Find this upbeated article in USA Today.  And like to keep it here for Shirley & Brian’s tomorrow mind.

Where are today’s Leonardos?

During the Renaissance, students of creative thought — like da Vinci — forever changed the world with foresight and intellect. Today, with a full plate of daunting challenges, here comes the Class of 2009.

By Howard A. Zucker

In the coming weeks, close to 3 million students from across the nation will don caps and gowns, receive diplomas and walk off into an uncertain future. Though economic times might temper the twinkle in their eyes, there is reason to be confident that amid the crowd of graduates are modern-day Leonardo da Vincis whose intellect will solve our global dilemmas.
(Da Vinci: Born in Italy in 1452 and died in 1519./ AP)

Just as 15th century Florence, Italy, brought us the Renaissance and all the miraculous art and architecture, so too can this moment become a turning point for society. Perhaps it is time for a rebirth, a time to create a better world through the energies of the Class of 2009.

This past semester, as a fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University , I witnessed realistic global development projects spun out of the imaginations of Harvard and MIT students. A dialogue with optimistic minds provided for a conversation with tomorrow and a glimpse into the unimaginable.

The Renaissance was a period when our search to perfect one’s worldly knowledge transcended obstacles and bridged intellectual divides. Students of creative thought — including da Vinci, Michelangelo, Copernicus and Galileo— questioned conventional wisdom. And at that precise moment in history, the Earth was finally accepted as round and the concept of human genius was defined.

Theories abound as to what caused the Renaissance. Some claim that the bubonic plague of the mid-14th century brought thinkers to focus upon the human condition.

Maybe our global economic meltdown is today’s plague, or perhaps our expanding carbon footprint, or a looming pandemic of our own. Whatever wrinkle in time that one attributes our state of affairs to, let’s capture the chance and find opportunities to shape a better future. Just as Leonardo, the quintessential persona of the Florentine Renaissance, invented intricate pieces of engineering and explored the mysteries of human anatomy, so too walk — with crisp diploma in hand — visionaries who will shape our tomorrows in ways we only can dream.

Rejuvenation epoch

Could the modern era made up of greed, famine, disease and war be coming to a close? Are the bright eyes of our youthful graduates taking us toward the beginning of a new Renaissance, an era that I choose to call the rejuvenation epoch — a time when we join hands for a better cause?

The chance for greatness exists. It might be in Seattle or Beijing, Dubai or New Delhi, but it breathes the air of enthusiasm. And whoever it might be, he or she will build a new vehicle of thought that crosses allegorical oceans where the storms of uncertainty will lead to a better horizon, a new era for a new world order.

If we could whisk Leonardo from his artist’s pallet and transport him to today, what wonders would he be thinking of? Would he question the escalating gap between rich and poor societies, or tinker with intricate gadgets that cleanse the skies from the crumbs of pollution, or ponder the millions of preventable deaths in developing nations? The foundation behind the Renaissance scholars was the belief in the power of human ingenuity. It was a period when anything was thought possible and hence everything became possible.

The world yearns for inspirational Renaissance gurus. And though pragmatists claim that money is paramount to splendid achievements, the real currency for change requires more than dollars, euros, or yen. It requires a collective will to guarantee a paradigm shift — the vision to secure a better world for future generations.

A new day for history

Let us recognize that the new moment, this rejuvenation epoch, is happening through grand thoughts and grander accomplishments of this season’s graduates. Let this century show, when the world welcomes the year 2100, that the seed was planted by a cross-cultural society at the dawn of the millennium to cast away global troubles of poverty, inequity in human rights, a pandemic called AIDS and a climate in upheaval. Just as the Renaissance masters cast away conventional concepts, so too shall we discard friction that creates inertia in our thoughts. Let’s spawn a new generation, entrusting in those with cap and gown the ambitious objectives of securing a better planet.

The world is more than ready for 21st century Leonardos who dare to make the impossible happen. Let our renaissance fashion a new day for history when the world reached across societal divides and embraced a better tomorrow. The morning’s light has come. We are ready for the Class of 2009 to help us across the threshold into our own Florentine moment.

Howard A. Zucker is a physician and attorney who served as U.S. deputy assistant secretary of health and as assistant director-general of the World Health Organization. He is now a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard University.

叶利钦去世， 此间广播称 He engineered the final collapse of the Soviet Union and pushed Russia to embrace democracy and a market economy. Engineered 这词有点意思。我倒不觉得他真的“设计”了苏联的崩溃。 只是在恰当的时候，做了历史车轮的恰当推手。

哈，这可不是教你减肥的文章。 欧洲核子研究中心(CERN)建造的核子加速器将于今年夏天投入运行 。 全世界的物理学家都在注目这项实验，甚至很多非物理学家也在关注，因为这项实验会对回答自然世界的一些最基本问题提出提示，例如自牛顿时代以来，科学家都知道物质质量的重力作用，但他们迄今仍不清楚，重力是什么？ 从何处而来？ –我们不知道你为什么重180斤，物理学家说。

这个27英里长，深埋地下300英尺的加速器横跨瑞士和法国. 它将把粒子束加速到接近光速然后对撞。 每一微小的粒子将携带如一狂奔的巴士般的能量对撞。对撞后将会发生什么？这是所有物理学家翘首以待的。 根据爱因斯坦著名的E=MC2公式，能量将转换为物质。 什么物质？现在没有人知道。

科学家希望，从加速器内巨大爆炸中出现的粒子里能够包括一种叫做希格斯(Higgs)的玻色子(boson)。他们梦寐以求的这种粒子又称作“上帝粒子”，因为根据粒子物理的标准模型，正是希格斯导致了质量的产生。其他的问题还包括“黑暗物质”的性质。科学家称，黑暗物质构成了宇宙的大约95%，但迄今尚未被侦测到。

但毕竟谁也不知道到底会产生什么，也许正是这种不确定令科学家们兴奋。来自全世界的2000多科学家汇聚到这个项目中，他们说能见证这样的实验是毕生难遇的机会。

一些人担心物理学家们可能太冒犯到上帝的领域了，他们担心实验会产生黑洞，从而毁灭地球。 因为毕竟人类从来没有做过这种临界的实验，不知道将会产生什么。但科学家说毁灭地球的黑洞不太可能产生，微型的黑洞倒是可能产生，也是科学家们希望观察到的。 他们说，如果这些粒子失控，它们将打出一个50英尺长的洞，这就是为什么科学家要把加速器深埋地下300英尺以策安全。