The man of science is a poor philosopher.

Most people say that it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.

Without the sense of fellowship with men of like mind, of preoccupation with the objective, the eternally unattainable in the field of art and scientific research, life would have seemed to me empty.

To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires creative imagination and marks real advance in science.

My scientific work is motivated by an irresistible longing to understand the secrets of nature and by no other feelings. My love for justice and the striving to contribute towards the improvement of human conditions are quite independent from my scientific interests.

Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied.

There's no magic line between an application and an operating system that some bureaucrat in Washington should draw.

I've always been amazed by Da Vinci, because he worked out science on his own. He would work by drawing things and writing down his ideas. Of course, he designed all sorts of flying machines way before you could actually build something like that.

You're never going to get the amount of CO2 emitted to go down unless you deal with the one magic metric, which is CO2 per kilowatt-hour.

The part of uranium that's fissile - when you hit it with a neutron, it splits in two - is about 0.7%. The reactors we have today are burning that 0.7%.

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious – the fundamental emotion which stands at the cradle of true art and true science.

I've always been interested in science - one of my favourite books is James Watson's 'Molecular Biology of the Gene.'