Nearly two decades ago, my PhD adviser Stephen Berry started working with colleagues at LUMS to set up their school of science and engineering. Steve was part of the first advisory board and was joined by other esteemed scientists and engineers. Steve himself had been a distinguished scientist. He was a member of the US National Academy of the Sciences, had won a MacArthur Award and had made a name for himself as scholar and public policy expert when he led a landmark study on air pollution in Chicago and created the first 'life cycle analysis' - an approach that continues to be applied across many disciplines.

In the formative years of the school of science and engineering, Steve came to Pakistan every year and shared his experience and ideas generously. When Steve was asked by colleagues at LUMS what should a modern chemist study, he replied instantly "they should read Shakespeare". The point was not to be unnecessarily provocative, but to push scientists who spend their time in the lab to........

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