Opening of the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (Physics)

Energy, AI, and Quantum Physics on the Agenda

Today at 14:30 CEST, Countess Bettina Bernadotte af Wisborg, President of the Council, will open the 73^rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting – welcoming around 35 Nobel Laureates and hundreds of Young Scientists as well as guests of honour in the Lindau Inselhalle: “At a time when the world’s societies are all too often divided, it is invaluable to provide an opportunity for scientists from throughout the world to come together. The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings pursue this ambition every year, and we see it as our contribution to a prosperous future characterised by growing mutual understanding.”

Key Themes With Particular Relevance to Society

Today’s ceremony marks the beginning of a week dedicated to the many facets of the Nobel Prize discipline of Physics. Until Friday, various of the programme’s scientific sessions will highlight topics of particular relevance to society at large: solutions for the future of energy supply; the potential and impact of artificial intelligence; and a broader discussion of basic and applied research on quantum physics. During the Opening Ceremony – available at the Lindau Mediatheque tonight – the Lindau Meetings also recall a pivotal moment in their history: 70 years ago to the day, Albert Schweitzer participated in the 4^th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, the first Peace Nobel Laureate to attend a Lindau Meeting.

Two Nobel Laureates are contributing very visibly to today’s Opening Ceremony: Donna Strickland will offer the Laureates’ greetings. Steven Chu in turn will give a survey of “Current Key Topics in Physics” before the Meeting’s scientific chairs, Rainer Blatt and Heiner Linke, introduce its scientific programme.

Representatives of Research Politics at the Opening Ceremony

Bettina Stark-Watzinger, German Federal Minister of Education and Research, as well as science politicians from Bavaria and Austria will contribute to the Opening Ceremony.