Dan Shechtman

I think the main lesson that I have learned is that a good scientist is a humble scientist who is open-minded to listen to other scientists when they discover something. ”

Colleges will try to get the good students. That's the way to go. When I chaired my department of Materials Engineering at the Technion in 1990, we started a program for which we set the bar very high. It was the highest at the Technion, above electrical engineering and medicine. ”

A president should look for what binds the people together rather than what drives them apart. As soon as you are identified with one side of the political map, you are no longer everybody's president. ”

My childhood dream was to study mechanical engineering. After reading 'The Mysterious Island' - which I read 25 times as a boy - I thought that was the best thing a person could do. The engineer in the book knows mechanics and physics, and he creates a whole way of life on the island out of nothing. I wanted to be like that. ”

I'm proud of my family, very proud - I have ten grandchildren, four children, and one wife. ”

In the forefront of science, there is not much difference between religion and science. People harbor beliefs. That's what happens when people believe something religiously. ”

Science is the ultimate tool to reveal the laws of nature, and the one word written on its banner is Truth. ”

I see the root of the education crisis in the primary and secondary schools. Academia is doing a fairly good job. The root of the problem is the teachers. Some are great. But too many of them are not capable of being good role models. They can't control the classes. They lose too much time trying to create a learning environment. ”

I think I can change things for the better in this country. I'm doing it now as well, in many areas, mostly in education, higher education and technological entrepreneurship. But I think I could do a lot more from a presidential position. ”

The good people look for challenges. When teaching becomes a prestigious profession, then you'll get good people. ”