"I was impressed with Dr. Ann-Shyn Chiang's research when I saw it two years ago," said Dr. James D. Watson, a 1968 Nobel laureate in medicine. "I was hoping to have a chance to see the laboratory where he conducted his brilliant research on drosophia brain function."

Dr. Watson came to NTHU recently to christen a lecture hall named in his honor -- the Dr. James D. Watson Hall in Life Science Building, on April 1. In accepting an Honorary Distinguish Chair Professorship, he said that NTHU was ahead in neuro- and life-science researches, and he would gladly agree to lend his name to a brand new laboratory at NTHU.

Dr. Watson places great emphasis on education, and has spent a lifetime researching the truth—truth that can stand the test of time. He was adamant in suggesting one's success is a function of both the external environment as well as one's DNA, and he related his accomplishments to four factors: First, being born in a family that placed great emphases on education—there were volumes of books in his parents' house and he was free to read whatever materials he liked; second, the privilege of attending a good university where he was exposed not just to science, but humanities, arts and history as well; third, good teachers from whom he received valuable guidance; and finally, his own relentlessly competitive personality.

Dr. Watson reiterated that university education is to cultivate independent thinkers, and a university is the place where young persons learn to be independent from their parents; likewise, a young persons shall learn to enter the area of their own calling, independent of their professors. "To succeed, one must be tenacious," he added.