April Days with Giants of Science The climate and diversity are important themes when the Crafoord Prize celebrates its 25th anniversary

Four days filled by hundreds of the world´s leading scientists. The topics cover everything from micro processes in cells to the formation of the universe, and in between research on how we ourselves function, our relationships and our survival on earth. The Crafoord Prizes reward and draw attention to all this. Welcome to our jubilee celebrations on 23-26th April in Lund!

When the Crafoord Prize celebrates its 25th anniversary, leading researchers and laureates from the whole world will be there. Lund offers unique opportunities to meet the foremost researchers of our time in the fields that complement the Nobel Prizes – Biosciences, Geosciences and Astronomy, for example. Many of the researchers there have made decisive contributions to our view of biological diversity, climate issues and our place in the universe – and they are still fully active in their fields. Symposiums will also be held on modern analysis and geometry, lessons learned from research on rheumatism and the evolution of the sense of sight. Alongside the full Jubilee programme, there will be special Press activities and public arrangements. We give some examples below:

From the programme:

  • Maria Zuber, Professor of Geophysics at MIT, USA, a young but leading expert on the planet Mars. She knows everything that is worth knowing about the discovery of water on Mars and its significance.
  • Lord Martin Rees, with a world-wide reputation in the field of astronomy, who is interested in the very largest phenomena with the greatest sources of energy in the universe and what the structure of the universe looks like. The author of more than 500 research papers as well as seven books, he has also devoted great energy to popularising astronomy.
  • The oceanologist Jane Lubchenco, the recipient of many international awards and prizes for her contributions to environmental research and marine ecology. What is happening to the oceans? What can be done?
  • This year´s Crafoord Laureate in Biosciences, Professor Robert L. Trivers, has looked theoretically at the relations between parents and children and conflicts within the family. What do the parents and the children respectively consider is a “fair” distribution of parental care?
  • The Crafoord Laureate in Geosciences in 2006, Professor Wallace S. Broecker, has deepened our knowledge of the carbon cycle and its significance for the climate. Will the greenhouse effect perhaps lead to a colder climate in Scandinavia?  

The Press and the public

  • Introductory Press Conference for the Jubilee celebrations on Monday, 23 April at 12 o´clock, with, among others,  the two Laureates, Professors Trivers and Broecker, and Margareta Nilsson from the Crafoord Foundation
  • Medical Press Conference: “Lessons learned from Arthritis research” on Tuesday 24 April at 12 o´clock, with researchers from the Crafoord Seminar on the same theme. Co-arrangement with the Medical Faculty of Lund University.
  • Science Café – a Crafoord Special, on Tuesday 24 April, 1-2.30 p.m. “Rising sea levels and flooded land”. With Laureate Broecker, international researchers and researchers from Lund – all in the front line of knowledge. Co-arrangement with Lund University.
  • Note! New Press Conference! Wednesday 25 April: “New research results on the climate and the oceans”. Arranged by Lund University.
  • Lecture “… conserve wild biodiversity forever” Tuesday 24 April, 7.30 p.m. The nestor of evolutionary ecology, Dan Janzen, on the project in which he recreates (!) rainforests in pioneering alliances with governments and industries.
  • This year´s Laureates give their lectures on Thursday 26 April.
  • Prize-awarding ceremony on Thursday 26 April at 5 p.m. in Lund Cathedral, in the presence of Queen Silvia. The first performance of a work commissioned by the Crafoord Foundation and written by the young and up-and-coming composer, Erik Berndalen.

Date for advice of attendance moved forward to Monday 16 April at the latest.