Michael Müller, University of Freiburg, Germany:

The most significant scientific advance of the last 100 years has been the dishwasher.

Bas de Bruin, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands:

The most important thing I learned from my parents is hard work pays off (eventually), but don’t forget to live your life.

Michael Willis, University of Oxford, UK:

The secret of being a successful scientist is belief in your ideas, and persistence. Having fantastic co-workers helps a lot too.

Keiji Maruoka, Kyoto University, Japan:

I chose chemistry as a career because of its similarity to sophisticated cooking in terms of ideas, concepts, creativity, and sensitivity.