“But the universe at large is full of questions that we still don’t know anything about and there will be always young people brilliant who are going to make new discoveries.”

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.

Why shouldn’t there be more epic, brilliant female characters onscreen?

Without a trace of irony I can say I have been blessed with brilliant enemies. I owe them a great debt, because they redoubled my energies and drove me in new directions.

Towards the end of February 1928, I took the decision of using brilliant monochromatic illumination obtained by the aid of the commercially available mercury arcs sealed in quartz tubes.

Jonathan is that brilliant little fire that burns within us all, that lives only for those moments when we reach perfection.

Thanks to BMW and WilliamsF1 for giving me this chance to test. The test team looked after me brilliantly and I learnt plenty.

The squandering of brilliant technique on cheap material.

The World Cup needs a brilliant Brazilian team.

Would you like to be a brilliant conversationalist?