诺贝尔化学奖得主阿里耶·瓦谢尔教授在香港中文大学（深圳）2020年本科生毕业典礼上的致辞

主

礼

嘉

宾

阿里耶·瓦谢尔教授

香港中文大学（深圳）杰出大学教授

2013年诺贝尔化学奖得主

阿里耶·瓦谢尔教授

在2020年本科生毕业典礼上的致辞

香港中文大学（深圳）杰出大学教授、诺贝尔化学奖得主阿里耶·瓦

首先，我想感谢香港中文大学（深圳）邀请我再次为大学的领导、精英学子和未来的创新者们做演讲。去年在大学致辞时，我曾惊叹于深圳的发展速度，以及港中大（深圳）毕业生们的蓬勃发展。受新冠肺炎疫情影响，今年我无法与大家面对面交流。但我相信疫情终将被击败，不用多久我便能回到校园，亲眼见证各位在所选领域里取得的卓越成就。

新冠肺炎给中国乃至全世界造成的巨大的冲击，但中国已经体现出了令人瞩目的强大的韧性和恢复力。这一点，我稍后会继续讲述。

如今，世界正面临着百年一遇的巨大挑战。这个挑战和在座的各位毕业生们有何关系呢？各位在这个充满挑战的时代里能够做些什么呢？也许我的亲身经历能够给予你些少启发。

求学初期，其实我也不太清楚自己志向何在。后来，我的朋友开玩笑说我的眼力很好，能够看清试管的颜色，因此建议我钻研化学。正是这个偶然的建议，开启了我的化学生涯。在求学的第二年年底，我开始对酶产生了浓厚的兴趣。酶是一种蛋白质，生物体内几乎所有的化学反应都在酶的参与下才能完成。有的酶可以消化食物，有的酶则可以控制细胞的活动。那时候，我向自己保证终有一天要弄清楚酶的运作机制。但这也意味着，我必须兼顾数学、物理和化学等不同的学科，因为它们都是我日后研究酶的重要工具。

幸运的是，在我攻读博士学位时，正好是计算机面世的时候。那时候的电脑虽然庞大无比，性能却远远比不上现在的一台iPhone。但也足够让我继续追梦了。我和朋友一起写了一套计算机代码，用来模拟中等大小的分子。后来，我成功研发了一套能够模拟酶和其他生物分子的作用的程序，实现了我一直以来的梦想。这个过程来之不易，因为大多数人，包括我的好友，都不曾相信我能做到这一点。

最终，我的分子模拟计算程序被广泛应用于不同领域。我和我的研究团队继续研究酶的作用模型，试图设计能够控制酶缺陷疾病的药物。我们的研究方法得到了广泛认可，并在2013年获得了诺贝尔化学奖。

这和新冠肺炎又有何关系呢？

与盲目实验相比，我们的基础化学成果使得药物检测变得更科学、更准确、更有效。

新型冠状病毒肺炎爆发时，我也问过自己能做些什么。在大量的阅读后，我意识到我可以试着设计一种小分子药物，用以阻断一种对病毒活动至关重要的特殊酶。于是，我开始与实验团队合作研发，通过计算机模拟评估药物的有效性，并且通过实验探索筛选药物的实际活性。

我们还试图研究SARS和新冠病毒在细胞表面结合受体上有何区别。

当然，病毒无分国界，此次全球共同抗疫表明，加强各国间团结合作至关重要。全球合作，不仅是指国家之间的医疗援助。在科研方面，世界各地的实验室也应通力合作，形成庞大而高效的联合体。

你也许已经意识到了，正如我的科研经历一样，我们永远不知道自己在研究的东西能够以怎样的方式帮助到世界。我们的研究领域，也许晦涩到让旁人看清价值。但也许有一天，这个领域可能会突然变得举足轻重。

毕业典礼现场

在香港中文大学（深圳），同学们能够收获到的是独特而多元的大学体验。我强烈鼓励各位学子发挥自己的语言优势，促进国际间的联结。

港中大（深圳）不仅拥有着众多杰出的教授，还拥有着强大的校友网络。在这里，你有着无穷无尽的人脉机会。正如我对自己的两个女儿说的一样，在校园里好好利用大学所提供的一切。香港中文大学（深圳）“融会中国与西方”的教育理念，为你们打开了一个前所未有的新视角。大学在培养你们成为科学家、经济学家、环境学家、或其它任何领域的专业人士的同时，也在贯彻以好奇心和求知欲为基础的博雅教育精神。

香港中文大学（深圳）向来强调应用型学术和体验式学习的价值。对此，我深表同意。在大学校园里，论文、报告和绩点的压力可能会让你喘不过气，但请不要被束缚在图书馆的狭隘空间里，多点抽出时间去做志愿者，或者参加交流和实践项目。课外活动的经历与学术表现，对你的职业生涯同样重要。

大学生活是你们最充实，也是最激动人心的时刻。三人行必有我师，多点了解你的同学们，从他们的人生经历中吸取经验。深层次的人际关系，是你深度思考，跳出思维局限的根本。

然而，正如我在演讲中强调的那样，除了专业学习外，各位还要注重通识知识的积累。两者结合，才会让你的知识发挥最大的价值。

在这段艰苦抗疫的日子里，我祝愿各位能够早日恢复正常的学习。我相信，我们必能同心协力战胜新冠病毒，回归到没那么沉重的学习和科研之中。

最后，我希望各位能够关注世界的时事变化，思考自己在全球问题中可以扮演怎样的角色，思考自己的专业知识如何能够贡献于你的社区、国家甚至是全世界之中。

Prof. Arieh Warshel, Nobel Laureate, delivers a keynote speech

I want to thank the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen for inviting me back to address university leaders and this elite group of students and future innovators. When I spoke last year, I was awed by the amazing development of the city and by the maturity of the incoming class. This time we are confined by the Corona epidemic and I cannot talk to you directly. However. I am sure that this epidemic will be defeated, and I will be able to again see directly your tremendous advances in the fields you choose.

Although China and the entire word have been strongly rattled by the corona, we already see some  remarkable gradual recovery in China. I will talk about this more later.

The world in now facing a monumental challenge, of the magnitude presented once in a century, and I will try to relate this challenge to the incoming students. You may ask what I can do in this challenging time. But I can give you example from my carrier.

The Graduation Ceremony for Bachelor Degree Graduates 2020

I started without knowing what I want to study. I chose chemistry by chance because my friend suggested that I have a good vision so I can see the color of test tubes.

In the end of the second year I started to be interested in enzymes, which are proteins that do all the chemistry in the body. For example, they digest the food that you eat and control the action of your cells. I promise to myself that one day I will find out how enzymes work, but in the meantime, I had to study different subjects in mathematics, physics and chemistry so I will have the tools for one day studying enzymes.

When I began my PhD, I was fortunate to start exactly when computers became available. Of Course, our extremely big computer was much much weaker than your i phone, but it was enough to start dreaming. I started, with my friend to write a computer code that allow to model medium size molecules. Eventually I learned to use my programs to follow my old dream and to model the action of enzymes and other biological molecules. This was not easy since most people, including my friends, claimed that it is impossible that I can do so.

Eventually my approaches became widely acceptable. Me and my group continue in modeling the action of enzymes and in attempts to design drugs that can help in controlling defective enzymes that lead to diseases. The recognitions in our approach has led to the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2013.

Now what this has to do with the corona?

The basic chemistry that me and other developed allows for pharmaceutical testing that is much more scientifically accurate and efficient than blind experimentation.

Now with the emergence of the corona epidemic I asked what can I do. After extensive reading I realized that I can try to help in designing a small molecule that can block a special enzyme that is crucial for the action of the virous.

This led to a collaboration with an experimental group where we evaluate the effectiveness of the drug by computer simulations and the experimentalists try to explore the actual activity of the screened drugs.

We also try to examine what are the differences between the SARS and the COVID-19 in the binding the receptor on the cell surface.

Of course, the virus does not know about international borders and the fight against the corona gives one of the best example of collaboration between nations, it involves sending medical help between different countries, and on the research front, it involves massive collaboration between research labs all over the world, including very effective consortiums.

Now as you realize from what I told you -my research path shows that you never know in what way what you study can help the world. You might be involved in very obscure study that no one sees how it can help in the future, and suddenly this field can become the most important field.

Prof. Arieh Warshel congratulates Bachelor’s graduates

By attending the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, you have access to a unique and multifaceted college experience. I strongly encourage you to leverage your language skills to build international connections.

From your professors to CUHK-Shenzhen’s powerhouse network of alumni, your opportunities for making connections are boundless. As I told  my own two daughters, before they went off to school, take advantage of all your university has to offer. The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen offers an incredible perspective that reflects the best of both Eastern and Western models of higher education. While you are expected to hone your skills as scientists, economists, environmentalists or professionals in any field, you also integrate the ethos of the well-rounded liberal arts education based on curiosity and a desire for knowledge.

Your school emphasizes the value of applied scholarship and experiential learning. And I completely agree. In your university especially, the pressures of earning high marks on exams, papers and laboratory reports can sometimes make ambitious students like you feel like you are tied to your spaces in the library. Make sure to fight that urge and take time to volunteer and participate in exchange and enrichment programs. These extracurricular experiences can be just as important to building a career as how well you do in the classroom.

Transitioning to university is one of the most overwhelming and exciting times in your life. Soak it in by learning about your fellow students, whose personal experiences may be different from your own. It is from these deeper personal connections that you can gain depth and originality in your thinking.

However, as I emphasized in my talk just having a good general education might make you knowledge one day an extremely important.

In these hard times, I am wishing you a rapid return to normal studies, and more importantly, I am sure that by great collaboration we will be able to defeat the corona virous and go back to more pleasant tasks.

In conclusion,  I challenge you to identify the world issues that touch you the most and begin to ask what your role is in addressing them. How will you use this knowledge to improve your community, country and society at large?

-END-

图片及内容由港中大（深圳）传讯与公共关系处提供

视频由瓦谢尔计算生物研究院提供

CUHK-Shenzhen 

香港中文大学（深圳） 

结合传统与现代  融会中国与西方