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NAI CHAPTER SPOTLIGHT 637

What unique recognition has Institut Pasteur the national or international press there and open
created for its inventors? up the ceremony to everyone on the campus. So,
To embody recognitions, we decided to prepare
some very nice trophies. We wanted it to look like a
César or Oscar trophy for movie stars. It was designed
to look like the Festival de Cannes trophy somehow.
All of these top inventors, with two Nobel Prize win-
ners among them—these are the inventors who made
breakthroughs in their fields, and that is outstanding,
so we decided that they really deserved a trophy that
was like an Oscar.

Why is recognizing academic invention in these
ways important?
I think in today’s society, and in the media and
the culture, movie stars or famous football players
get more attention and privilege than someone who
is fighting for finding an HIV cure or a vaccine for
neglected diseases in Africa or other life changing
inventions. I think we are forgetting that there are
very important persons behind those inventions who
are changing everyone’s lives. Society is not providing
these inventors enough recognition and reward, so
I think it’s an overall worldwide culture that I think
needs to be changed. Figure 1. A banner welcoming attendees to the chapter launch
I think inventors as superheroes. Only few know event to celebrate inventors featuring the specially designed tro-
them, but maybe it’s a condition of being a superhero phy presented to each inventor.
to live in the shadow of society. You fight and you
do good for society, but you are not famous. You are
like Superman in your day-to-day life. You just put for the next edition, we will open up to the campus
glasses on, and you work for The Daily Planet. This is and to the press. This is necessary to communicate
intrinsic to the condition of the real superheroes—the more broadly on the campus about recognizing the
real superheroes in our society are not the ones that contribution of our scientists as inventors.
are in the headlines every day or in People magazine.
They are not the football stars. The definition of a What lies ahead?
superhero is the one that knows to stay in the shadows I think the Pasteur local chapter is a great event
and work for the benefit of human kind. Inventors, to organize once every two years to continue this
in that sense, are superheroes. celebration and open it up to the whole campus. We
will continue this work to provide the recognition
What lessons have you learned in starting the the inventors deserve. They are our heroes working
chapter? in the shadow of fame, trying to make a difference,
For the first ceremony, we decided to organize an trying to move their inventions forward, sometimes
intimate gathering, which was not open to everyone taking some risks in their careers to try to transform
on the campus. That was a choice of the organization. their inventions into actual new products to solve
But, in retrospect, it would have been great to have global health issues.