Nobel Laureates
The commitment of Nobel Laureates to foster the exchange among scientists has been the mainstay of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings ever since their beginnings in 1951.
Coming to Learn and to be Taught
Educate.
The Nobel Laureates’ research achievements represent the most important scientific accomplishments of our time. Without them there would be no antibiotics, no powerful computers. Indeed, we would still be in the dark about our own origins and those of the universe. It is with great enthusiasm that the Nobel Laureates pass this fundamental knowledge and passion for basic research on to the next generation in Lindau. “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” (Sir Isaac Newton)
Inspire.
Numerous Laureates have taken unusual and sometimes rocky paths in life. Many have struggled with and battled for their research for years, even when at the start subsequent successes were nowhere in sight. One of Lindau’s most important tasks is to pass on this experience: to have the courage to ask the most difficult scientific questions and to develop the stamina that lies behind every great research achievement. Surely there is no better way to discuss these things than during a stroll in the park.
Connect.
In Lindau a great deal of attention is paid to exchange and networking across generations, disciplines, nationalities and cultures. After all, scientists from over 100 countries come together at the Meetings. It is a wonderful opportunity to develop new ideas, collaborations, projects and solutions together, which can be used to address challenges of the future. It is also a great source for lifelong and global networks that enrich not only professionally but also personally.
Integral to the Nobel Laureates’ Yearly Schedule
To this day, about 400 recipients of the Nobel Prize have followed the annual invitation to meet the next generation of leading scientists at Lindau. For many Nobel Laureates, the Lindau Meetings have become an integral part of their yearly schedule. More than 340 Nobel Laureates have joined the foundation’s Founders Assembly in the endeavour to support the Lindau Meetings and their outreach projects.
For young scientists at the beginning of their careers, it is a valuable opportunity to meet these role models and mentors, to seek their advice, to exchange thoughts and views, and to discuss current developments in science and beyond. At the Lindau Meetings, the Nobel Laureates shape the scientific programme with their topical preferences. As a result, the Lindau Meetings provide the unique opportunity to experience both the professional and the personal side of Nobel Laureates.
Lindau is situated on Lake Constance, at the tip of Bavaria, neighboring Austria and Switzerland, and separated from Italy only by the Alps. This is the reason why a special lifestyle is cultivated on the “Bavarian Riviera”: a Bavarian-global-Mediterranean style. The Lindau Meetings take place in June/July – too early for the Oktoberfest –however during the Meeting the Bavarian Evening offers ample opportunity to show off lederhosen and dirndl. Of course, this applies to the Nobel Laureates as well.
Contact for Nobel Laureates at the Executive Office
Nikolaus Turner
Managing Director and Member of the Board of the Foundation / Treasurer and Member of the Board of the Council
Phone +49 8382 277 31 23
nikolaus.turner@lindau-nobel.org
Susanne Wieczorek
Head of Conference Management / Deputy Director
Phone +49 8382 277 31 11
susanne.wieczorek@lindau-nobel.org
What Nobel Laureates Think About the Lindau Meetings
“Previous Nobel Laureates told me ‘You definitely want to go to that meeting in Lindau!’ and they were right: what a fantastic place, what a fantastic venue!”
Michael M. Rosbash, Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine 2017
“This was the most exciting and rewarding meeting I have ever attended.”
Louis J. Ignarro, Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine 1998
“I am glad to give the young people some hope and inspiration in difficult times. I hope to attend in person soon.”
Frances H. Arnold, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry 2018
Find Personal Memories of Nobel Laureates From Their First Visit to Lindau Here:
Further Information About Nobel Laureates in Lindau:
The Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize is an international award administered by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. Its founder, the Swedish scientist, inventor, entrepreneur, author and pacifist Alfred Nobel, had laid down in his will that much of his wealth should be used to establish the prize. It consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and a cash award.
Every year since 1901, the Nobel Prize has been awarded to those men and women who have “conferred the greatest benefit to mankind” (from the will of Alfred Nobel) through ground-breaking discoveries, inventions or improvements in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine, through outstanding literature and through their commitment for peace.
In 1968, Sweden’s national bank Sveriges Riksbank established The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel which is often referred to as the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.