A Light in Dark Times – Moungi G. Bawendi’s Personal Lindau Impressions

Moungi Bawendi, Chemistry Laureate 2023, relished his interactions with the Young Scientists and was inspired by the spirit of optimism and enthusiasm he experienced at the 74^th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting.

What I found striking, and this was something that was a cause of great optimism for me, was the level of enthusiasm. There were Young Scientists from all over the world, and, in particular, I met a lot of scientists from Eastern Europe that I would otherwise not have. Many were postdocs or already had independent positions lined up. Even though they found the idea of being independent overwhelming, there was still so much enthusiasm, even in these challenging times – for the science and for the opportunity to be independent. So, although I won’t be able to come to Lindau every year, it was a positive and rewarding experience that I would be very happy to do again.

This spirit of optimism and enthusiasm is, I think, down to the special format in Lindau. The way the Meeting is set up allows for many more informal conversations than I would typically have. I could talk in small groups to a fairly large number of students: at lunchtimes, on walks, at dinners, and even during the breaks. One particular highlight was a question-and-answer session: the Young Scientists really wanted to know how to make it work – how to choose what problem to work on. At a lot of meetings, it’s often a rushed Q and A, and you don’t actually get to spend enough time with the students to learn what they are thinking, what their challenges are, and what they’re looking for.

My general advice to the Young Scientists was for them to trust their instincts. There is a push or pull for students to work on something that is getting a lot of attention – a tendency which might be particularly pronounced in the field of physics that I am close to. Overall, though, I think this is a mistake. Of course, young people might have great new ideas for such a field, but, because it’s already hot, it means that competition is tough. Fads come and go. What you want to do is work on something that you think is genuinely interesting, where you have something to contribute, and where you have enough confidence that it’s going to have legs. And that’s not necessarily what’s hot at that particular moment. The big discoveries of the Nobel Laureates were not because they worked in hot fields – they were because they invented a new field.

The one-on-one interactions with the other Laureates at lunch or at the hotel were great. I’m more of a recent Laureate – it’s only been a couple of years, and it was great to see that they are just humans, most of whom are really interested in talking to other people. I suppose those Laureates who come to Lindau are precisely those who particularly enjoy these kinds of interactions. So, I found many of the Laureates to be far more accessible than I had expected – and that was really nice. As a recent Laureate, I feel like, wow, do I truly belong in this group? So, it’s amazing to be in a room with a bunch of other Laureates and feel that you are part of this.