A Life Changing Experience

#LINO25 Alumna Sajal Arwish reflects her attendance of the Chemistry Meeting.

After attending the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, life doesn’t feel the same as before. I feel more educated, inspired, and connected to the scientific world. Words can’t capture the importance of the meeting. Briefly: it’s a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing experience. I encourage everyone – especially women – to experience this uniquely friendly scientific atmosphere at least once; it can truly change one’s attitude toward science.

I enjoyed every moment of the meeting. I loved the atmosphere, the exposure, and the one-to-one interactions with Nobel Laureates. Being selected as a Young Scientist for the panel discussion on circular chemistry and sustainability – and speaking one-to-one with Nobel Laureates on stage – was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. The appreciation from the chemistry chairs, Pernilla Wittung-Stafshede and Valeria Nicolosi, meant a lot to me (“Sajal! Your ending words were perfect and amazing. You did a fantastic job.”).

The Science Walk with Sir Stanley Whittingham was amazing; we had a very good scientific discussion. Morten Meldal and his wife also inspired me in many ways. His words – “Young Scientist before, now a Nobel Laureate… yeah, I did it” – were truly motivating. I remember my exchange with Ben L. Feringa: “Ma’am! If you are really enjoying your time in science, then you are doing very good science.” My response: “Yes, sir! I’m enjoying it – I never feel tired or bored doing science.” During our last interaction on the way back to Lindau, I shared my story with Johann Deisenhofer, and he told me, “Sajal, you’ve already done what one has to do for science – now you just have to keep going.” So yes, I will.

In short: the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is a must-attend.