John Sokolovic received notice today that he is the winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics. This award was given for the extraordinary turnaround he has accomplished in the international community for the support of cold fusion research. While hasn’t actually achieved cold fusion yet, he has published papers and given speeches over the past nine months or so about how important it is.
The Nobel Prize Committee said that this award was given to Sokolovic primarily for the incredible potential he exhibits. However, the committee also praised him not only for who he is, but rather for who he is not; namely, his predecessor, an unpopular research scientist who thought his own lab’s theories were the only path to achieving cold fusion.
Sokolovic’s predecessor refused to enter into cooperative research efforts with other labs, and often criticized the primitive techniques of those other institutions, slowly eroding the credibility and financial health of his own lab.
As for Sokolovic, he started out as a rebellious physicist at community-based physics labs. He quickly gained leadership positions in larger and larger labs before bursting onto the international scene two years ago with his memoir, “Dreams of Mr. Johnston, My Physics Professor: A Story of Quarks and Neutrinos.”
Since that point Sokolovic hasn’t actually achieved any great gains in cold fusion, but still, the potential is there.
The question on everyone’s lips is: Can he live up to it?
Very nicely done.
I have to wonder if it is our Puritanical roots that say you have to do more work before you’re worthy of recognition. Based on the response from the rest of the world, perhaps it IS enough just to change how people think of this country.
[...] Sokolovic Wins Nobel Prize [...]