For Frances Arnold, it was the first chance since 1974 to walk the halls of Allderdice High School, where she’d completed so little required homework, cut so many classes and been bored so often all those years ago.
For some 70 science-oriented students at the public school in Squirrel Hill, it was a first chance to see and receive advice from a Nobel Prize winner.
Those two seemingly contradictory opportunities converged to mutual satisfaction Monday afternoon during a 70-minute question-and-answer period featuring Ms. Arnold, a California Institute of Technology professor and researcher who shared the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. The prestigious prize came 44 years after she left Pittsburgh to achieve academic success at Princeton University and later worldwide acclaim, from a laboratory base in Pasadena, as a pioneer in enzyme evolution.
That future might have been hard to forecast in her teens, gifted with natural intelligence and curiosity for self-taught learning at a time when social unrest and Vietnam War protests made school seem a secondary concern, she explained to the students.
“No one knew how to navigate this,” Ms. Arnold said of her own high school era. “I just navigated it by pretty much missing school most of the time — not recommended!”
The school visit was arranged with Allderdice officials by InnovatePGH, a public-private partnership that featured Ms. Arnold as the keynote speaker Monday evening for the start of its annual Life Sciences Week. It marked a rare homecoming for the biochemist, originally from Edgewood, who has described a rebellious childhood defying conventions and authority figures, whether at school or home.
To prove this particular Nobel laureate’s unusual origins, she marked a mirthful reunion with 95-year-old former Allderdice principal William Fisher, a guest in the classroom, by showing him one of the notes he sent to her parents warning about Ms. Arnold’s expulsion if she kept skipping school.
Any student was able to attend the professor’s visit but none was compelled, so all of those listening were attentive. She urged them to focus on learning all they could — whatever the subject, because they don’t really know what they’ll end up pursuing — and especially to get a solid math foundation and learn to write.
“I tried lots of things and never stopped learning,” Ms. Arnold, 62, explained while reciting different academic interests later abandoned — aerospace engineering and solar energy, among them — and unusual jobs and ventures.
“I was the first female cab driver in the city of Pittsburgh,” she said proudly while drawing laughter about one of her teenage vocations.
Her audience was split nearly evenly between the genders, and females were curious about how her career had been affected by being a minority in the scientific field. She never viewed it as a handicap, and nor should they, Ms. Arnold urged while speaking with her customary confidence in front of a chalkboard, bouncing on the balls of her feet occasionally.
“I was used to being the only woman in everything. ... I didn’t even think about it. Men were my role models — there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. “One thing I got was attention. ... It’s actually an advantage [in obtaining recognition in science] to be a woman.”
Ms. Arnold’s life has become far more scheduled and harried — including a cameo on the “The Big Bang Theory” — since the Nobel Prize announcement. She didn’t complain about it — she loves to travel and speak to scientific groups — but her international traveling has also served as a reminder of how other developed countries value scientific knowledge more than the U.S.
“Somehow we have a society that thinks you don’t need vaccines anymore,” Ms. Arnold said of the recent controversy over measles vaccinations. “For some reason, there are political forces that somehow feel threatened by honest inquiry. How can you be threatened by wanting to know the facts?”
She takes satisfaction, however, that the research she pursues is largely related to sustainability and long-term survival of the planet — such as how to feed its growing population without depleting resources and destroying the environment.
On the subject of food, she diverted to the topic of Allderdice’s early 1970s cafeteria lunches, asking the students if perhaps the school’s culinary offerings had improved. A boisterous “Nooooo!” rang out, which did not seem to surprise the Nobel laureate.
The students’ other reactions were more positive, as when they gathered to have photos taken with the scientific star afterward, the same as would have been the case for the many Allderdice graduates who achieved fame in athletics, music, theater and other higher-profile fields than chemistry.
“It was inspirational to see a woman who has not only excelled so much, but who was a student here,” said Maeve Denshaw, a senior from Highland Park who hopes to be an environmental scientist and professor.
With a laugh, she acknowledged that maybe she has worked harder in high school than Ms. Arnold, but that part of the alumna’s background made her message to the students all the better.
“I appreciate her honesty and think maybe that’s part of what makes her so inspirational,” Maeve said. “Maybe I’ve worked harder than her, but it all depends on how you propel yourself in life.”
Gary Rotstein: grotstein@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1255.
First Published: May 13, 2019, 9:34 p.m.
