Daily News Photo by MICHAEL POTTER High school students gather Monday at the Marin Center to listen to a presentation on theoretical physics by three Nobel Prize-winning scientists: Gerardus 't Hooft, David Gross and Frank Wilczek.

ST. THOMAS - Students learned a bit about the mysteries of the universe on Monday at a presentation by three Nobel Prize winners, all physicists, who are visiting the territory for a high-level scientific conference.

The scientists, Gerardus 't Hooft, David Gross and Frank Wilczek, took a break from debating the structure of the universe to spend the morning with 350 high school students at the Marin Center at Antilles School.

Hoping to inspire students toward a career in science, the award-winning physicists discussed their research on the forces inside the nucleus of the atom, which has furthered mankind's understanding of the basic building blocks of matter.

"Science is truly a wonderful way of life," Gross said, comparing scientific discovery with going on an adventure. "Most of the questions that need to be answered have not been answered. There are marvelous questions waiting for answers that need marvelous young minds to attack them."

Gross and Wilczek received the Nobel Prize in 2004 and 't Hooft received it in 1999, for their work developing the standard theory of elementary particle physics.

Wilczek, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, played a computer-generated video of what looked like globs of glue moving inside a box. He said that the video illustrates quantum fluctuations in gluon fields, or what he called "the deep structure of reality." But he described it in terms that the students would understand immediately: "It's a lava lamp," he said, joking.

't Hooft shared photographs of the big, high-tech tools that scientists are using to explore the universe, including the Hubble Space Telescope and other observatories in the U.S. and Europe.

The Nobel Prize winners were joined in Monday's presentation by two other scientists attending the conference, which is being held at The Ritz-Carlton: Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist, and Edward Thomas Jr., an alumnus of Charlotte Amalie High School who now is an associate professor of physics at Auburn University. Theoretical physics pioneer Stephen Hawking, who is the best-selling author of "A Brief History of Time," attended the conference but not the session at Antilles School.

Wilczek looked the part of the maverick scientist. His ruffled hair calling to mind Albert Einstein, he wore a T-shirt with his black suit and had a handful of colored pens shoved in the jacket pocket. The other guests dressed more conservatively.

Wilczek's current research involves "dark matter," a mysterious substance that scientists believe makes up 25 percent of the mass of the universe, he said. "I'm trying to figure out what that dark matter might be," he said.

Gross is working on string theory, a relatively new school of thought that presumes that the basic constituents of matter are string-like.

't Hooft said that his current project is examining the underlying laws governing the theory of quantum mechanics.

Marc Asiedu, a 17-year-old Antilles senior, said afterward that he was intrigued by the discussion. "The talk focused on the little we actually know about our universe and how much there is to learn through science," Marc said.

Another Antilles student, Kichelle Webster, said she enjoyed the discussion of dark matter. "It was really interesting, the idea that we don't know what exactly is out there," Kichelle, 16, said.

The other participating schools were Charlotte Amalie High School, Ss. Peter and Paul School, V.I. Montessori School, Kean High School and All Saints School. The J. Epstein Virgin Islands Foundation sponsored the event.

Austin Walters, who teaches chemistry and physics at CAHS, said the presentation allowed students a rare opportunity to interact with "world-class" scientists. He said he especially enjoyed seeing Thomas, his former student.

"I'd like my students to understand that science can be a very worthwhile career," Walters said.

Devrelle Dumas and Matthew Burns, CAHS students, said that they welcomed the opportunity to hear from great minds in the field. Both said they enjoy studying physics and math, and they plan to study engineering in college.

"It's a lot of figuring out stuff," Matthew, 18, said. "It can be difficult, but I guess I like the challenge."

- Contact Tanya Mannes at 774-8772 ext. 317 or e-mail tmannes@dailynews.vi.