On 15th December 2014, Sir Paul Nurse, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Adam Smith, Chief Scientific Officer of Nobel Media and Dr. Beritte Christenson, Global Director of the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative (NPII) visited Peking University (PKU) and held a series of activities in Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center. Li Yansong, Vice President of PKU, Professor Li Chenjian, Vice Provost of PKU, Professor Xiao Ruiping, Director of Institute of Molecular Medicine and Zheng Ruqing, Deputy Director of Office of International Relations welcomed the guests at the VIP room.
Vice President Li first extended a warm welcome to Sir Paul Nurse. Then he briefly introduced PKU’s history, composition of disciplines and course arrangements. Since Sir Nurse’s research area is in physiology and medicine, Vice President Li also briefed him on PKU’s Health Science Center. Sir Paul Nurse expressed his thanks for the warm reception and he said he felt honored to be at PKU. He also introduced the Royal Society, London and some other institutes he worked with to Vice President Li.
The award ceremony was held in the Moonlight Hall. Professor Xiao hosted the ceremony and she said it was an honor to confer Sir Nurse PKU Honorary Professorship. Then Vice President Li gave his welcoming remarks, saying that it was a precious opportunity for PKU students to meet with the world-renowned scientist and participate in the coming roundtable discussion and academic lecture hosted by Sir Nurse. Then he awarded the certificate of Honorary Professorship and Global Fellowship to Sir Nurse. A student from the Institute of Molecular Medicine wore a PKU badge for Sir Nurse.
Sir Nurse expressed his thanks to PKU for awarding Honorary Professorship and Global Fellowship to him. He held great expectations for PKU students and said, “You should feel proud that you are one of these remarkable students in this university. There are students coming from more than one hundred countries studying here and you should make the most of the available academic and professional resources.” Then he offered some advice to the young, saying that students should always keep a positive attitude and a sense of humor when doing any scientific research as there would be many obstacles along the way.
The roundtable discussion with Sir Paul Nurse was held at Starlight Hall, during which time students and young teachers had a discussion on biochemistry and medical sciences, as well as Sir Paul Nurse’s road to success. Sir Paul Nurse also offered some suggestions to the students who were concerned with how to choose a research field and what they should do if they lost directions in their study.
In the afternoon, the 2014 Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative Academic Lecture was held at Sunshine Hall, Yingjie Overseas Exchange Centre. Sir Paul Nurse gave a speech entitled “Understanding Cell Proliferation”, unveiling the secrets of cell proliferation and cell cycle and what roles they are playing in the emergence of cancers. At the end of his lecture, he encouraged all the young students to devote themselves to the exploration of secrets in sciences in the future.
After the activities in the Yingjie Overseas Exchange Center, Sir Paul Nurse visited PKU campus and the Stanford Center, accompanied by Professor Li Chenjian.
Written by: Zhang Rutian
