Occasionally in academia, you meet those rare, brilliant individuals who can seamlessly bridge several scientific disciplines. Prof Leon Cooper was one such person. Known for his New York accent, perfectly groomed hair and fine Italian suits, Cooper was a Nobel Laureate in physics and a maestro of interdisciplinary exploration.
I witnessed his brilliance while at graduate school in 1993. In the elevators of the physics department, he would pose the most probing questions to young researchers.
