Kavli Prize Science Forum Announced; Inaugural Forum on International Cooperation in Science

John P. Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first Secretary General of the European Research Council and now the Secretary General of the Human Frontier Science Program.

February 22, 2010

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, in partnership with The Kavli Foundation and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, has announced the establishment of the Kavli Prize Science Forum – a new biennial international forum meeting to facilitate high-level, global discussion of major topics on science and science policy.

John P. Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first Secretary General of the European Research Council and now the Secretary General of the Human Frontier Science Program.
Left to right: John P. Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, Secretary General of the Human Frontier Science Program and the first Secretary General of the European Research Council.

John P. Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, will give one of two keynote speeches at the inaugural forum, which will convene in Oslo, Norway this fall and focus on the topic: “International Cooperation in the Advancement of Science.”

The second keynote speech will be given by Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first Secretary General of the European Research Council and now the Secretary General of the Human Frontier Science Program. Holdren and Winnacker will also join a panel discussion that includes eight global leaders who are critical in shaping science policy in the US, Europe and China:

  • Ralph J. Cicerone, President, US National Academy of Sciences
  • Rita R. Colwell, Distinguished University Professor Emerita, University of Maryland; Former Director, United States National Science Foundation
  • Herbert Jaeckle, Vice President, Max Planck Society
  • Ichiro Kanazawa, President, Science Council of Japan
  • Yongxiang Lu, President, Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • Martin Rees, President, The Royal Society, United Kingdom
  • Nils Christian Stenseth, President, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
  • Charles Vest, President, US National Academy of Engineering (moderator)

The Kavli Prize Science Form 2010 will address the promise and impediments of conducting science research across international borders, as well as provide a roundtable for discussing current and future opportunities for advancing science. “This will be an opportunity to discuss a range of vital issues – from jointly managing the growing costs of research to working more efficiently as part of a global science community,” said Robert W. Conn, President of The Kavli Foundation. “Most important, it will do so by bringing together exceptional leaders who are shaping and influencing science policy globally.”

The inaugural forum will launch the Kavli Prize Science Forum itself, to be held every two years in conjunction with the Kavli Prize Ceremony and Symposia – an international event that brings together scientists in celebration of the most recent Kavli Prize Laureates. Future forums will continue to bring together key scientists and science policymakers, as well as other individuals, to discuss a major topic of global interest to advancing science research.

“Today, science plays a more important role in the community than it has ever done. The Kavli Prize Science Forum will create an excellent opportunity for a dialogue between scientists and policymakers regarding how both basic and more targeted science can most efficiently be used when policy decisions are made,” said Nils Christian Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

The new science forum is also aligned with the mission of The Kavli Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity. Said Fred Kavli, chairman and founder of The Kavli Foundation: “It is my hope that the Kavli Prize Science Forum provides a valuable and continuing opportunity for scientists and policymakers to engage on issues important to scientific research. If the world is to truly benefit from advances in science, it’s critical that we address the most important issues as an international community.”

KAVLI PRIZE WEEK: SCHEDULE IN BRIEF

The following events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, will be held in Oslo, Norway.

September 6

o Simon White (Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics, Garching, Germany)
o Sandra Faber (UCO/Lick Observatory, UC Santa Cruz, USA)
o Michel Mayor (Observatoire de Genève, Switzerland)
o Athena Coustenis (Observatoire de Paris LESIA/CNRS, Meudon, France)
o Aake Nordlund (Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark)
o Alex Filippenko (UC Berkeley, USA)
o Thomas Ebbesen (Université Louis-Pasteur, Strasbourg, France)
o Paul Alivisatos (UC Berkeley, USA)
o Andre Geim (University of Manchester, UK)
o Moty Heiblum (Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
o Albert Fert (Unité Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales, Palaiseau, France
o Charles Marcus (Harvard University, Boston, USA)
o Antonio R Damasio (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA)
o Richard Axel (Columbia University, New York, USA)
o Tobias Bonhoeffer (Max Planck Institue of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany)
o Michael E Goldberg (Columbia University, New York, USA)
o Poul Nissen (University of Aarhus, Denmark)
o Giacomo Rizzolatti (University of Parma, Italy)
o Huda Y Zoghbi (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA)

Additional details on the Kavli Science Forum 2010, the Kavli Prize Symposia and Lectures, the Kavli Prize Award Ceremony and other events will be posted as available.

KAVLI PRIZE SCIENCE FORUM 2010: PROFILES

Keynote Speakers

John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). Prior to joining the Obama administration Dr. Holdren was Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy and Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, as well as professor in Harvard's Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences and Director of the independent, nonprofit Woods Hole Research Center. Dr. Holdren holds advanced degrees in aerospace engineering and theoretical plasma physics from MIT and Stanford and is highly regarded for his work on energy technology and policy, global climate change, and nuclear arms control and nonproliferation. During the Clinton administration, Dr. Holdren served as a member of PCAST through both terms and in that capacity chaired studies requested by President Clinton on preventing theft of nuclear materials, disposition of surplus weapon plutonium, the prospects of fusion energy, U.S. energy R&D strategy, and international cooperation on energy-technology innovation.

Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker is Secretary General of the International Human Frontier Science Program Organization (HFSPO). Prior to joining HFSPO, he was the former first Secretary General of the European Research Council (ERC), where he played a crucial role in setting up this innovative agency for fostering basic research in Europe. Before joining the ERC he spent 9 years as President of the German Research Foundation (DFG). There, he was instrumental in promoting scientific excellence at an international level and in improving research opportunities for women and junior scientists. In both the ERC and the DFG, he has been a strong supporter of interdisciplinary approaches to scientific research.

Participants

Ralph J. Cicerone is President of the National Academy of Sciences and Chair of the National Research Council. His research in atmospheric chemistry, climate change and energy has involved him in shaping science and environmental policy at the highest levels nationally and internationally.

Rita Colwell is Distinguished University Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland and served as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1998 to 2004, where her policy approach enabled the NSF to establish support for major initiatives in many areas, including nanotechnology, biocomplexity, and information technology.

Herbert Jäckle serves as Vice President of the Max Planck Society, and is a Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany, whose research in developmental biology has been honored with numerous prizes.

Yongxiang Lu responsibilities include serving as President of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Chairman of the CAS Presidium, Vice-Chairman of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, President of the Chinese Mechanical Engineering Society and Professor of Zhejiang University.

Martin Rees is President of the Royal Society; Master of Trinity College, University of Cambridge; and Professor of Cosmology and Astrophysics, University of Cambridge. He was appointed Astronomer Royal in 1995, and was nominated to the House of Lords in 2005 as a cross-bench peer. He was appointed a member of the Order of Merit in 2007.

Nils Christian Stenseth is President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, and a biologist with a focus on ecology and evolution. He is the leader of the Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES) at the University of Oslo. He is also the Chief Scientist at the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research in Norway.

Charles M. Vest is President of the National Academy of Engineering and President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As president of MIT, he was active in science, technology, and innovation policy; building partnerships among academia, government and industry; and championing open, global scientific communication, travel, and the sharing of intellectual resources. In 2006, he was awarded the National Medal of Technology by US President George W. Bush.

  • Inaugural Kavli Prize Science Forum: “International Cooperation in the Advancement of Science”
  • Kavli Prize Symposium: Astrophysics
  • Kavli Prize Symposium: Nanoscience
  • Kavli Prize Symposium: Neuroscience
  • The Kavli Prize Award Ceremony at Oslo Concert Hall – A celebration of the 2010 Kavli Prize Laureates. In attendance: His Majesty King Harald V of Norway
  • The Kavli Prize Laureate Lectures
  • Public Lectures by the Kavli Prize Laureates in Nanoscience and Neuroscience (Trondheim, Norway)
  • Public Lectures by the Kavli Prize Laureates in Astrophysics (Tromsø, Norway)

The Kavli Prize