Standing on stage at his former high school, more than 60 years after graduating, was enough to make Nobel Prize winner Dr. Art McDonald a bit nostalgic.
“It hasn’t changed that much, really,” said McDonald following an address to Sydney Academy students.
“It’s the same building, because I was part of the first graduating class in 1960.”
Fifty-five years later, the world learned McDonald’s name when he won the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics – along with Japanese colleague Takaaki Kajita.
On Monday, McDonald came back to his alma mater to share his experience with the students.
“I would hope that some of them would be inspired by knowing it was possible for me to do well after graduating from the Academy,” he said.
McDonald, who is now 81, won the Nobel Prize for his work studying sub-atomic particles called neutrinos.
“I mean, it’s kind of mind-blowing to think about”, said Grade 12 student Katie Milburn, who plans to study physics in university. “It just makes you think that anybody can do anything no matter where they come from.”
After telling stories and taking questions in the school’s gymnasium, the Nobel Prize winner fielded more queries from some of the school’s brightest students.
“What did I learn? To have a sense of humour,” said Grade 12 student Oluwatamilore Seriki. “Like honestly, no matter where you go in science have a sense of humour. Smile and don’t forget to make friends with the people that you meet.”
Today’s students use smartphones and artificial intelligence (AI) in their everyday lives – scientific advancements that were well in the future when McDonald was a high school student 65 years ago.
“I had the same aspirations they had, although I have to say I didn’t plan to win a Nobel Prize when I graduated from here,” said McDonald with a laugh.
In the end, the scientist got rock star treatment – with students asking for photos and autographs.
He also had some final advice for the young minds.
“Continue to be curious,” said McDonald. “Because essentially, everything I spoke about today has been discovered since I graduated from Sydney Academy.”
McDonald also spoke earlier in the day at Cape Breton University.
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