F. Sherwood Rowland
He shared the Nobel Prize for his work on the depletion of the ozone layer by chlorofluorocarbons.
Most quoted
"Isn't it a responsibility of scientists, if you believe that you have found something that can affect the environment, isn't it your responsibility to actually do something about it, enough so that action actually takes place?"
— from Nobel Prize Lecture, 1995
"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. Especially if you made them feel wrong."
— from Attributed/Paraphrased
"What's the use of having developed a science well enough to make predictions if, in the end, all we're willing to do is stand around and wait for them to come true?"
— from Interview/Speech
All quotes by F. Sherwood Rowland (415)
When you're dealing with something as complex as the atmosphere, you learn to appreciate the simple things, like breathing.
The ozone layer is not a political issue; it's a scientific one. And it's disappearing.
Being a scientist means never having to say you're sorry... unless you're wrong.
The most dangerous phrase in the language is 'we've always done it this way.'
It's a good thing atoms are small, otherwise, we'd be tripping over them all the time.
Some problems are so complex that you have to be a little bit crazy to even try to solve them.
The only thing constant in science is change.
If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.
The biggest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance, but the illusion of knowledge.
I've always believed that if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
The universe is full of surprises, and most of them are good for science.
It's a lonely business, being right when everyone else is wrong.
Science is not about certainty; it's about uncertainty and trying to reduce it.
The only way to do great work is to love what you do. Or at least tolerate it very well.
You can't solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.
The most important tool in a scientist's arsenal is a healthy dose of skepticism.
If you wait for perfect conditions, you'll never get anything done.
The atmosphere doesn't care about our politics, only our chemistry.
Sometimes the most profound discoveries come from the most unexpected places.
Being a scientist is like being a perpetual student, except you get to ask all the questions.
Contemporaries of F. Sherwood Rowland
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of F. Sherwood Rowland (1927–2012).