Nobel Laureate Connection

[Rommie]

So guys, this is pretty awesome. We have a very nice new PhD student in my research group this year, doing similar stuff to me, who was just saying how nice it was that she gets to be closer to her family who live in Waterloo. Log into FB today, and what do I see?

"MY MOM WON THE NOBEL PRIZE!!!"

Turns out her mom is Donna Strickland, who is the first woman to win in physics in over half a century. So awesome!

[Sigma_Orionis]

Just read it, extremely cool

[pumpkinpi]

Yeah, awesome!!

[SciFiFisher]

Wow!

[Rommie]

Finally saw the gal in question at tea break to offer my congrats. Apparently she heard because her mom texted her "I won the Nobel prize" and she thought it was a joke, then a friend said "didn't your mom win the Nobel prize? it's on the news!" and she realized it was for real! We asked if she had any idea her mom might win and she said no, but her dad had said it in the past... "but my dad is the sort of person where if we got an A on a science test he'd say 'you're going to win a Nobel Prize someday!' so we didn't really listen to him."

She does get to go to Stockholm for the ceremony, so that's awesome! I also told her if her mom ever does an event where Chris Hadfield is there or whoever else to feel free to just invite herself.

[code monkey]

that's great! imagine their dinner table conversations!!

[grapes]

that's great! imagine their dinner table conversations!!

"pass the potatoes please"

"pass them to me first, I have the most Nobels"

"you have the only Nobel, you only have one Nobel"

"all true, so?"

"pass her the peas too, she can work on the Nobel peas prize"

"she's already got the Nobel piss prize"

"That's the Nobel *phys* prize"

"Whatev"

What? That's how it'd work at my place

[Thumper]

He'll be here all week, Folks!

[Rommie]

Fun stuff, I got to finally meet Donna Strickland today, as she gave the colloquium for the physics department here in Toronto. Grabbed a seat next to my friend and her dad (who it turns out was literally in the same lab in grad school, but gave up his academic career for hers), and got invited to lunch after, so that was cool! Just the nicest, typical Canadian family. And apparently you have to make tough decisions after winning the Nobel Prize, like you're invited on the series finale of Big Bang Theory but also that's the day you are invited to meet the Prime Minister- and Trudeau won out!

I also really thought it was funny that my friend had to give her mom some computer help pre-talk. Apparently it does not matter how credentialed your mom gets, you always need to give her computer help.

Talk itself was nice btw, she's a great explainer and I recommend going to hear her speak if you get the chance. I particularly liked the "I always need a theorist to help me, and maybe now that I won the Nobel Prize that will happen!" and "I always thought this theory was bonkers, and now that I won the Nobel Prize I can say that" jokes. Made me think those things are pretty useful.

[Thumper]

That is all really cool. And funny about the computer help.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Computer help for relatives...Well, imagine that

Pretty cool Rommie

[SciFiFisher]

It's always amazing the people you can meet.

[lady_*nix]

[geonuc]

Tres cool.

I'm a big fan of PM Trudeau but to pass up being on Big Bang Theory?!

[Rommie]

Well if you aren't a fan it's not as exciting. Plus it actually ended up being a day with terrible weather (they wanted her to fly there and back in the same day, yikes) so she likely wouldn't have been able to make it out of Toronto anyway.

I could tell you what the scene was supposed to be, but don't want to give away a spoiler if you're actually watching it.