Frances Arnold

For me, I was always the only woman in my cohort, first as a mechanical engineering undergraduate student, then as a chemical engineering graduate student. There were very few women getting degrees in those fields at the time. My role models were men - great men role models. ”

Most innovative things are not obvious to other people at the time. You have to believe in yourself. If you've got a good idea, follow it even though others tell you it's not. ”

I had to grow up, reach a certain age where I see people do have something to show me. ”

What I want to do is encourage women to take on this incredibly exciting and fun challenge to use their brains for the benefit of humanity but through science and technology. ”

What we need is a strong education system that allows creativity to grow and encourages students to be interested in science and technology. ”

Science and technology are going to be the basis for many of the solutions to social problems. ”

You never know what will happen tomorrow. ”

I feel a responsibility to encourage everyone to excel in science. ”

My laboratory uses evolution to design new enzymes. No one really knows how to design them - they are tremendously complicated. But we are learning how to use evolution to make new ones, just as nature does. ”

The code of life is like a Beethoven symphony. We have not yet learned how to write music like that. But evolution does it very well. I am learning how to use evolution to compose new music. ”