The key to achieve success as a Researcher, an Administrator, and as a Human being
Shih earned his Ph.D. in applied mathematics from Harvard in 1973. After Shih spent seven years leading Fracture Research at the GE Corporate Research Lab, he returned to an Ivy setting, serving as a professor at Brown University for nearly 15 years. In 2000, he returned home, serving as the President of the National University of Singapore.
Despite the awesome responsibility of running a new university (KAUST), in his acceptance letter Shih said that he plans to keep his composure by using some lessons from his childhood: “Early on as a child, my greatest pleasure was to explore the longkangs (ditches) of Singapore, looking for fishes and frogs. Curiosity, and the joy when that is fulfilled, has led me to a lifelong quest of pursuing scientific knowledge, the interplay of inquiry and reasoning.”
Interplay between Science and Engineering
As Theodore von Kármán, Caltech’s Provost, once said: “Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that never was”. In other words, science is about curiosity driving us to understand the world while engineering is about using science to transform the world through technology. This view is true of 19th and 20th century science and engineering, as bookended by the steam engine and Apollo 7 and the technologies created in between.
Also in between were the World Wars and the advent of the atomic age, which were emblems, culturally speaking, of the culpability of science in creating the anxiety and even terrors of the 20th century.
Human kind is now more keenly aware that we live in a flat world, where cultures compete, collide or collaborate for better or worse, and where the environment is at risk because of what modern technology has literally burnt up. Of course, the optimists seek scientific solutions for these new problems, as well they should; but the realists are not wrong to wonder if even more problems will in turn be created.
Thus, von Kármán’s statement needs elaboration – the world that technology has transformed begs to be shaped by values, values which can promote and sustain life in the 21st century.
His beliefs in life:
Kept pushing forward
A drive to succeed where others said success was improbable, or even impossible, has spurred me along through difficult times. I am fundamentally drawn to the challenge of transforming the seemingly impossible into a possible. This has made my life journey rewarding and fun.
Innate Curiosity
A curiosity for how things work and a love of adventure have also driven me to seek out exciting and meaningful pursuits. My fondest childhood memories include taking toys apart to understand how they worked and exploring Singapore’s longkangs (deep monsoon drains) to study the fishes and frogs.
Courage to look at things in different ways
I love looking at things in different ways. It is very much about the joy of discovery and of unraveling a mystery. My friends know me to be an unrelenting optimist, one who sees the cup, not as half empty, but as always offering something to drink.
Buddhism ( non- attachment) as a guide in life
I have had my share of moments when things just didn’t work, but I always tell myself: there is always tomorrow to pick up the pieces.
At the same time, always in my heart are the words of my devout Buddhist mother: “You must not be so attached to something that you can’t do without it.”
My mother’s enlightened view on non-attachment has often guided me through life’s turning points, freeing me to take risks and embark on adventures. Excessive attachment discourages one from seeing new opportunities and seizing them.
His view about life
I think of life more as a never-ending and ever-changing journey of learning and discovery.
Being true to your beliefs, values and passions make the journey meaningful and fulfilling. Humility, humanity and humor also make good travelling companions.
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