Chemistry Prof. Mark Ratner’s speech represented a full-circle ending for Jovana Grbic, Weinberg graduate: Ratner was her first professor at Northwestern, at 9 a.m. on the first day of classes, in beginning chemistry.

“For me, it seriously felt like closure, and it felt really appropriate,” Ratner said. “He was a big, underlying inspiration for me. It was so something out of a movie.”

Ratner, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, was recently named to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors for an American scientist. Ratner gave the keynote address at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences convocation Saturday.

He built his speech around six philosophical quotations from several people – from Oliver Cromwell to his barber – to inspire the about 1,000 Weinberg graduates.

“In challenging you, I don’t pretend any knowledge in the way the world works,” Ratner said. “It’s just that I’ve been in this world for six decades now, and I’ve watched a lot of wonderful people do a lot of wonderful things.”

Ratner began by telling students Fran