Some Nobel laureates were straight-A students from the get-go. But others AFP spoke to recounted how they cut class, got expelled, and had doubts about their future.

Perhaps the most illustrious Nobel Prize winner, Albert Einstein, was once a mediocre student at Zurich Polytechnic School, now ETH Zurich.

The young Einstein skipped classes, wanted to study physics exclusively, and finished second-last in his class in 1900.

After graduating, he was the only student not offered a research assistant position, according to the Swiss university’s website.

Einstein went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921.

Frances Arnold, who won the 2018 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, also cut classes after a turbulent start to her education in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.

“I was disruptive. I was just bored and well beyond what the rest of the kids in the class were doing. And the teachers often gave me little projects decorating the classroom and things like that,” she recalled in an interview with AFP.

At the age of 10, she was allowed to take high school courses such as geometry — a challenge she appreciated at first.

But by the time she reached her teens, she wasn’t enjoying school anymore to the point that she stopped going and was expelled.

“I guess I wasn’t interested in what they had to teach us. Or if I was interested in it, I just learned it on my own from a textbook. So I managed to pass all my classes despite many absences, I would say.”

Now aged 69, she acknowledges that hers is not a model to follow, but believes schools should show more flexibility.

“They don’t have the wherewithal to do anything special for the kids who really would benefit,” she lamented.

Overcoming challenges

David Card, the 2021 Nobel economics laureate, also had unconventional educational beginnings. “There’s almost nobody I’ve met… in an economics PhD programme that has a background like mine where they went to a rural school.”

Born on a farm in Canada in the 1950s, he was enrolled in a small one-room schoolhouse, where one teacher taught around 30 students at different grade levels.

“The way the teacher did it was she would spend some time with each row, which was one of the grades. I actually paid attention to a couple of grades beyond mine for most of the material,” he said.

“So you could kind of accelerate very quickly, very easily.”

The system was less ideal for students who needed more individualised support, he acknowledged.

According to the Nobel Foundation, other laureates had to overcome major academic challenges before going on to win the prestigious Nobel.

The first woman to win the economics prize, Elinor Ostrom, was turned down when she applied for a PhD in economics; 2009 medicine prize laureate Carol Greider struggled with dyslexia as a child; and 2015 chemistry prize winner Tomas Lindahl failed chemistry in high school.

Humble beginnings

Arnold and Card both started working at a young age, which the two consider an important life experience.

In her teens, Arnold held odd jobs as a waitress, receptionist and taxi driver.

“You appreciate more what the university education can give to you, in terms of getting a job you actually might want to have for the rest of your life.”

“It also teaches you how to organise your time.”

Similarly, Card juggled school and farm life very early on.

“I don’t think there was that much homework back then in my schools. So there was lots of time,” he recalled.

“I helped my father. I learned to drive a tractor when I was about 11. Every morning, I got up at 5am and helped him milk the cows and then I would have a shower and go to school.”

Both prizewinners also studied other subjects before discovering their respective passions.

Arnold pursued studies in mechanical engineering and aeronautics before turning to chemistry.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I went into mechanical engineering because it had the fewest requirements for engineering,” she admitted.

And Card initially studied physics before switching to economics.

Despite their unconventional paths, both ultimately found their way to brilliance.

• Typhoon Bualoi leaves 14 people missing and injured 164 others.
• Disaster management agency raises estimate of property damage. 
• More than 230,000 houses damaged or inundated by typhoon.

The death toll in Vietnam from Typhoon Bualoi and the floods it triggered has risen to 51, according to a Friday government report, as the central bank urged banks to support affected businesses.

Bualoi made landfall on Monday in northern central Vietnam, bringing huge sea swells, strong winds and heavy rains that also left 14 people missing and injured 164 others, according to the report from the government’s disaster management agency.

The agency also raised its estimate of property damage caused by the typhoon and its flooding to 15.9 trillion dong ($603 million), up from $435.8 million in a previous report released on Thursday.

The typhoon severely damaged roads, schools and offices, and caused power grid failures that left tens of thousands of families without electricity, the report said.

More than 230,000 houses were damaged or inundated, and nearly 89,000 hectares of rice and other crops were destroyed, it said.

The report did not mention any major damage to industrial properties.

Vietnam is a regional manufacturing hub, and large factories in or near the typhoon’s path included some owned by Foxconn, Formosa Plastics, Luxshare and Vinfast.

The central bank has told banks to consider restructuring or freezing loans for firms hit by the typhoon, deputy governor Pham Thanh Ha said on Friday.

DUBAI: Set against the backdrop of the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, the Dubai Fountain has once again come to life after a five-month closure, dazzling visitors with its spectacular display.

The iconic attraction reopened to the public with an opening show choreographed to an Arabic melody, drawing large crowds who gathered to witness its grand return.

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties — the developer behind the Burj Khalifa — said on the occasion that the Dubai Fountain symbolises “the spirit and energy of Dubai”, bringing joy and wonder to all who visit.

The latest upgrades have introduced cutting-edge technology, refreshed choreography, and enhanced sound and lighting systems, designed to offer audiences an even more impressive experience.

Regular shows will now resume, taking place every half-hour between 6 pm and 11 pm daily. Afternoon performances will run at 1pm and 1:30 pm from Saturday to Thursday, and at 2 pm and 2:30 pm on Fridays.

Construction of the Dubai Fountain began in 2005, with its grand opening in 2009.

Renowned as the world’s largest dancing fountain, it can shoot water jets up to 152 metres high, supported by 6,600 lights and 25 colour projectors.

A second phase of renovation is scheduled to commence in the second quarter of 2026.