“There are many, many books I’ve read and I think this is quite naïve actually because we all just try to uncover something.”

I think the Nobel Prize helps for a number of reasons. Number one, if I can be frank, there is these people will feel by getting a Nobel Prize that I’m one of them, that it is possible to contribute on the world map of science and technology.

Although the Nasser revolution of 1952 was secular, the culture remained deeply religious – but it was a faith of moderation and tolerance.

So, I’m an old fashioned still in this regard but these are the moment where I really can be creative, if I am, to be left alone with just a book and piece of paper and to be thinking.

I don’t know all the reasons for these achievements, but I know that I love what I do and I have never wanted to rest on my laurels.

I am not one of the new media experts working all the time with my computers and the PowerPoint’s and things of that sort.

We don’t work like the best basketball player and the best musician and so on. Science is a collective effort.

Invest in basic research and recruit the best minds.

As a child, I thought I was immortal, but now I recognize how limited a time we all have. As a child, success meant scoring A on every exam, but now I take it to mean good health, close family and friends, achieve- ments in my work, and helping others.

I want to really focus on doing this two things I really would like to focus on science and the excitement of science and to help with science.

One of the things I enjoy most is to be left alone with a book.

Women made up nearly half my class at university, and my senior academic adviser there was a woman. In Alexandria, my friends were Christians and Muslims.

There is a danger one has to really be knowing much more because you can’t be too narrow on science.

I came from Egypt and I owe Egypt a lot to what I am now.

I do feel quite strongly about this that probably one of the things that unfortunately this age now to get a Nobel Prize is to really use part of it to help the young people get excited about science.

Perhaps the most valuable thing he taught me (his father) was that there is no contradiction between devotion to work and enjoyment of life and people

The fastest possible speeds are determined by their molecular vibrations and this speeds is about a kilometre per second.

If you work around at-risk teen students, actually tell them you love them and have faith in their success. No one tells them that. No one.

Actually I don’t remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.

I gave him a bunch of ideas and then Vincent helped guide me and develop this particular film. I enjoy that rapport to have somebody else help guide me in my choices for the next film.

This film [ Blue is the Warmest Color] actually is the result of me talking with my producer Vincent [Maraval].

You never know if you can actually do something against all odds until you actually do it.

Everybody knows that I am not usually patient enough to actually sit down and watch one of my own films from the beginning to the end – I never do.

A lot of people can’t remember things because they weren’t actually there to begin with – they don’t take it all in.

Sometimes, love feels like a life or death situation. Losing true love is pretty much as bad as it gets, other than actually dying or losing good health. Most people know that. Most people can relate. It’s like the end of the world.