By Wang Wei, China.org.cn staff reporter

Special report: Nobel Laureates Beijing Forum 2008

Nobel Prize winner Ivar Giaever told the 2008 Beijing Nobel Laureates Forum that the basic laws of nature were known, and scientists should concentrate on invention. In a busy day, he also told middle school students that his 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics was due to luck and hard work.

Speech: The Nobel Prize and the Future of Science

Professor Ivar Giaever from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, USA, spoke on the theme The Nobel Prize and the Future of Science at a forum on Information and Innovation Strategy held in the Great Hall of the People on November 11, 2008.

Professor Giaever made the closing address to the "Forum on Information and Innovation Strategy" held on November 11 in the Great Hall of the People, on the theme of The Nobel Prize and the Future of Science.

He said a paradigm shift was taking place in science. "The main activity is moving from basic science towards applied science." The most important thing is not to discover new laws of nature but to make new inventions. The number of scientific laws is finite, but potential inventions are limitless.

As for how to win a Nobel Prize, Professor Giaever said you need two things: a good idea and, just as important, the determination to pursue it effectively.