5/27/2018 Paul Jc Rut Zen Anthropocene
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How important is an interdisciplinary approach
in addressing urgent scientific questions, and
how can we foster such collaborations?
Interdisciplinary research has always played amajor role in my
career. In my earliest papersI proposed that NO and NO2could act as
cata-lysts to destroy ozone in the stratosphere orto produce ozone
in the troposphere, yet I
had no formal edu-cation in chemistry.In fact, I was trained
as civil engineer; Ishifted to working asa computer special-ist
at the Universityof Stockholm torun meteorologicalmodels and,
whilehelping to developa p r o g r a m f o rclassical
ozone chemistry, got hooked onatmospheric chemistry. I wrote
theNOx papers when I was 36 yearsold.
Are scientists under-represented in
politics? And do established scientists,
especially Nobel laureates, have a
duty to become active in politics and
science policy?
There is, in fact, a dearth of scientistsand scientifically
educated represent-atives in politics, which is a worth-while
subject for analysis. I am onlyaware of three national leaders
whohave had scientific backgrounds:Margaret Thatcher, Angela
Merkeland Gro Harlem Brundtland of Nor-way; interestingly, all
women.
I dont think that Nobel laure-ates have a special duty to
becomemore active in politics, except if theirresearch could lead
to problemsfor society. In the first place, theyshould remain
scientists. However,the general public expects Nobeliststo have an
above average interest insocial issues and the increased
par-ticipation of scientists here shouldbe applauded, as is the
case underPresident Obama.
To establish closer contactbetween politicians and
scientists,the German parliament has created
Anthropocene manPaul J. Crutzen
Paul J. Crutzen shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1995 with
Mario J. Molina andF. Sherwood Rowland for their work on formation
and decomposition of ozone.
PROFILE
lScientific Member, Max Planck Institute
for Chemistry, Department for Atmospheric
Chemistry (since 1980)
lBorn in Amsterdam on 3December 1933
lSurvived the Dutch hongerwinter of
19441945
lMarried Terttu Soininen in February,
1958. The couple has two daughterslMoved to Stockholm in July
1959 to
work as computer programmer in the
Department of Meteorology of Stockholm
Hgskola (later Stockholm University)
lPreviously director of research at the
National Center of Atmospheric Research
(NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado (19771980)
After myfirst researchsuccesses I livedin a constant fearof
running out of
problems to workon: it would havebeen terrible
for a well-funded researchdirector.
commissions consisting of equal numbers ofpoliticians and
scientists to study and high-light problems of general importance,
such asclimate change and stratospheric ozone deple-tion. The
advice of these commissions has beenvery successful in the
political process.
How can the public be convinced of the
importance of fundamental research with no
applications in sight?
By pointing to the examples of great scientists
like Einstein, Newton, Darwin, Faraday andothers. In my own,
much more modest, case,when I wrote the article about the
potentialeffects of NOx on ozone, I had not the slight-est idea
about its relevance.
Things changed in the fall of 1970 whenI read a report of a
major international con-ference in the US, which mentioned
NOxemissions but denied their importance.
Independently, Harold Johnston and I drewattention to the
problem of NOx emissionsfrom super sonic aircraft destroying
strat-ospheric ozone. The same happened in the case
of chlorofluorocarbon emissions:the societalrelevance was
initially not recognized.
You must have experienced a lull at some point
in your research career. What kept you going?
After my first research successes I lived ina constant fear of
running out of problemsto work on: it would have been terrible for
awell-funded research director. That did not
happen. The main reason is that myresearch field is highly
multi-facetedand interdisciplinary. There is roomfor many
projects.
What advice would you give all young
researchers who are starting their
research life so as to become a good
scientist?
Stay away from big science in whichthe resulting papers have
manyauthors. And choose a professorwho gives you a lot of freedom.
I waslucky to find Bert Bolin.
Aside from as a Nobel laureate, how
do you want to be remembered?
As the person, who significantlyincreased knowledge about the
processesthat determine the distribution of ozonein the
atmosphere.
And as the scientist whocoined the term Anthropocene:A new
geologic epoch dominatedby human activities, actually
firstpublished inNature.
And as one of the scientists whodrew attention to the
potentiallydevastating climatic consequencesof a nuclear war, the
so-callednuclear winter. More people woulddie of the indirect
consequences ofmass starvation and disease thanwould be killed by
the nuclearbombs.
SCIENCE MASTERCLASSOUTLOOK
