When he received the EASA medal he shared four lessons he had learned about research with the delegates:
- We will probably never have the final answer or the final proof of anything. The more we learn the less we know. Sir Isaac Newton who said: "What we know is a drop. What we don't know is an ocean." This is a truth that young academics seldom realise in their quest to excel. So far I have not found a single absolute right answer, but I think that I have grown in my understanding of some phenomena through my research. I also find great comfort when I hear my fellow natural scientists battling with the same problem. Recently I have heard of a NASA official involved in space exploration who was talking to a reporter about humans landing on Mars. The reporter was concerned about how they would be able to return to earth. "That involves a highly complex plan," the space official said. "It begins with the words, 'Our Father who art in Heaven.'"
- The second lesson that I learned early in my research career is the importance of a mentor – somebody who can act as a sounding board but also as a grinder. You will not learn much from a mentor who is not prepared to be brutally critical of your work.
- The third lesson that I had to learn was to accept that things do not always work out the way you planned it, but it will always be for the better in the long run.
- Finally, you have to learn to accept critique. I remember one staff member years ago who spent most of his time in the library reading. When I confronted him and asked when he is going to start writing up his research, he lamented: “Research as reading is wonderful, but the moment you put your hand to paper, you will get flack.” Lack is just as a normal part of research as it is of front-line action. Whenever a person invests his or her life in a worthwhile cause and does a good job, especially if he or she doesn't follow the party line, is not acting in a "politically correct" manner, or swims against the tide of current thought, he or she will inevitably become a target for criticism from those who feel threatened or are in some way jealous. The point is, flack is a part of the price of research. If we don't want flack, all we need to do is to stay a part of the status quo, don't rock the boat, be politically correct, or stay at home. But safety is not the way of true research.
As one poet wrote:
I would rather stumble a thousand times
Attempting to reach a goal,
Than to sit in a crowd
In my weather-proof shroud,
A shriveled and self-satisfied soul.
I would rather be doing and daring
All of my error-filled days,
Than watching and waiting, and dying
Smug in my perfect ways.
I would rather wonder and blunder,
Stumbling blindly ahead,
Than for safety's sake
Lest I make a mistake
Be sure, be safe, be dead.
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