Frank Wilczek is a physics professor at MIT, Arizona State University, and Stockholm University. He won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physics, along with David Gross and H. David Politzer, “for the discovery of asymptotic freedom in the theory of the strong interaction.” The work, which revolutionized quantum physics, was conducted thirty-one years prior, when Wilczek was a graduate student at Princeton. He has been awarded a MacArthur Fellowship and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has writ- ten multiple books, including A Beautiful Question: Finding Nature’s Deep Design and Fundamentals: Ten Keys to Reality.

We tend to respect things in other people that we either can’t see in ourselves or see in ourselves but don’t live up to. This is probably why I so admire Frank Wilczek’s endurance and forbearance. Those qualities are incredibly rare in a scientist and are ones I struggle with personally. He had this almost stoic patience, to wait thirty-one years for recognition, knowing all the while that he would likely win the Nobel Prize, but not receiving it. He exhibited incredible grit and resiliency. And he never lost his cheerfulness! Throughout those years, he committed to the process, dedicated himself to his craft, and kept showing up, understanding that the award is not the final arbiter of success or even satisfaction. I’ve learned more from him about patience and determination even than I have about the inner workings of protons and quarks. 

Available on Amazon: Think Like a Nobel Prize Winner 

About Professor Brian Keating:

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