"When I obtained my Masters from NTU, some of the advisors in the department had been my college classmates. You can tell how late I got started compared with my peers. It took me eight years to figure out my direction," he said.
"The time I studied at MIT completely changed my life. I studied under George Whitesides, an accomplished chemist, who really kindled my interest in chemistry. He was very enlightening and provided me with a lot of great ideas. I learned from him what frontier research in chemistry was all about. I studied like crazy. I became very confident because I knew what I wanted."
Ultimately, Wong earned his doctoral degree at MIT in only three years and his current work, researching drugs to fight against the virus that causes AIDS, is considered cutting edge.
"I think interest can be fostered. The key is to meet the right people who know your strengths and can bring out your potential. One can only have the kind of driving force or enthusiasm to move forward after their real interest is discovered," he said.
from loser to leader
Steven Chu seems more fortunate relative to Wu and Wong on the grounds that his aptitude in science was revealed rather early because he was raised in a predominantly science-oriented family. His career, however, has not always been that smooth.
"My parents thought I was a `loser,'" said the Nobel laureate, laughing in response to a question about his parents' reaction when he was only admitted to a relatively mediocre school -- The University of Rochester -- compared with the Ivy League schools attended by most of his siblings and relatives.
"They were resigned to the fact after a while because of my outstanding performance at school," he said.
"The most important lesson I learned from my days at Rochester was that once I got the taste of being `on top,' then I never wanted to be at the bottom again. I probably would not have had such opportunities if I had studied at other more competitive schools," he said modestly.
Being a scientist, Chu has gone through numerous failures in his experiments before a true breakthrough takes place.
"You put it [the experiment] aside for a while when you feel there is still a possibility to succeed. You give it up when you know it is obviously not going to work. Then you move on. You never stop," he said.
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