I got to listen to an exceptional individual today. I had heard of legendary personalities but I got to see one today.
I had received an announcement of a public lecture in my mailbox relevant to the project that I am currently doing. From the lecture title, I thought I was going to attend a lecture on high-end research for doing 3D imaging of tissues. After registering for the lecture and having sat in the auditorium, I saw a senior researcher who I guessed was the speaker. I also saw an elderly man who I guessed was father of the speaker visiting Singapore with his son. There was something peculiar about elderly man – he had difficulty in standing up or sitting down on his own, but was listening to everyone around him with calm attention and replying back in measured tone. Other senior researchers entering the auditorium talked to him enthusiastically. I thought people in Singapore are so nice that they make any elderly person feel home.
And to my surprise, the researcher that I thought was speaker went up to stage and gave introduction about the elderly man. He turned out to be 93 year old researcher, inventer since the age of 10, someone who had used mechanical computers to calculate biological problems, headed a prestigious team of 100 which developed radars for US army during world war II, an olympian on the U.S. Olympic Yacht team and a person of unimaginable achievements.
His name is Britton Chance and here is the link to his biography: http://oemagazine.com/fromTheMagazine/apr01/spie_chance.html
I was really amazed to see a 93 year old man giving lucid and cogent presentation on stat-of-the-art research that he was doing. He shared many anecdotal experiences and words of wisdom. I guess the most noteworthy for me was: ” It was the rigour of olympic training that helps me stand here right now. If you want longevity, then participate in olympics.”
It was awe inspiring to see someone who has always treaded the path of hard-work, had a very fruitful life and was brimming with ideas and energy at the age of 93.
It seems that our generation (despite all the help from technology or may be due to it?) is incapable of producing humans like him.
Posted by Shalin Mehta 
