Smithies is not the only winner of this year’s Nobel Prize with a local connection.
The Nobel Prize for Peace was awarded this morning and one of the recepients is the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The chair of IPCC is Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri, a triple alumnus and former professor at my alma mater North Carolina State University:
Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), obtained all three of his graduate degrees from NC State, including a master’s degree in industrial engineering in 1972, and doctorates in industrial engineering and economics. He also served at NC State as an assistant professor (August 1974 – May 1975) and visiting faculty member (summer 1976 and 1977) in the Department of Economics.
Oh, and unless you just woke up from The Long Sleep, you probably heard that the other recepient sharing the prize is some fella by the name of Al Gore. Ever heard of him? Apparently, he is the only person in history to get both a Nobel and an Oscar (is that true?). Next for him: an Olympic Gold medal and then he’ll have everything. Except Pulitzer, Emmy and winning the American Idol…oh, and the U.S.Presidency – darn, that’s the one he should have won some seven years ago.