Reflections on the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureaute Meeting

This June (2016), I was one of a group of young scientists sat in the whispering Theatre of Lindau—the place where everything began 65 years ago—when the lights dimmed and the opening ceremony started. I will never forget how, after being announced, the thirty Nobel Laureates stood up from their first-row seats and turned to us, probably smiling. In the half-shadows they looked more like the kings of the past, giants, and the surrounding silence was truly epic. I am not sure whether it was intended this way, but this was a unique moment: they appeared to be very friendly, open-minded, ready to discuss things, and share their personal experience and anecdotes. Such a striking contrast.

Figure 1. The 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting dedicated to physics attracted 30 Nobel Laureates and 400 selected young scientists from all over the world, mainly Ph.D. candidates and postdocs. Credit: Lindau Foundation.

This year, the 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting was dedicated to physics. The selection process was very demanding, and the selection committee judged not only the conventional records—such as CV, publication list, and teaching record—but also “dedication to physics”. Looking back, I think what worked in my case is that I have published two single-author papers in Physical Reviews [1,2], I was 24 years old, and had a warm recommendation letter from Professor Rønnow. I think I spent a hundred hours writing and polishing my application for the two-step selection procedure. Was it worth it? Totally! I met, shook hands, and exchanged business cards with 29 Nobel Laureates in Physics and Chemistry, and Vinton Cerf, the creator of the Internet and recipient of the 2004 Turing Award.