Yesterday, we observed first hand the incredible abundance of science in our RTP. Within one hour and only a few miles from each lecture, we had the choice of hearing two Nobel Laureates speak: Dr. Oliver Smithies at RTP’s TARDC or Dr. Andrew Fire at NIEHS.

WE chose the hometown favorite, UNC’s Dr. Smithies, at the new RTP headquarters for the monthly TARDC luncheon (TARDC was founded 35 years ago to bring together Research Directors from across our Research Triangle Park, e.g. Triangle Area Research Directors Council).

Dr. Smithies was charming, clever, informative, inspiring and genuine. I suppose this is what one means when another is defined as ‘brilliant.’ He spoke fondly of his mentor, A.G. Ogston ending the lecture with a quote of Dr. Ogston’s:

“For Science is more than the search for truth, more than a challenging game, more than a profession. It is a life that a diversity of people lead together, in the closest proximity, a school for social living. We are members of one another.”

As the science parks from around the world convene next month to discuss their next generation of interconnection, Dr. Ogston’s quote could remind us of Dr. Smithies’s advice that a “key to scientific success is to keep simple the goals of each experiment.”