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Manabe calls Nobel prize win “big surprise”

Manabe said that he enjoys Chinese, Japanese and other cuisine Nobuko cooks and that he could focus on his research without worrying about child-raising. (AFP)
Manabe said that he enjoys Chinese, Japanese and other cuisine Nobuko cooks and that he could focus on his research without worrying about child-raising. (AFP)
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06 Oct 2021 03:10:08 GMT9
06 Oct 2021 03:10:08 GMT9

PRINCETON, New Jersey: Japanese-born US scientist Syukuro Manabe on Tuesday expressed his joy of being named a winner of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics, describing it as “a big surprise.”

Manabe, a 90-year-old senior meteorologist at Princeton University, told a press conference held at the university in New Jersey that he recently saw the list of past Nobel Prize winners and that these laureates made outstanding contributions. “And then I think about my own work…compared with these works, I just think ‘oh this is’…it is a big surprise.”

He won the Nobel Prize for establishing climate models that contribute mainly to predicting global warming. Manabe shares the physics prize with two other scientists–Klaus Hasselmann, 89, professor at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, and Giorgio Parisi, 73, professor at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners Tuesday.

Describing climate change as “a major crisis” for humanity, Manabe said his research may have been commended as a cue for helping people better understand what the problem is.

Manabe said he had “never imagined” that his study would lead to “such huge consequences,” referring to his Nobel Prize win. “I was doing it just because of my curiosity,” Manabe said, looking back at days when he started his research.

Asked for advice to young generations, Manabe said: “I think the most important thing…is to find out what you are good at and what you are not good at. I recommend curiosity-driven research.”

On a question about his wife, Nobuko, 80, Manabe touched on a story about her driving for him. Manabe said he tends to not pay attention to traffic signals once he starts thinking about something while driving. “She is a great driver. This means I can focus on my research 100 percent,” Manabe said, adding that “On this occasion, I would like to thank her” for this.

Manabe said that he enjoys Chinese, Japanese and other cuisine Nobuko cooks and that he could focus on his research without worrying about child-raising.

He said “thank you” to Nobuko, who was watching the press conference at the venue, receiving a big round of applause from the audience.

Manabe expressed concern about “less and less curiosity-driven research” in Japan. In the country, exchanges between scientists and policymakers are fewer than in the United States, he said, asking both sides to step up communication.

JIJI Press

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