Giants of science meet in Lund

Focus on the climate and personal relations when the Crafoord Prize has its 25th anniversary.

When the Swedish Crafoord Prize is awarded for the 25th year in succession, hundreds of leading researchers and laureates from all over the world will be meeting in Lund for the celebrations. 

“We want to highlight basic research and show that it pays off and is useful for people and society. That is proved by the research that has been carried out and is still being carried out by all the laureates and leading scientists who will be coming to join in our celebrations”, says Professor Torbjörn Fagerström, Chairman of the Jubilee and the scientific programme.

In Lund, from 23 April to 26 April, there will be unique opportunities to meet today´s leading researchers in the fields that complement the Nobel Prizes, among them the Biosciences, the Geosciences and Astronomy. Many of the scientists who will be in Lund have been of decisive importance for our view of biological diversity, climate issues and our place in the universe – and are still fully active in their fields. These four days will be filled with everything from micro processes in cells to how the universe was formed, including research on how we ourselves function, our relationships and our survival on earth. One important theme of the Jubilee celebrations is, in fact, climate change and the preservation of biological diversity.

The Cosmos, Maths and a lot more 

Symposiums will also be held on modern analysis and geometry, lessons from rheumatism research and the evolution of the sense of sight. These seminars are entitled, for example, “Our Cosmic Habitat” and “Mathematics, Queen and/or Servant of Sciences”. The Lund days will have everything from scientific symposiums and round-table discussions to popular-scientific lectures and poster exhibitions. There will be interesting meetings between students and researchers, as well as between pioneering researchers in various disciplines. Parts of the programme are open to the general public and are free of charge.

Festive award ceremony in Lund Cathedral in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Silvia 

On Thursday this year´s laureates will hold their public lectures. The Jubilee terminates on the same day with a splendid prize-giving ceremony in Lund Cathedral, at which Her Majesty Queen Silvia will award the prizes.  During the ceremony there will be the first performance of a work commissioned by the Crafoord Foundation and written by the up-and-coming young composer Erik Berndalen, who lives in Malmö. The prize-giving ceremony is also open to the public.

Press photos will be found Monday the 23rd (pm).