Tremendous success for a young physicist at Leibniz University Hannover: Thomas Hensel, a master's student in Physics and Philosophy of Science at LUH, has been selected to attend the 69th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting. During the conference, which will take place between 30 June and 5 July 2019, outstanding students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs under the age of 35 will meet 42 Nobel Prize winners in order to discuss the latest developments in science. This year, the conference is devoted to Physics. Key topics include cosmology, laser physics, and gravitational waves. In addition to many others, the 2018 Nobel Prize winners Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou will be present at the conference.
In order to participate in the Nobel Laureate Meeting, which takes place once a year, applicants have to pass a multi-stage international selection process. The selection committee comprises approximately 140 science academies, universities, foundations, and research-oriented businesses. The last student from Leibniz University Hannover to attend the conference was a young chemist in 2013.
"I am very excited about being invited to the conference", says Thomas Hensel. "It is a unique opportunity to meet inspiring physicists. I also look forward to getting to know other young researchers from around the world, as well as to exchanging ideas with them." As a scholarship holder of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation, Thomas Hensel first heard about the Nobel Laureate Meeting at an academy event. "Since the conference only focuses on physics every five years, I decided to seize the opportunity to apply."
Participants can look forward to intensive discussions on laser physics, dark matter, the standard model of cosmology, and gravitational waves. In addition to presentations by Nobel Prize winners, panel discussions, and poster sessions, there will be other formats such as the Laureate Lunch where small groups of junior researchers have lunch with a Nobel Prize winner. "Science Walks" in the Lake Constance area provide an opportunity for informal discussions between Nobel laureates and young researchers.
Thomas Hensel has been passionate about science from a young age. While still at school, he participated in the German youth science competition "Jugend forscht" and attended an international contest in the United States organised by Intel. He completed a bachelor's degree in Physics between 2015 and 2019 and is currently enrolled in the master's degree programmes Physics and Philosophy of Science. His main areas of interest are quantum optics and gravitational physics. "Furthermore, I have a strong interest in ethical issues in science", says Hensel. This was one of his reasons for choosing Hannover as a place of study: "As a science location, Hannover offers a unique combination of quantum optics and basic research in the fields of gravitation, medicine, and biology". Thomas Hensel is already involved in current research projects through his work as an academic assistant at the Hannover Institute of Technology (HITec), the joint research centre of LUH and Hannover Medical School.
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