PhD student Bernard van Heck to travel to the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings
Leiden physicist Bernard van Heck is one of the seven young Dutch scientists who will be travelling to the 65th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. Promising young scholars from all over the world have the opportunity to meet with Nobel Prize winners at this famous science conference.
Participants
During the conference in Lindau, the young scientists will meet with the Nobel Prize winners of three important categories: physiology/ medicine, chemistry and physics. Lectures by the Nobel Prize winners are scheduled during the conference, as well as plenary discussions, themed workshops and various social events. Bernard was one of the fortunate scientists selected to attend by the Royal Dutch Academy for the Sciences. He had been nominated by his supervisor, Professor Carlo Beenakker.
Bernard van Heck
Bernard’s PhD research in theoretical physics combines elements of quantum physics, nanotechnology, and the theory of calculations. He is aiming to design electronic switches capable of making calculations based on the laws of quantum mechanics. Those calculations should be able to complete certain algorithms at a faster rate than their classical counterparts would – such as algorithms designed to solve chemical problems. With this approach Van Heck is effectively building a bridge between the world of abstract mathematics and that of actual electronics. Just like the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings themselves, van Heck’s research has a very multidisciplinary character. Bernard van Heck: ‘My personal scientific interests transcend the field of physics, so I’m definitely looking forward to meeting Nobel Prize winners and other scientists from various other disciplines.’
About the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings
The 65th edition of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings will be held from 28 June until 3 July 2015. Its goal is to facilitate the transfer of knowledge from one generation of scientists to the next, to strengthen international networks and to inspire promising young scientists as well as the Nobel Prize winners themselves. Every year, the focus will be on one of the three disciplines: chemistry, physics or physiology/medicine. Once every five years a multidisciplinary round is added to the programme, and the 2015 conference happens to be one of those years. The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings were first organised in 1951, and the KNAW has been participating since 2008.