to be very gracious hosts.  To visit Sweden during Nobel Week was a truly unbelievable experience.  It is remarkable how the whole country takes part in this scientific celebration.  You can't find a celebration of this kind in the United States.  School children cheered in the streets when we passed by.  The Prize Award Ceremony was extraordinary and the Nobel Banquet dinner was fantastic.  

Do you have any special memories from your years at the Bronx High School of Science?
I was in the first class to enter Bronx Science, spent three years there and have many bright memories from those years. I still have contact with some of my classmates from those days.  I used to take the trolley cars from Upper Manhattan where I lived crosstown to the Bronx.  They had and still have excellent teachers at Bronx Science, who encourage kids to engage in science. I had a teacher who encouraged me to study calculus independently, and that saved me a great deal of time in college and graduate school.
 
What is your personal connection to Theodore Roosevelt Park, the site of the Nobel Monument?
As a result of one science project in high school, I was invited to join the Junior Astronomy Club that convened every other week in the Theodore Roosevelt Memorial of the American Museum of Natural History, located in Theodore Roosevelt Park.  For three years, I spent a great deal of time in that building.  I was also very inspired by the old Hayden Planetarium, which I used to visit often.  I remember taking the subway from 207th Street to 81st Street where we used to enter into the basement of the Roosevelt Memorial Hall.

What advice would you like to give to today's young science students and participants in The Laureates of Tomorrow - Nobel Essay Contest?
Keep at it!  Your interests may change, but wherever they lead – follow!  I used to be an astronomer, but my interest led to optical things and a lot of mathematics.  Follow your interest passionately and don't be scared of mathematics!

For more information about the Nobel Monument: www.nobelmonument.com

For more information about The Laureates of Tomorrow - Nobel Essay Contest: www.laureatesoftomorrow.org

Photo: © Catarina Lundgren Åström