venki wins the nobel (scientist of the week, part 1)
Written on October 13, 2009
searching through my various geeky news feeds today i was delighted to see that the 2009 nobel prize in chemistry went to venkatraman “venki” ramakrishnan, for his work in mapping the structure of the ribosome.
in late may i went to a symposium on evolutionary biology at cold spring harbor laboratory where i was lucky enough to photograph many smart people from many places. it was a very busy week with a hectic schedule and it went by way too fast. still, it reminds me of what i love about photography. even though my knowledge of real biology is weak at best, i know enough to follow basic descriptions of complex things, and all the scientists were very gracious with their knowledge. there’s always something good to be gained from talking to someone of a thing that they care very much about.
i photographed venki on the first day there, and would see him walking around the rest of the week. he always stopped and said hello, and seemed genuinely friendly, curious and obviously very bright.
congratulations, venki, and thanks!
[and my thanks to audrey at crossroads who taught me AP biology in 1991, so that many years later i don't feel like a complete idiot talking to real scientists]
see more about his nobel win here.
Filed in: science, scientist of the week.