My explorations of the technical world started with Legos, with which I was quite creative in constructing moving objects with the basic building blocks that were then available.

Explorations into chemistry were done in our basement, sometimes with friends, and my parents must have had quite a bit of confidence in my abilities when they allowed me to experiment with explosive mixtures.

I think both running and science reflect certain character traits. I have endurance, patience, and ambition. I'm willing to work hard toward a goal, to push myself and overcome limits. Running and science both let me express these traits.

Bose and Einstein had triggered low-temperature experiments that have led to the discovery of new matter. I owe my work and my Nobel to them.

Anyone who plays in the NHL dreams to win the Stanley Cup and I dreamed as well to be one of them and raise the cup in Washington and bring it home to Moscow and celebrate with my friends and my parents.

There were nine children in my father's family and eight in my mother's. My grandparents did the best with what they had. After the Depression, they were scratching out a living and working hard. They kept the family going.

My whole family is lactose intolerant and when we take pictures we can't say cheese.

When I was a little boy, there were a lot of children with physical problems in my hometown, and my parents used to work with them, and I learned a lot about that. Since I was a child, helping out, doing what I can, was something that fulfilled me.