>>PROF. LEE: IT IS A GREAT HONOR FOR SPECIAL OCCASION.
I EXTEND MY HEARTFELT CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU, THE GRADUATES, FOR ALL THAT YOU HAVE
ACHIEVED, AND TO THE PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, PARTNERS, CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND FRIENDS
WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED IN DIFFERENT WAYS TO MAKE
THIS CELEBRATION AT THE FINISH LINE A REALITY.
NOW, FOR MANY OF YOU, THIS OCCASION MARKS THE END OF WHAT YOU MAY CONSIDER AS
THE �KNOWN� AND NOW YOU ARE ABOUT TO UNDERGO
WHAT WE CHEMISTS CALL A �PHASE TRANSITION,�
A PROCESS THROUGH WHICH YOU WILL BE BROUGHT
TO THE LAND OF THE �UNKNOWN.�
IN THIS PLACE OF THE �UNKNOWN,� YOU MAY FIND YOURSELVES ASKING: WHAT AM I GOING TO
DO?
AM I READY FOR THESE NEW CHALLENGES?
THESE QUESTIONS MUST HAVE GONE THROUGH THE MINDS OF MANY GRADUATES -- AND NO DOUBT
THEIR PARENTS FOR THE PAST 529 CONVOCATIONS, SO, IF THEY HAVE BEEN KEEPING YOU UP AT NIGHT
OF LATE, DON�T WORRY, YOU ARE IN GOOD COMPANY.
THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK HERE TODAY HAS PROMPTED ME TO LOOK BACK AND REFLECT ON WHAT
HAS TRANSPIRED IN MY LIFE SINCE THE DAY WHEN I WAS IN YOUR SEATS, WEARING MY CAP AND GOWN
FOR THE FIRST TIME.
NOW, IF SOMEONE WERE TO TELL ME THEN THAT I WOULD BECOME A CHEMISTRY PROFESSOR,
I WOULD NOT HAVE BELIEVED IT.
WHILE THIS MIGHT COME AS A COMPLETE SHOCK TO THOSE OF YOU WHO TOOK CHEM 113 WITH
ME IN YOUR FIRST YEAR.
OR QUANTUM MECHANICS IN YOUR THIRD YEAR: I AM CONFESSING THAT I ACTUALLY DO NOT
HAVE A CHEMISTRY DEGREE.
[LAUGHTER] IN FACT, I ONLY TOOK ONE CHEMISTRY
COURSE IN COLLEGE, AND THAT HAS REMAINED THE ONLY CHEMISTRY COURSE I HAVE EVER.
TAKEN IN MY LIFE.
SO, HOW COULD I POSSIBLY BECOME A PROFESSOR IN CHEMISTRY?DON'T WORRY, PARENTS.
[LAUGHTER] THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS THAT LIFE
PRESENTS ITSELF WITH MANY TWISTS AND TURNS, AND WITH OCCASIONAL OBSTACLES AND DETOURS
ALONG THE WAY.
SO YOU NEVER QUITE KNOW WHERE IT IS.
TAKING YOU.
WHILE THE UNKNOWN IS UNPREDICTABLE, I IMPLORE YOU TO EMBRACE IT AND TAKE EACH AND
EVERY TWIST AND TURN AS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE.
NOW AS YOU WALK THROUGH COBB GATE FOR THE FINAL TIME THIS WEEK, YOU MIGHT WELL BE
DONE WITH �SCHOOL�, BUT YOUR NEXT PHASE OF LEARNING IS JUST
BEGINNING � LEARNING THAT DOES NOT NECESSARILY TAKE PLACE IN A CLASSROOM,
LEARNING THAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT YOUR LIFETIME.
SOME OF THESE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES REQUIRE COURAGE, WHILE OTHERS THE WILLINGNESS
TO STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, YET OTHERS THE READINESS TO ASSUME THE ASSOCIATED RISKS.
BUT I ASSURE YOU THAT THE REWARDS AND JOY THAT AWAIT YOU CAN BE ENORMOUS.
LEARNING DOES NOT NECESSARILY TAKE A LINEAR PATH.
AND MINE WAS DEFINITELY NONLINEAR.
COMING FROM HONG KONG AS AN INTERNATIONAL STUDENT, I THOUGHT I HAD MY
LIFE ALL PLANNED OUT � I WOULD MAJOR IN ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING, GET MY MASTER�S
DEGREE, AND WORK HAPPILY EVER AFTER IN SILICON VALLEY.
HOWEVER, MY GAME PLAN GOT �SIDE-TRACKED� BY MY SENIOR THESIS PROJECT.
MY THESIS INVOLVED MATHEMATICALLY COUPLING TWO LASER SYSTEMS THAT ARE TOGETHER
WITH THE INTENTION OF LOWERING THE THRESHOLD FOR THE ONSET OF CHAOS.
THIS GOT ME INTERESTED IN LASERS, AND I DECIDED TO SWITCH FIELDS AND PURSUE MY PH.D.
IN APPLIED PHYSICS INSTEAD.
NOW DURING MY DOCTORAL WORK, I WENT FROM MODELING LASERS TO EXPERIMENTING WITH LASERS.
ONE THING LED TO ANOTHER, I ENDED UP EXAMINING WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE �OIL
OVER TROUBLED WATERS,� A WELL-DOCUMENTED PHENOMENON IN THE SEAMEN�S HANDBOOK THAT
RESULTS IN THE DAMPENING OF WAVES WHEN A THIN FILM, IS ONLY A SINGLE MOLECULE IN THICKNESS,
THAT SITS AT THE WATER SURFACE.
INTRIGUED BY THE PROPERTIES OF THESE THIN FILMS, I DID MY FIRST POSTDOCTORAL WORK
IN A CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT.
-- I WAS IN CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT -- AND MY SECOND POSTDOCTORATE IN YET
ANOTHER DEPARTMENT � THIS TIME CHEMICAL ENGINEERING.
TO BE FRANK, IT WAS SCARY EVERY TIME I ENTERED A NEW FIELD, AS THE FEELING OF BEING
SO FAR BEHIND EVERYONE ELSE KEPT.
EVERYONE WAS AHEAD OF ME.
BUT IT WAS ALSO EXHILARATING BECAUSE OF THE FIELD.
MY OWN INTERDISCIPLINARY USING PHYSICAL
TECHNIQUES TO GET AT A QUANTITATIVE UNDERSTANDING AT THE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN
MOLECULES IN A BIOMEDICALLY RELATED SYSTEM.
WHILE MY TRAINING MIGHT LOOK LIKE A RANDOM WALK IN THE SCIENCES, I WAS SIMPLY
LED BY MY INTERESTS, AND I EMBRACED THE
OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ABOUT IDEAS THAT EXCITED ME.
AND I AM GRATEFUL THAT I CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN ON A DAILY
BASIS FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND STUDENTS LIKE YOU.
NOW LEARNING DOES NOT NECESSARILY COME EASY, AND I DRAW INSPIRATION FROM A GERMAN
SCIENTIST BY THE NAME AGNES POCKELS BECAUSE OF HER COURAGE AND PERSISTENCE IN DEFYING
ALL ODDS IN HER LEARNING.
AGNES POCKELS IS BY NO MEANS A HOUSEHOLD NAME LIKE ALBERT EINSTEIN OR MARIE CURIE.
BORN IN 1863, AGNES GREW UP INTERESTED LOVING SCIENCE, BUT UNIVERSITY EDUCATION
WAS NOT ACCESSIBLE TO WOMEN IN THOSE DAYS.
SHE DID NOT BOW DOWN TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
THROUGH HER YOUNGER BROTHER, FRIEDRICH POCKELS, A FAMOUS PHYSICIST, AGNES GAINED
ACCESS TO SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE.
AND LITERALLY USING HER KITCHEN AS HER
LABORATORY, SHE DISCOVERED THE INFLUENCE OF IMPURITIES ON THE SURFACE TENSION OF FLUIDS.
SHE CONSTRUCTED HER EXPERIMENTAL SETUP USING HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES, AND CARRIED OUT
THE FIRST OBSERVATIONS OF WHAT WOULD TURN INTO A NEW FIELD OF INQUIRY KNOWN AS SURFACE
SCIENCE.
IT IS NOT HARD TO IMAGINE HOW DIFFICULT IT MUST HAVE BEEN TO GET HER WORK PUBLISHED.
AGAIN, AGNES DID NOT ALLOW HER MANY REJECTION LETTERS TO DISSUADE HER.
AFTER READING THE PUBLISHED RESULTS OF LORD RAYLEIGH IN 1890 ON THE LITTLE
UNDERSTOOD PROPERTIES OF WATER SURFACES, AGNES BOLDLY WROTE TO HIM, SHARING HER
RESULTS.
THIS LETTER ENDED UP BEING TRANSLATED AND COMMUNICATED BY LORD RAYLEIGH TO THE
EDITOR OF THE PRESTIGIOUS JOURNAL, NATURE, AND BECAME AGNES� FIRST PUBLICATION.
HER WORK ACTUALLY LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE RESEARCH OF IRVING LANGMUIR, WHO WON
THE NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY IN 1932.
AGNES LATER ON WAS RECOGNIZED LATE IN HER LIFE BY THE GERMAN COLLOID SOCIETY.
AND IT IS GRATIFYING TO SEE HER NAME ALONGSIDE WITH NOBEL LAUREATES LIKE WOLFGANG
PAULI, AS IN THE PAULI EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE, AND AMUSING TO SEE HER �PROFESSION� LISTED,
UNLIKE ANY OTHERS, AS �HAUSFRAU� -- HOUSEWIFE.
AGNES POCKELS EXEMPLIFIES LEARNING AGAINST ALL ODDS.
HER DOGGED DETERMINATION HAS CARRIED HER SCIENCE AND HER ACHIEVEMENTS FAR BEYOND THE
WILDEST IMAGINATION.
SO, WHATEVER YOUR PURSUITS MIGHT BE, DON�T LET ANYONE DEFINE WHAT YOU CAN OR
CANNOT DO.
SPEAKING OF �DOING�, JOHN DEWEY, THE EDUCATOR AND PROFESSOR OF PHILOSOPHY HERE
AT THE TURN OF THE 20TH CENTURY, EXPOUNDED THE
EDUCATION THEORY �LEARNING BY DOING�.
ARGUING THAT �IF KNOWLEDGE COMES FROM THE IMPRESSIONS MADE UPON US BY NATURAL
OBJECTS, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR US TO PROCURE KNOWLEDGE WITHOUT THE USE OF OBJECTS WHICH
IMPRESS THE MIND," DEWEY TESTED OUT HIS THEORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
LABORATORY SCHOOLS THAT HE FOUNDED.
WHICH IS ONLY A COUPLE BLOCKS DOWN THE STREET FROM HERE.
WHILE DEWEY USED THIS THEORY TO ARGUE FOR EXPERIENTIAL EDUCATION IN WHICH STUDENTS
ARE ALLOWED TO EXPERIENCE AND INTERACT WITH THE CURRICULUM, I AM USING THIS PHILOSOPHY
AS A CALL FOR ACTION IN THE REAL WORLD INTO
WHICH YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK.
AFTER ALL, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO LEARN HOW TO DO SOMETHING, AND THAT IS BY
DOING IT.
THERE ARE MANY URGENT PROBLEMS WITH AND ISSUES OUR WORLD IS FACING AND FOR
WHICH THERE IS NO PRESCRIBED SOLUTIONS.
AND THE SENSE OF URGENCY HAS BEEN HEIGHTENED OVER
THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
SO IF YOU WANT TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED
IN RESOLVING LARGE-SCALE CONFLICTS IN THE WORLD,
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE EDUCATION ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT
FOOD AND WATER SECURITY, LEARN ABOUT HOW TO TACKLE THESE PROBLEMS BY IMMERSING YOURSELVES
INTO THEM AND ACTING ON THEM.
WHILE TODAY WE ARE CELEBRATING ACHIEVEMENTS AND SUCCESSES, I WOULD BE REMISS
IF I DO NOT ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPORTANT ROLE FAILURES PLAYS IN THE PROCESS OF LEARNING.
I CAN SAFELY ARGUE THAT FAILURE IS NOT SOMETHING THAT WE CELEBRATE.
OFTEN, THE FEAR OF FAILURE PRESENTS ITSELF AS A SIGNIFICANT, IF NOT
INSURMOUNTABLE, BARRIER FOR US TO UNDERSTAND AND UNDERTAKE NEW ADVENTURE.
YET FAILURE IS A NECESSARY PREREQUISITE TO BECOMING AN EXPERT IN ANYTHING, WHICH
LEADS TO THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION THAT FAILURE IS AN INTEGRAL PART OF SUCCESS.
WHEN I WAS ABOUT TO FINISH MY PH.D., MY ADVISOR POINTED
OUT THAT IF I WERE TO DRAW A PIE CHART OF MY
TIME SPENT IN GRADUATE SCHOOL, THEN THE TIME IT TOOK FOR ME TO OBTAIN THE RESULTS
CELEBRATED IN MY THESIS WOULD ONLY BE A SMALL SLIVER.
MOST OF THE TIME WAS OCCUPIED BY EFFORTS SPENT ON FAILED EXPERIMENTS AND
DEVISING WAYS TO IMPROVE THEM SO THAT WE CAN GET TO WHERE WE WANTED.
FAILURE IN AND OF ITSELF IS OF LITTLE VALUE � I AM CLEARLY NOT ADVOCATING THAT
YOU SHOULD JUST GO OUT, FIND SOMETHING TO DO,
AND JUST FAIL SPECTACULARLY.
THE VALUE OF FAILURES LIES IN HOW WE LEARN FROM THEM, HOW THEY SERVE TO NUDGE US
TO DELVE DEEPER, AND HOW THEY SPUR US TO APPROACH A PROBLEM DIFFERENTLY, PERHAPS MORE
CREATIVELY.
OF COURSE THE DIFFICULT PART IS TO SUSTAIN ONE�S MOTIVATION AND SELF-CONFIDENCE
IN THE FACE OF FAILURES, THEREFORE IT IS IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT FAILURE IS
A NORMAL AND AN HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
IN HER 2011 COLUMN IN THE SAME JOURNAL NATURE, THAT'S THE ONLY THING I READ, MELANIE
STEFAN, THEN A POSTDOCTORATE AT CALTECH, CORRECTLY POINTS OUT THAT OUR CURRICULUM
VITAE, OUR CV, ONLY PROVIDES �A NARRATIVE OF
SUCCESS THAT RENDERS OUR SETBACKS INVISIBLE BOTH TO OURSELVES AND TO OTHERS.�
SHE WENT ON TO SUGGEST HAVING AN ALTERNATIVE CV HIGHLIGHTING FAILURES --
ONE IN WHICH EVERY UNSUCCESSFUL APPLICATION, TURNED DOWN GRANT PROPOSAL AND REJECTED PAPER
IS DETAILED -- AND DARES US TO MAKE THESE FAILURES PUBLIC TO REMIND OURSELVES AND
OTHERS OF THIS MISSING TRUTH, TO BALANCE THE RECORD, AND TO PROVIDE SOME PERSPECTIVE.
I THINK THIS IS A FANTASTIC IDEA, AND MY LAST, BUT CERTAINLY NOT THE LEAST, IS
LEARNING TO ACHIEVE YOUR OWN BALANCE.
GIVEN THAT AN AVERAGE COLLEGE STUDENT ONLY GETS
TO SLEEP 6 TO 6.9 HOURS A NIGHT, YOU ARE WELL
AWARE OF THE RELENTLESS DEMAND OF YOUR TIME BY ALL YOUR ACTIVITIES.
I HATE TO BREAK THIS TO YOU, BUT THIS IS NOT GOING TO GET ANY BETTER AFTER YOU
-- SOON.
LEARNING WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE AND NOT TO LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT YOU HOLD DEAR � BE
IT WORK, AMBITIONS, RELATIONS, VALUES � WILL BE IMPORTANT TO HELP GUIDE YOU IN YOUR
JOURNEY AND LEAVE YOU WITH FEW REGRETS.
A FORMER LAB MATE DYING FROM CANCER IS NOT GOING TO WAIT FOR YOU TO FINISH YOUR
GRANT PROPOSAL SO THAT I CAN KEEP YOUR PROMISE OF VISITING HIM IN GERMANY.ONCE THE
OPPORTUNITY IS GONE, THERE IS NO WAY TO GET IT BACK, SO PICK AND CHOOSE HOW YOU REALLY
WANT TO SPEND YOUR TIME IS KEY.
CLASS OF 2017, I DARE SAY THAT YOU ALL HAVE HAD A LEARNING EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME
HERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO.
BRING ALONG WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO THE RIGOR OF INQUIRY, THE WILLINGNESS TO
CHALLENGE, THE READINESS TO LISTEN TO THOSE WHO MIGHT HAVE VIEWPOINTS DIFFERENT FROM
YOURS.
MAY YOU HAVE THE COURAGE TO EMBRACE THE UNKNOWN, THE LUXURY TO FOLLOW YOUR PASSIONS,
THE AUDACITY TO DEFY YOUR ODDS, THE ABILITY TO PUT YOUR THOUGHTS INTO ACTION, THE
HUMILITY TO ACCEPT FAILURES, AND THE INSIGHT TO STRIKE YOUR BALANCE.
I WISH YOU A FULFILLING LIFETIME OF LEARNING.
GO OUT, MAKE YOUR MARKS AND PLEASE COME BACK AND TELL US WHAT YOU LEARN.
THANK YOU.
[APPLAUSE.]
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