Five Nobel Prize winners in Prague at the invitation of the Academy of Sciences
14. 07. 2019
The world‘s leading physicists will take part in a discussion at a conference organized by the Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences entitled “Frontiers of Quantum and Mesoscopic Thermodynamics” to take place at the Pyramida Hotel between July 15and July 20. The participants will also include five Nobel Prize winners: Theodor Hänsch, Gerard't Hooft, Wolfgang Ketterle, William Phillips and Rainer Weiss. Three of them will be giving, apart from their expert papers, popular lectures that are open to the public. The symposium will also be attended by Marlan Scully, a legendary pioneer in quantum and laser physics, to whom the conference has been dedicated.
The international conference, featuring over 160 top experts, will address the latest findings related to the behaviour of very small systems of tens and hundreds of nanometers.
These systems are highly interesting not only from the perspective of the foundations of quantum physics but also from the perspective of nanotechnologies and the development of new generations of computers, including “quantum computers”.
The study of such systems is essential for further development of chemistry, and especially biology and medicine as they play a decisive role in the behaviour of biological systems at the molecular level.
Lectures for public audience
The international conference, also known as the “FQMT”, has traditionally been held in the Czech capital; this year it has been the seventh time. The conference will also include three lectures by Nobel Prize winners for public audience which will be given in English. These lectures will be followed by concerts of classical music.
“The tradition of lectures which are understandable and attractive for public audience by world-renowned experts is particularly strong in the Western world. The Academy of Sciences has followed this tradition,” says Eva Zažímalová, the President of the Academy of Sciences. The FQMT conference is held under her auspices and under the auspices of the President of the Czech Republic, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, the Mayor of Prague and the Archbishop of Prague.
Honorary awards by the President of the Senate and the President of the Academy of Sciences
The conference will also include an Honorary Awards ceremony. Jaroslav Kubera, the President of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic, will award silver honorary medals to Wolfgang Ketterle, William Phillips and Rainer Weiss. Eva Zažímalová, the President of the Czech Academy of Sciences, will award the “De scientia et humanitate optime meritis” Honorary Medal to Marlan Scully and the Ernst Mach Honorary Medal for Merits in Physical Sciences to Theodor Hänsch.
Schedule of public lectures and concerts
- July 16, 2019, Pyramida Hotel, 7 p.m. – public lecture “Time, Einstein and the coolest stuff in the universe” by Nobel Prize winner in physics professor William Phillips. The lecture will be followed by a concert of classical music featuring Prague Brass Soloists, Luboš Hucek, Josef Kšica and Jan Thuri.
- July 17, 2019, National House at Vinohrady, 5 p.m. – public lectures by Nobel Prize winners in physics: professor Rainer Weiss: “The beginnings of gravitational wave astronomy“; professor Wolfgang Ketterle: “Cooling close to absolute zero temperature: A recipe for discoveries“. The lectures will be followed by a concert of classical music featuring Praga Camerata Chamber orchestra, Luboš Hucek, Miroslav Kejmar, Josef Kšica, Jan Thuri and Tomáš Víšek.
- July 18, 2019, St. Vitus Cathedral, 8 p.m. – concert of classical music: featuring Miroslav Kejmar, Josef Kšica and Přemysl Kšica.
- July 19, 2019, Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Strahov Monastery, 9 p.m. –
classical music concert: featuring Tomáš Jindra, Miroslav Kejmar, Josef Kšica, Marek Stříteský and Jan Thuri.
Entry to public events is free of charge, prior registration is required: here.
Prepared by: Department of Media Communication of the Head Office of the CAS in cooperation with Institute of Physics of the CAS
Photo: Institute of Physics of the CAS
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The Czech Academy of Sciences (the CAS)
The mission of the CAS
The primary mission of the CAS is to conduct research in a broad spectrum of natural, technical and social sciences as well as humanities. This research aims to advance progress of scientific knowledge at the international level, considering, however, the specific needs of the Czech society and the national culture.
President of the CAS
Prof. Radomír Pánek started his first term of office in March 2025. He is a prominent Czech scientist specializing in plasma physics and nuclear fusion.