There is never just one thing that leads to success for anyone. I feel it always a combination of passion, dedication, hard work, and being in the right place at the right time.

There is no 'master plan' on the road to the Nobel Prize. It represents a lot of hard work, a passion for that work and... being in the right place at the right time. For me, that place was Caltech.

You never know where life is going to take you. So everything I do, I just take it one day at a time, and it always leads you to the right place.

You have to be talented. You have to work hard; you have to get the right pieces flowin' for you at the right time. And that's just what happened to me. I can't explain what happened.

Just try to do the right thing, and that's immediate karma: 'I feel good about myself.'

I'm just a lucky slob from Ohio who happened to be in the right place at the right time.