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'One day at a time': UT Austin professor and Nobel Prize winner shares his thoughts on life and discovery

Dr. Goodenough answered questions about his inspiration and what keeps him going at age 97.

AUSTIN, Texas — The University of Texas Dr. John B. Goodenough was recently announced as a Nobel Prize winner and he spoke to the public about what it is like to win the prize at the age of 97. 

Goodenough was awarded this prestigious award due to his work on the development of a lithium-ion battery, which is a lightweight, rechargeable battery used in a lot of our everyday technologies, such as iPhones. 

"Every phone is powered by John's scientific discovery," said President of UT Austin Gregory L. Fenves. "What start's here changes the world."

Fenves followed these comments by presenting the Nobel Prize winner with a Longhorn iPhone cover.

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"What questions do you got," the UT professor said as he opened to the room to discussion.

"How does it feel to be the oldest at 97 to get this award," an audience member asked. 

"I'm very happy to get out of bed at 97 and take a shower," Goodenough said. "Do one day at a time." 

The professor continued to say that, "if you live long enough, you never know what's going to happen," when asked if he expected to win at this stage in his life. 

In regard to his scientific discovery, audience members asked Goodenough how he felt being a partial reason to why society is addicted to their phones. 

"I was unable to anticipate what this would lead to," Goodenough said. "Electrical engineers are pretty clever. Once they get something that works pretty well, then they can do all kinds of things that you can never dream of doing." 

Towards the end of the Q&A session, conveniently asked through Instagram, someone asked: "How do you stay inspired?"

"It is very nice to work in a community with people who are doing interesting things," said Goodenough. "You can bounce ideas off of each other."

The UT professor's closing words were, "Dialogue is sacred for reconciliation and learning, don't be afraid to expose your ignorance and be sure to enter into dialogue." 

You can watch the entire session here

WATCH: UT Austin professor speaks after winning Nobel Prize for work on lithium-ion batteries

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