BEIJING, June 27 -- An American Nobel laureate told middle school students in Shanghai yesterday about how he built a telescope on the roof of his home at the age of six in order to watch the stars, a move that pushed him towards science.

    ;Roy Glauber, who won the Nobel prize in physics in 2005, encouraged Chinese students to develop interests in various fields instead of concentrating on just one subject.

    Glauber was invited by the Shanghai International Cultural Association to speak to more than 300 students at Shanghai Yan'an High School - an event organizers hailed as the city's first face-to-face meeting between a Nobel laureate and school students.

    "Do your own things," said Glauber when asked by a student about how to make a successful academic achievement.

    Glauber, and two co-winners, took home the Nobel Prize in physics in 2005 for his theoretical description of the behavior of light particles.

    He has established the basis of Quantum Optics - a cross between quantum theory and optics.

    Quantum theory describes the qualities of subatomic particles and the interactions of matter and radiation.

    Glauber said that setting up the telescope as a project when he was a child was a key step for him on the path to becoming a scientist.

    "It's a good way to gain independence," he said.

(Source: Shanghai Daily)