Birthday: Jan. 24.
Birthplace: Haifa, Israel.
Occupation: I’m the head of the Science Institute at Columbia College Chicago.
Current home: Evanston.
Marital status: Officially single.
Children: I have a son, Yoav Margolin, 38, and two grandsons, Ben 4, and Dan, 3.
Car: A blue 1999 Volvo. This is the first time I haven’t had a red sports car.
Working on: Changing the world to make it better for humankind. For 15 years I’ve defended scientists living under repressive political regimes in Russia and China. I believe that science education is a human right and so I have developed a method to teach science to inner-city teachers and children by integrating it with art, music, dance and drama.
The last good movie I saw: I don’t see many movies, but I saw the play “Fosse” in New York and it was outstanding.
I stay home to watch: The news and “Biography.” I listen to NPR.
The book I’ve been reading: “Hillary’s Choice” (Random House) by Gail Sheehy.
Favorite meal: I don’t eat meat because I protect the animals with intelligence, so I’m a vegetarian who doesn’t like vegetables or fruit. It’s complicated.
Favorite performer: I’m still in love with Clark Gable.
Personal heroes: Golda Meir, David Ben-Gurion, Madame Curie and
Albert Einstein.
Nobody knows I’m: The people who know me as a serious scientist don’t know how silly I can be, but my students know. Everyone gets older; only my students stay 20 years old, and I stay 20 with them.
I’d give anything to meet: Einstein. That was my dream when I was growing up.
The one thing I can’t stand: Unethical behavior sends me flying through the ceiling.
If I could change one thing about myself: I’d be more tolerant of the things that send me flying through the ceiling.
My most irrational acts: My two–with the help of a rabbi–marriages.
The three words that best describe me: Energetic, caring and hyperactive.
