Joachim Frank, a Columbia University professor and recipient of the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 2017, discusses his work during an event in Albany on Feb. 15, 2018. Frank at one time was a scientist at the state's Wadsworth Center in Albany.

Joachim Frank, laureate in chemistry, receives his Nobel Prize from King Carl Gustaf of Sweden, right, during the Nobel award ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden, on Dec. 10, 2017.

As a scientist with strong roots in the Capital Region, I would like to share my sense of extreme frustration and worry about the future of science, and the future of much else that has made this country great.

Although the majority of people appreciate the value of science and its role in addressing the problems we face, it is not well understood how fragile the necessary infrastructure is that makes science prosper, and how long it takes after a major funding lapse to rebuild a lab to make it productive again.

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After coming to the U.S. in 1975, I worked at the Wadsworth Center for 33 years before assuming my present position at Columbia University. Albany, the city where I used to live and work, became my second hometown after Siegen, Germany, where I was born and raised — not counting the years of short-term stays in between. It was Albany where I raised a family with my wife and where we made many friends.

These were my lucky years where — in the peace and........

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