Nobel Prize-winning chemist Benjamin List encouraged students to embrace "crazy ideas" and pursue revolutionary breakthroughs during a talk at Fudan University on cutting-edge developments in organocatalysis.

Speaking at the Shanghai Master Forum on Science, the German scientist distilled his advice for aspiring researchers into three principles: follow your enthusiasm, be open to new ideas, and pursue ambitious goals.

"If you want to accomplish something great, you have to aim high. You can't have a medium goal," List said.

List, director at the Max Planck Institute for Coal Research, shared the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with American scientist David MacMillan for developing asymmetric organocatalysis, a technique that uses simple organic molecules to catalyze chemical reactions. The discovery has enabled chemists to build molecules more precisely and sustainably.

Yet List views his Nobel Prize as merely a steppingstone. "This honor came too early," he said, adding that he truly wants to find a universal catalyst that can solve all chemical problems.

One of List's ambitious projects aims to tackle climate change through artificial photosynthesis. His team is working to extract carbon dioxide directly from the atmosphere and, using light and catalysts, decompose it into oxygen and graphite.

"This sounds like a crazy idea," he admitted. "High school students could think of it. But if it works, it will truly change the world."

When asked about the role of artificial intelligence in scientific discovery, List expressed measured skepticism. "Right now, relying solely on AI won't get you a Nobel Prize," he explained, noting that AI generates responses based on probabilities from existing data rather than genuinely novel concepts, while science needs new ideas.

Source: China Daily