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)
Persistence turns 'impossible' into 'done'.
Directed evolution: Darwin meets engineering.
Life's meaning? To create and improve.
In the face of doubt, experiment boldly.
Enzymes for medicine: healing with biology.
Humor in science: Why did the enzyme break up? It lost its function!
Education is the enzyme that catalyzes progress.
Reflecting on my path: Serendipity and hard work.
Global challenges need global scientific minds.
Innovation thrives on diverse perspectives.
The lab taught me resilience above all.
Future of chemistry: Biological and sustainable.
Comeback to skeptics: Watch my enzymes work.
Meaning in science: Impacting lives positively.
Teamwork: The real directed evolution of ideas.
From PhD struggles to Nobel: Never give up.
Enzyme design: Art meets science.
Wisdom from the bench: Iterate, iterate, iterate.
Politics of science: Fund the bold ideas.
Joke: My lab is like a zoo—full of evolving creatures!
Contemporaries of Frances Arnold
Other Chemistrys born within 50 years of Frances Arnold (1956).