Frances Arnold
She was awarded the Nobel Prize for her work on directed evolution, creating new enzymes.
Most quoted
"I tell my students, 'If you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough.' And then I tell them, 'But don't fail *too* much, because then you won't get a grant.'"
— from Interview/Talk
"The beauty of directed evolution is that it doesn't require us to understand everything about biology. It just requires us to be good at setting up experiments."
— from Scientific American interview
"The most beautiful, complex, and functional objects on the planet have been made by evolution. We can use it to make things that no human knows how to design."
— from Speech
All quotes by Frances Arnold (425)
The lab is where dreams meet reality, one experiment at a time.
Biotechnology can feed the world and heal it, if we get it right.
Women in STEM face barriers, but we break them with every success.
Curiosity is the spark; rigor is the fire that sustains discovery.
Don't fear failure; embrace it as a teacher.
Synthetic biology is the future, and it's happening now.
Humor helps in the lab—laugh at the explosions, learn from them.
Life is an experiment; make it a good one.
Enzyme engineering isn't magic; it's methodical magic.
Collaboration is the secret sauce of scientific progress.
The Nobel is a spotlight; the real work is in the shadows of the lab.
Sustainability through science: that's my north star.
Mentoring the next generation is my greatest legacy.
Evolution teaches us adaptability is survival.
In science, questions are more valuable than answers.
Biofuels from enzymes: green chemistry at its best.
Balance work and life? I integrate them both.
Witty remark: My enzymes evolve faster than my coffee cools.
The joy of discovery outweighs any award.
Climate change demands bio-innovation now.
Contemporaries of Frances Arnold
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Frances Arnold (1956).