BLOG: Heidelberg Laureate Forum

Scientists and Society face the ethical challenges of computational science together Thoughts are free, who can guess them, they flee past like nightime shadows. No one can know them, no hunter can kill them It … Read more

At a conference like the HLF—bringing together researchers from across diverse fields—you’re bound to run into a few turf wars. Mathematician vs. computer scientist. Mathematician vs. physicist. Even—in one delicious exchange on September 20 —mathematician … Read more

In 1984, the legendary Alexander Grothendieck released one of the greatest mathematical texts of the century: “Esquisse d’un Programme.” It became a viral hit. Like an epic novel, it painted a sweeping vision of the … Read more

Ich verstehe bei weitem nicht alles, was in den Vorträgen beim Heidelberg Laureate Forum erzählt wird, im Detail, und ich gehe davon aus, dass es den allermeisten Teilnehmern ähnlich geht. Aber auch Vorträge, die und … Read more

Ich hatte Sir Michael Atiyah (auf dem HLF-Blog schon hier mit “21 essential quotes” verewigt) eigentlich eine eher technische Frage zur Vereinfachung des Noether-Theorems stellen wollen (ein Problem, das ich seit langem für die Königsdisziplin … Read more

The joke among bloggers over breakfast: What award hasn’t Atiyah won? A Fields Medalist and Abel Prize recipient, he is a living legend: his index theorem (developed with Singer) revolutionized both mathematics and quantum physics. … Read more

When Jan Poleszczuk was starting college, he wanted to study computer science but his father talked him out of it. He suggested math instead: “if you are going to know math then you can switch … Read more

One of the hardest things about research in technical fields: Explaining what the heck it is that you do. The natural sciences have it easy: they study physical, tangible things. Perhaps those things are weird and … Read more

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum aims to connect young scholars in mathematics and computer science to illustrious pioneers who have been honoured by awards like the Abel Prize, Fields Medal, Nevanlinna Prize, and Turing Award. I … Read more

As I look forward to this year’s Heidelberg Laureate Forum, which kicks off later today (Sunday), I’ve decided I will ask as many of their participants about their experiences of learning, and sharing, the fascination … Read more