Almost a Year

The excitement is building. Next Monday the next Nobel Prize winner(s) in Economic Science will be announced. Are they in for a thrill. I am not sure that any of my fellow psychologists study the effects of incredible, surprising joy but for us it was quite something. I'm not sure that we slept well for a month. We were constantly flooded with waves of pure happiness and amazement. It seemed that every minute brought another stimulus--friends popping out of the blue, childhood experiences being relived by contact with friends and acquaintances from very long ago, learning to deal with news outlets, television, interviews in foreign languages (we learned that one the hard way!), and then planning for that incredible Nobel Week in Sweden.
To be honest, the thrill is still there and the invitations keep pouring in. The immense stature of the Nobel Prize envelopes its honorees, it seems, possibly for their lifetimes and beyond. NYU has been wonderfully generous. There was a stunning gala at the New York Public Library in March and just last week, there was a conference organized by the Salomon Center headed by our friend, Matt Richardson, in Rob's honor. Economists and finance people from all over the world came. Rob's students are a wonderfully, devoted group and many of them traveled across the globe to be here for one or both of these occasions.
One of the wonderful aspects of these honorific times is that Rob gets to hear in his lifetime what many people only have said about others in their eulogies! It has been very touching to hear from his students and colleagues about his style of mentoring his students, the inspirational quality of his teaching, his generosity with his colleagues and the useful applications of his work. As my mother said recently, when you married him (and you were so young and we were worried) how did you know he would grow up so well?!!!!! He has made us all proud.
So we are excited to see who is next. We have lots of advice--if only there is time to hear it!

Comments

[Betsy Devine]

I'm so glad I found your weblog, while I was looking for images that would help me figure out the dress code for various Nobel celebrations. On Tuesday, October 5, 2004, my husband Frank Wilczek got a 5 a.m. phone call (EST) saying he'd won a Nobel Prize in physics. It sounds as though you and your family had a great time!

[Mari]

congratulations for your nobel price!

[Pierre Siklos]

Seeing Rob last week, at a wonderful conference celebrating his work and that of Clive Granger, reminded me of a time, over 14 years ago, when I was a visiting UCSD for a term. I was in San Diego to continue working with Clive on some joint research that was begun in 1989 on my first visit to UCSD. While I had met Rob and occasionally said hello at seminars and in the hallways, he was clearly very busy as Department Chair. Moreover, there were plenty of very well-known academics visiting UCSD at the same time who would no doubt be keeping him still busier. I did not imagine he even knew who I was much less what I was doing there. In any event, as the family was about to leave San Diego, he took the time to call and thank us for visiting UCSD. We were rather surprised as we wondered why the Department Chair would take the trouble to thank me for going to UCSD. I certainly did not expect that such a call would be forthcoming. However, in retrospect, I think this episode speaks volumes for Rob's thoughtfulness. We already know what an exceptional academic he was and still is.