Have you met any Nobel Laureates?

Just curious if any Dopers personally know any, have met any, are married to any or actually are Nobel Prize recipients?

My Nobel connection is the having been computer support for an ex-wife and the son of Dr. Kary Mullis, the inventor of polymerase chain reaction.

Yes, he’s a loonball, but he’s a Nobel recipient loonball.

I’ve known his son since he was a child, setting up his Amiga 2000 computer back in the day and doing various AV, computer, telephone, alarm and other tech stuff for his mom. I’ve only met Kary one time, and that was when they were traveling to Oslo to receive the award.

I have met one. He works at the same place I do. There was a big party for him here.

I had a grad school interview with Martin Chalfie, a bunch of years before he won the Nobel Prize, although I remember one of the grad students in the program confidently predicting that he’d win eventually. Chalfie was not impressed by me, although to be fair, I don’t think I was particularly impressive in that interview.

I met Richard Axel briefly after a lecture he gave recently. I was very impressed by the way he gave much credit to his grad students during the lecture, something I (a former grad student) always appreciate.

I’ve met Dr. Norman Borlaug. I was in middle school, with the robotics team, and the finals were at Texas A and M. My science teacher arranged an appointment with him for us. He explained his work to us on our level and discussed what wat up in the field.

Very cool guy. Wearing an OSU tie too! :smiley:

Linus Pauling, Hamilton Smith, Daniel Nathans.

Back in my Johns Hopkins days…

I met Glenn Seaborgonce. He was a guest at a conference at the hotel I was working at and I made sure to seek him out. He was very gracious and even signed an autograph for me (not something we’re supposed to ask for as hotel employees, but who cares). He died within a year or so after.

I’ve met a bunch. One of my colleagues/collaborator/probably future boss is one.

I have met Mullis on multiple occasions. He is a great guy, funny.

He is also a certified class A lunatic - batshit crazy. Still, he’s fun at parties.

I don’t know who it was, but the laureate was there when I got to see the medal and diploma brought into be framed where I worked.

I met Rigoberta Menchu, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, at a seminar for our anthro department. I have to admit that I had never heard of her up to that point.

So close… Back in the '90s, I lived in Berkeley and dated a woman who had a house in the hills, where most of the university faculty live. She sometimes walked around the neighborhood with her friend Maggie, and once pointed to Maggie Seaborg’s house, and one day mentioned something about Maggie’s husband Glenn…

Glenn fucking Seaborg. Discovered plutonium. Lived on our street, five houses down. Never met him.

ETA: shakes fist at HelloNinja

I used to see the same dentist as Linus Pauling. Hands that have been in the mouth of a Nobel laureate have been in my mouth.

I was in a room with about ten of them two weeks ago. Some of them, I met.

I took a class at the University of Maryland from Thomas Schelling. That was before he got a Nobel prize- does that count?

I’ve been introduced to Milton Friedman about a year before he passed away. This is hardly “knows” or met. I’ve also been introduced (same caveats) to Al Gore in 2000, before he won the prize.

There were two in my department when I was a grad student. I interacted with them from time to time at retreats and seminars. And one of my undergrad professors was a Nobel laureate. But it was a big lecture class, though, and I don’t remember meeting him in office hours, so I’m not sure that really counts.

Not a Nobel laureate, but I was at a “welcome to the conference” tea with Stephen Hawking in 2004. Mr. Neville went to an astronomy conference in Cambridge, and we’d decided to do our vacation in Ireland, Wales, and England right before it (we often do vacations right before or after conferences like this). He was signing in for the conference, and there was tea and snacks for the people signing in. And Stephen Hawking was there. :eek:

I didn’t actually get introduced to him, or say anything to him. I’m way too shy and in awe of him for that. It’s Stephen Hawking, what could I possibly say that would be of interest to him?

It took a class in which one of the professors was Milton Friedman. I’ve also met Kenneth Arrow.

The director of the research institute where I work is a Nobel laureate, and I’ve met him briefly. There are two other Nobel laureates here, so maybe I’ll increase my account in the cafeteria one of these days.

I shook hands with Sheldon Glashow twice.

I was supposed to meet Mairead Corrigan (Peace, 1976) but the meet & greet was canceled. :frowning: