Walter Gilbert is a world-renowned scientist whose work in the fields of quantum physics, biochemistry, and molecular biology has affected the way scientists think about the chemical processes occurring in living organisms. He was born in Philadelphia on March 20, 1926. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned his Ph.D. in biochemistry
He joined the staff of Merck & Company as an assistant to the research director in 1952, but soon became interested in biochemistry, which he studied under Nobel laureate Max Bergmann at Columbia University. In 1960 he accepted a position at Brandeis University as Professor of Chemistry, then moved to MIT as Professor of Physics and Chemistry. He was appointed Professor Emeritus of Biology at MIT in 1983, but continues to lecture frequently at other institutions around the country.
It's easier to change what you do than people think it is. If you don't change, your field changes around you.Walter Gilbert
We are embedded in a biological world and related to the organisms around us.Walter Gilbert
Why do we do basic research? To learn about ourselves.Walter Gilbert
The virtues of science are skepticism and independence of thought.Walter Gilbert
