Herschbach says his farm-bred perspective allows him to instill in his students a passion for learning.
“My whole life is a result of getting to go to college,” he says. “It’s a fairy tale.”
Timothy C. Germann, a research scientist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, performed his graduate research under Herschbach’s tutelage. He says that while the Nobel laureate is a brilliant scientist, it was Herschbach’s enthusiasm and support that was instrumental in helping him successfully finish his thesis.
“[Herschbach’s] energy, his excitement—that mattered more than the specific research project,” Germann says.
Chair of the Department of Chemistry at Stanford Richard N. Zare ’61, who researched molecular beams with Herschbach as a graduate student, says his mentor had a significant impact on his life and career path.
“I had the feeling that I was working with a genius,” Zare says. “It was transformative for me to be with him.”
“ZANY AND WISE”
Herschbach has also left his mark on Harvard students as an instructor committed to science education.
When he taught Chemistry 10, a large introductory chemistry course, Herschbach says he used unconventional methods, such as including historical and philosophical context—and a poetry contest—within the curriculum, earning the class the nickname of “Chem Zen.”
After he retired in 2009 and was given the title of professor emeritus, Herschbach continued to inspire students by teaching a freshman seminar on nanotechnology.
Nicholas P. Stanford ’12, one of Herschbach’s seminar students, says Herschbach emphasized the importance of learning from peers who are passionate about a scientific topic.
“I would say that he is a combination of zany and wise,” says Stanford.
When he and his classmates went to see their professor speak in Currier House—where Herschbach and his wife, Georgene, served as house masters from 1981 to 1986—Stanford recalls that many important people lined up to speak with the Nobel laureate.
“But [Herschbach] wanted to talk to us about our research,” Stanford said. “It showed that he cared deeply for his students.”
While Herschbach no longer teaches in a classroom setting, he remains committed to education. He frequently attends science talent searches because he finds the young scientists inspiring, he says.
He is also an active advocate for the advancement of women in science. According to his wife, Herschbach understands the importance of including women on the faculty and was responsible for recruiting the first woman to the chemistry department at Harvard in 1979.
Anita Goel—Herschbach’s last Ph.D. student and the current Chairman, Scientific Director, and CEO of Nanobiosym, Inc.—says the Nobel laureate encourages his students to take scientific risks.
“He recognizes and cultivates brilliance,” she says. “He always used to say, ‘You know, you should behave like you’ve already won the Nobel Prize before you have it, and then after you have won the Nobel behave like you don’t have it.’”
—Staff writer Eliza M. Nguyen can be reached at enguyen@college.harvard.edu..