Leadership Quote by Yuan T. Lee

There is a quiet politics in calling a research area "wonderful": it reads like generosity, but it also sets a norm. Yuan T. Lee, a Nobel-winning architect of modern chemical dynamics, isn’t merely reminiscing about a technically rich subfield. He’s performing a kind of stewardship, reminding younger scientists that molecular collision dynamics is not just a problem set, but a lineage.

The sentence pivots on time. "Twenty years ago" compresses what, in laboratory reality, is an era of instrument-building, methodological fights, and incremental credibility. Collision dynamics became legible because pioneers made molecules "speak" through beams, scattering experiments, and increasingly precise control over energy and orientation. Lee’s phrasing nods to that infrastructure without naming it, an insider’s way of saying: the glamour of discovery rides on unglamorous craftsmanship.

"Following the footsteps" carries a double edge. It elevates mentorship and tradition, but it also subtly frames the field as a path already blazed, inviting practitioners to see themselves as heirs rather than lone geniuses. That’s strategic in science, where novelty is rewarded but communities survive on continuity: shared standards, reproducible techniques, and questions that accumulate instead of reset.

The intent, then, is less autobiographical than curatorial. Lee is legitimizing a research culture built on precision and collaboration, while gently warning against amnesia. Progress here isn’t a lightning bolt; it’s a relay race where the handoff is the whole point.