Probably the single most important thing about the Nobel Prize for most people is whether they get the coveted parking space on campus.

There are still so many questions to answer. When you look at any part of the universe, you have to feel humbled.

As a scientist, you feel a sense of team spirit for your country but you also have a sense of team spirit for the international community.

You want your mind to be boggled. That is a pleasure in and of itself. And it's more a pleasure if it's boggled by something that you can then demonstrate is really, really true

I was one of those kids who always thought that we should know how the world works around us

It seemed like my favourite kind of job - a wonderful chance to ask something absolutely fundamental: the fate of the Universe and whether the Universe was infinite or not

It's interesting to wake up at 3 in the morning by someone saying they're a reporter and they want to know how you feel. I felt fine, but I said, 'Well, why do you ask?'