Carl Woese

Carl Woese, the proponent of Three Domains of Life, passed away in Dec 2012.

I had the great honor to join him in an Easter Lunch and a Thanksgiving Dinner at my postdoc advisor's house. Carl was just staying next door to my advisor.

Over the meals, he was curious what goes through in the minds of young researchers, and tried to challenge us into talking. His favorite question ought to be, "What do you know about natural selection?"

It's inevitable that one's heart pounces wildly as one tries to answer his question. 

Before I left UIUC, my advisor informed me of Carl Woese's illness - pancreatic cancer, a form of cancer that has very low survival rates. A few months later, I read of his demise.

Though he may be gone, I believe he has left behind such huge impact and influence in many of the young scientists' lives. Without him, I wouldn't be studying microorganisms like what I am doing now.

I want to share what Larry Gold wrote in his retrospective on Carl Woese:

"How can Carl remain a mentor for us?

He might have said to follow your passions,

study what you must, surround yourself

with good people who like to giggle and

work hard, respect the history of science and

thought, read all of the time (but ignore the

most recent trends), pay attention for a lifetime

to your calling, and be respectful of the

lineages that got us here."

Thank you, Prof Woese, for your great science.