Manuel Vasquez Montoya and Mayara da Silva are two PhD students at HZB. They have been selected this summer to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting and came back with new ideas and contacts. Among the highlights were the walks with Nobel Laureates in a small group. In this short interview they resume their experiences.
The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is an incredibly prestigious event, and being selected to participate is a true honor. This summer, 30 Nobel Prize Laureates and 650 young scientists from around the globe attended. How did they manage to engage in meaningful conversations?
Mayara: Beside the plenary sessions, there were many occasions to meet in smaller groups. I opted for a walk with Donna Strickland (Nobel Prize 2018, Laserphysics). And it was at first a bit embarrassing, since the announcement was: come with light clothes. So I turned up in my sports dress and I was the only one coming in a sport dress! The walk was not a hike, just a gentle stroll along the island in the Bodensee and soon we sat in a café and continued our discussion. Of course, the dresses did not matter at all…
How was the discussion with Donna Strickland?
Mayara: She was very open and natural. And she told us, as a fun fact, when she got informed about her Nobel Prize, she texted her daughter – who thought that it was a scam message and the phone has been hacked.
What remains most vividly in your memory from this discussion?
Mayara: Many points, of course. But one is that the Nobel prize comes with lots of new duties. Donna Strickland is now meeting ministers and politicians, and she is invited to talk about anything, not necessarily related to her own area of expertise, like oceans or climate. She finds it is difficult to decline, since she is often the only female Nobel Prize being able to raise her voice and being heard.
Manuel: I too had an open talk with Donna. She feels the responsibility which comes along with the visibility as a Nobel Prize Laureate. You become an advocate for science in general.
Manuel, you did take a walk with Richard Henderson (Nobel Prize 2017, Cryoelectronmicroscopy). What were you discussing?
Manuel: I asked him about the “noise” in science: How can one navigate the flood of publications to find truly relevant papers? He suggested that networks and communities are invaluable, advising that cultivating a circle of trustworthy scientists who uphold the highest standards will provide direction and help you focus on the most important developments.
What else did you bring back as learnings?
Manuel: My main learning is the importance of communities: Who is around you and where are they moving? You have to observe this and to interact regularly with them to be informed about the state of the art and also novel ideas. Second, we always have the impression that everything great or new is already done in science (as Max Planck famously advised Heisenberg already in 1900). But this is not true. And last but not least, the importance of resilience as one of the most important qualities of a scientist: Always keep going and try to improve.
Mayara: What will stay is the Agora Talk by Saul Perlmutter on the role of science communication and scientific thinking for an open and democratic society. He had been sitting in a chair, just quietly talking about his book “Third Millenium Thinking”. His message: We need to teach critical thinking and statistical thinking to empower people to decide better in the world of today. And I think this is very much true.
Thank you both for the interview!
PS.: Mayara recommends listening to the Agora Talk by Saul Perlmutter on the importance of critical thinking: https://www.mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/recordings/42234
Other recordings: https://www.mediatheque.lindau-nobel.org/recordings
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