In a year when we mourn the loss of many national treasures, I reflect with great sadness on the passing of Nobel prize-winning chemist Harry Kroto.
Harry was an alumnus of Bolton School, where I was studying when I had the good fortune to hear him accept the Dalton Medal at Manchester University in 1998. His story of scientific discovery and down-to-earth demeanour inspired me to pursue a career in science, but something he said that night has stuck with me even more. He spoke about the value, indeed the necessity, of communicating complex science to public audiences: “Scientific discoveries matter much more when they’re communicated simply and well – if you can’t explain your work to the man in the pub, what’s the point?”
Science has lost a great mind, and the public a great science communicator - someone who deserves as many plaudits as the many entertainers we’ve said goodbye to of late.
Prateek Buch
Woodford Green, Essex
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