Dr. Reona Esaki, 1973 Nobel Laureate in physics and NTHU Distinguished Chair Professor, gave a lecture to a full-house on "In Half a Century of Research, What Did I Learn?" As part of the lecture series on general science, Dr. Esaki shared with the audience his reflections on his academic research as well as personal philosophies over the last half century. The lecture drew rapt attention from students and faculty members alike.

Having experience the ravages of war, Professor Esaki has a very unique view on life. Since his college days, he was determined to "write his own script of life," and was unwavering in pursuit of his own life goals. He talked about his enduring contribution to the understanding of semiconductor physics: Esaki Diode and Super-Lattice. He was especially inspired by the Descartian motto "I think, therefore I am." He believes in the importance of creative thinking and said, "If one does not think, one is simply vegetating."

"There are five necessary conditions to be a Nobel Laureate," said the now 85 year-old Nobel Professor Esaki. "(1) Never be constrained by tradition; (2) never be intimidated by the "greats"; (3) never get entangled by the information jungle; (4) always be true to one's beliefs; (5) relish your childhood imagination and stay curious."

As a child, Professor Esaki began his interest in science by indulging himself in reading biographies of great inventors like Thomas Edison and Guglielmo Marconi, and vowed to be like them one day. He also enjoyed playing with and putting together train and automobile models. After receiving his Ph.D. in science from Tokyo University in 1959, he went to work at IBM's T. J. Watson Research Center in 1960, where he made the famed discovery of electronic tunneling effect, and rewrote the rule of physics that said an electron can never cross a potential barrier. His research would later win him the Nobel Prize in 1973.

After retiring from IBM in 1993, he subsequently served as the president of many universities, including the University of Tsukuba, and now the President of the Yokohama College of Pharmacy.

Dr. Esaki has received many awards, including the Nishina Memorial Award, the Asahi Press Award, the Toyo Rayon Foundation Award for the Promotion of Science and Technology, the Japan Academy Award, the Order of Culture from the Japanese Government, the American Physical Society's 1985 International Prize and the IEEE Medal of Honor.

The NTHU Nobel Laureate lecture series has invited more than ten Nobel Laureates to come and give lecture at NTHU to date. The audience comes from all walks of life: high school and college students, faculty as well as researchers from nearby institutions.