The scientific community ridiculed him • Linus Pauling dubbed him a "quasi-scientist." • On Saturday, Schechtman was vindicated when the Swedish king awarded him the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
Boaz Bismuth, Israel Hayom's Correspondent in Stockholm and Israel Hayom Staff
STOCKHOLM -- For years the scientific establishment did battle against professor Dan Schechtman. The man who forced the chemistry world to concede that one of the fundamental principles passed down to millions of scientist for decades was simply not true got his just desserts on Saturday. At 6:10 p.m. he stood before King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden and received the Nobel Prize. Just hours before the most important ceremony of his professional life, Schechtman appeared unruffled. "It's a personality thing," he said shortly after the dress rehearsal.
At the dress rehearsal, a commoner had stood in for the Swedish king. By the time Schechtman stood before the actual king of Sweden, even the man known for his unflappability was unable to conceal his emotion.
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Over the past several days, Sweden's capital had given Professor Schechtman a royal reception. It seemed the Swedes could not get enough of his lectures. In Israel too, every speech he delivered over the past several days was followed by an entire country excited about the 10th Nobel Prize awarded to an Israeli. "Thanks to you, an entire nation stands tall today," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him by telephone. "Your achievements are a badge of pride for the entire nation."
Shortly after receiving the Nobel Prize, Schechtman vowed to use his newfound fame to try to influence decision-makers, and by Sunday morning he was already making good on his promise.
In an interview with Israel Radio's Keren Neubach Sunday morning, Schechtman, like other Nobel laureates before him, spoke out about what he described as the alarming state of Israel's primary and secondary school systems. "A generation is growing up in Israel that does not know how to count," he said.
In a thinly veiled reference to ultra-Orthodox schools, he said that schools that refuse to teach core subjects, like math, science and English, should be denied government funding. "You can pray for God's charity, but it will not put bread on the table."
Without mincing words, he said that parents who do not give their children an education in core subjects should be subject to punishment by law. "In effect, they are abusing their children and turning them into street beggars," he said, adding that he had expressed these views with the prime minister and education minister, who share his concern, but that they need to be pressed to actually implement change.
Schechtman did praise the current government, which he said has invested more in higher education and in education in general, but he said more improvements are needed, mainly in primary education.
Schechtman's discoveries introduced quasicrystals to the world. These are chemical structures that, contrary to many years of accepted belief, are not arranged periodically. Schechtman's saga, therefore, is not just about the crystals but about the triumph of scientific truth.
"Your discovery of quasicrystals has created a new branch of science," said Professor Sven Lidin of the Swedish Academy, who presented Schechtman prior to his Nobel banquet speech. "This is in itself of great importance. It has also given us a reminder of how little we know and perhaps given us some humility. That is a truly great achievement."
The first scientific journal where Schechtman sought to publish the findings that ultimately won him the Nobel turned him down. The second journal did publish his article, but only six months after receiving it. The scientific community turned their backs on him. Linus Pauling, who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1954 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1962, cast doubt on Schectman's work at every turn.
In his Nobel lecture on Thursday, Schechtman said he had been a disgrace to his research group, but nevertheless refused to give up. He knew he would prevail, simply because he was right, he said, going on to quote to the distinguished audience in Stockholm Psalm 23: "Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil."
At a reception for the Nobel Laureate held by Israel's ambassador in Stockholm, Benny Dagan, Schechtman admitted that he does not intend to follow the example of Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israel's first Nobel Prize winner. Agnon, who won the prize for Literature in 1966, said in his speech that he had only left the state of Israel twice, once in his books and the second time to visit Sweden and Norway to receive the prize. "I plan to do a lot of travelling around the world to promote the importance of education, technological innovation and science," Schechtman said.
In addition to the Nobel medal, Schechtman received a prize of 10 million Swedish kronas, about $1.5 million.
Heightened security
Prior to the ceremony, Schechtman attended shaharit (morning) services at the Stockholm Great Synagogue. Swedish police deployed heavily for the event. Two police cars had been stationed near the synagogue since Friday afternoon and on Saturday morning, two helicopters circled the skies of Stockholm. The Swedish authorities understood clearly that an Israeli laureate necessitated heightened security. The kingdom of Sweden has not cut Israel much slack in recent years, but it appears that the language of science has the power to breach borders.
With Schechtman's prize, a small country has turned into a Nobel powerhouse. Much of this is thanks to the Technion, an academic institution that is gradually becoming one of the world's most prestigious, with several Nobel laureates working under its roof. It is no wonder that Technion President Professor Peretz Lavie was strolling around Stockholm on Saturday as if he himself had won the prize. On this day of triumph, who would think that he would soon return to the struggle of managing an institution that, while prestigious and successful, is running a deficit of NIS 50 million?
"I want to promote education, technological innovation and science"
"Our dad is the same dad as ever, despite the Nobel Prize," Tamar, Schechtman's oldest daughter, told Israel Hayom on Saturday. She was dining with the rest of the family at the Nobel banquet in Stockholm's City Hall, in the presence of Sweden's king and queen. I asked Schectman what was the most exciting day of his life: his wedding day, the day his first daughter was born, or today, winning the Nobel Prize.
"I was moved to tears at the birth of all four of my children," he said. "The Nobel pales in comparison."
Swedish television rebroadcast Schechtman's remarks on Saturday that "the Nobel Prize gives one access to decision-makers and I intend to take advantage of that."
"Do you really plan to take advantage of that?" Israel Hayom asked him.
"From now on I want to promote education, technological innovation and science. That is my goal."
When I caution Schechtman that if he persists in this goal, he may not have time to win a second Nobel Prize, he responds, "As I said, I have other plans."
"Did you believe this day would ever come?" I ask.
"I did not expect it this year, but I knew I was a candidate for many years. I feel lucky today, because everyone who gets the prize deserves it, but not everyone who deserves it gets the prize."
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