People must question the information they encounter, Nobel Prize winner Harry Kroto told students and faculty crowded in the Brown-Lupton University Union Ballroom Thursday night.
“Without evidence, anything goes,” Kroto said.
Young people must look at the evidence to determine truth for themselves. Science is importance because it teaches people to challenge what they know, he said.
Chemistry professor Eric Simanek hosted the event on behalf of The John V. Roach Honors College and The College of Science and Engineering. He told the audience that the C60 molecule, discovered in part by Kroto, was celebrating its 25-year anniversary since its discovery.
Kroto is known for his scholarly work, Simanek said.
“You may not know, though, that Dr. Kroto is also an outstanding teacher,” he said.
Simanek said he believed Kroto’s message focused on teaching students to identify their passions, work hard and embrace technology and resources available to them.
Kroto said technology offers students more opportunities to distinguish themselves.
During the presentation, Kroto showed examples of students’ resumes and discussed the ways the resumes affected employers’ hiring decisions.
Technology provides students with ways to transform their resumes into interactive pieces that can be viewed online, displaying talents and abilities, he said.
Sophomore chemistry major Erika Zimmermann called Kroto a “fountain of knowledge” and said she attended the presentation because she wanted to learn something.
She said she also wanted to learn more about his experiences as a graduate.
