Avi Loeb

So we went to lunch and he invited me for a month-long visit a few months later, during which, at the end of which, he invited me to his office and said, Avi, we would like to offer you a five-year fellowship.

which is the most prestigious we offer, long-term fellowship at the Institute, under one condition, that you'll switch to astrophysics.

And I didn't know how the sun shines, which was embarrassing, given that he dedicated all of his career to the neutrinos emitted from burning the hydrogen fuel in the sun.

That was his most important contribution.

And he nevertheless allowed me the privilege.

So I said, sure.

This is like in the Godfather, an offer you can't refuse.

So I went down the stairs and there came one of the postdocs that were already there that later became the chair of the astrophysics department at Princeton.

And he looked at me and I said, John just offered me a five-year fellowship.

and he said how is that possible we're supposed to discuss your case among many others this afternoon with john so then they met and john said what do you think about avi and this person said you already offered him a position why are you asking us and john said well i want to make sure that i didn't make a mistake

A little too late, John.

No, but that was the way he operated.

He basically decided for himself what's the right thing to do.

I cannot do that today.

You know, I'm the director of the Institute for Theory and Computation.

I have to consult with a committee.

Are you saying you consult before you release something?

I have no option because I cannot make a decision on my own.

People will immediately attack me and I will be removed from my position.

And on top of that, I can give you an example that there was a student from India that we considered who came from unprivileged background.