Connecting with the world’s most brilliant minds

by Philip Boehm, Jana Huisman, Michael Reiter, Erik Slabber & Cla Duri Tschannen, PhD candidates, 22 July 2021
Key Visual of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2021
Credit: Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

During this year’s virtual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, ETH participants listened to inspiring talks, shared ideas and connected with Nobel Laureates and fellow scientists.

We - five PhD students from ETH Zurich - were looking forward to attending the prestigious Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, having been selected for the honour.

Every year, Nobel Laureates and young scientists from around the world gather in Lindau, a small town beautifully located on Lake Constance in the far south of Germany. We counted ourselves lucky to be attending in 2020 – which would commemorate the 70th iteration of the Meeting.

Then, like so many other special occasions, Lindau was disrupted by COVID-19, postponed to 2021, and the meeting held virtually.

Here’s how our disappointment was upended.
A laptop in front of the Zürichsee
The advantages of a virtual conference (photo credit: Jana Huisman)

Virtual but invigorating

By now we had had our fill of online events. The concept for this e-conference, however, let us participate in a multi-faceted agenda that closely resembled the in-person meetings.

We got to attend inspiring talks by Nobel Laureates, joined science breakfasts, contributed to panel discussions and engaged in direct discussions with Nobel Laureates and other young scientists. Even though we were scattered around the world, participants were able to meet in the virtual networking area and were soon captured by the “spirit of Lindau”.

The diverse scientific programme was even intermixed with musical performances and workouts, setting the Lindau meeting apart from regular online conferences, and creating an extremely invigorating experience.

Highs and lows

During the meeting, we had the opportunity of a personal Zoom meeting with Prof. Didier Queloz, the 2019 Physics Nobel Laureate, who will soon move to ETH. Prof. Queloz gave us personal insights into his life in science, including the support and importance of his family, and told us the story of how he did not immediately realize that he had won the Nobel Prize. He advised us to learn how to cope with failure, and to surround ourselves with supportive friends.
Zoom meeting of seven person, all are laughing
Group Picture with Nobel Laureate Prof. Didier Queloz (from left to right, top to bottom: Michael Reiter, Prof. Didier Queloz, Cla Duri Tschannen, Coenraad Frederik Slabber, Jana Huisman, Philip Boehm, Elisabeth Pöschl) (photo credit: ETH Zurich)
Another highlight was lunch with Prof. Kurt Wüthrich, the 2002 Chemistry Nobel Laureate. He shared anecdotes from his youth and career. Over lunch above the roofs of Zürich, he reflected on the impact the Nobel Prize had on his life – one of the main advantages being that he is able to continue working as a Professor at ETH beyond the official retirement age of 65 – and how the science landscape has changed over the years.
Group picture with Kurt Wüthrich and four male students
Group Picture with Nobel Laureate Prof. Kurt Wüthrich. (from left to right: Cla Duri Tschannen, Philip Boehm, Prof. Kurt Wüthrich, Coenraad Frederik Slabber, Michael Reiter) (photo credit: Cla Duri Tschannen/ETH Zurich)
Can you imagine the ego of people who are recognised as the smartest on earth? Nobel Laureates have, after all, been propelled to (scientific) superstardom. During Agora Talks and open discussions, we were very interested to see just how approachable and down-to-earth Nobel Laureates can be.

And after all they’ve seen and done, to see how enthusiastic they get when exchanging ideas with young scientists. Each and every one of them took time to answer our burning questions, ranging from life/career advice all the way to whether a time machine could one day become a reality. Their passion for science is contagious and listening to their incredible stories was a true privilege.
Three men in zoom meeting
Open Exchange Session with Prof. Kostya Novoselov (photo credit: Cla Duri Tschannen/Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting)
Panel Discussion on “Corona and Emerging Pandemics” with Prof. Stefan Kaufmann, Prof. Francoise Barre Sinoussi, Jana Huisman, Prof. Harvey Alter, Prof. Richard Neher (photo credit: Jana Huisman/Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting)

Surprise!

The 70th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting was a very enriching and inspiring event with many unforgettable moments and connections that will last longer than any pandemic. But all these positive impressions only exacerbated the desire to experience this wonderful event in-person.

So we are extremely grateful that the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting has decided to readmit all of this year’s young scientists for the next meeting of their respective disciplines (Chemistry 2022, Physiology or Medicine 2023, and Physics 2024). We can’t wait to meet the Nobel Laureates and fellow young scientists in person!

If you want a taste of Lindau, check out the Mediatheque, which is full of wonderful material from Lindau meetings throughout the years.

About the authors

Philip Böhm grew up in southern Germany. From 2013 to 2016, he studied Chemistry (B.Sc.) at the Technical University of Munich and continued with his M.Sc. studies (2016 to 2018) at the same university. For his Master’s thesis, he joined the group of John Hartwig at the University of California, Berkeley. After his return in April 2018, he did an internship with Clariant in the department of Oxidation Catalysis. Since October 2018, he is a PhD student in the group of Bill Morandi at ETH in Zürich.
Jana Huisman is a PhD student with Tanja Stadler and Sebastian Bonhoeffer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), studying the role of plasmids in the spread of antibiotic resistance. Since March 2020, she has also played a key role in the public health response to COVID-​19, developing the method to estimate the effective reproductive number of SARS-​CoV-2 for Switzerland. Originally from the Netherlands, Jana studied physics and math in Bonn, with a minor in astronomy. After which she obtained her masters in physics and nanotechnology from the Technical University Denmark. She speaks 6 languages, and likes to play ultimate frisbee and visit museums in her free time.
Michael Reiter is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Vorholt lab at ETH Zurich where he aims at engineering artificial endosymbioses. Michael started his academic education at the Technical University Munich from which he received his Bachelor's degree in Molecular Biotechnology. Subsequently, he joined the Stephanopoulos lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a research internship. During this time, he tried to engineer biotech's workhorse Escherichia coli to live off of the renewable carbon and energy source methanol instead of glucose sugar. Such an organism would be a significant step towards fully sustainable biotechnology processed. After his time at MIT, looking to advance his mathematical and computational skills, Michael then joined the Biotechnology master's program at ETH Zurich where he majored in systems biology. He concluded his studies with a master's thesis and subsequent research stay in the Keasling lab at the University of California, Berkeley. At Berkeley, Michael built a baker's yeast strain that produces different cannabinoids which is currently being commercialized. Besides doing science, Michael likes to explore the world by sail boat, play beach volleyball or going climbing in the mountains.
Coenraad Frederik Slabber was born and raised in South Africa. After finishing school, he came to Zurich to study biology. Here he enjoyed science and the city so much that his Bachelor studies quickly turned into a Master’s degree and even continued in his PhD. Currently, as a PhD candidate, he is working in the field of regenerative biology the laboratory of Prof. Sabine Werner.
Cla Duri Tschannen, originally from Bern, started his studies at ETH Zurich in 2013 with a Bachelor in Health Sciences & Technology and graduated in 2018 with a Master in Biomedical Engineering. For his Master’s degree he was supported by the Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) and awarded the Willi Studer Prize. Cla Duri is now working as a doctoral student in the Photonics Laboratory, where he conducts research at the interface of nano-​optics and nanomaterials. Besides, he is an MBA fellow at the Collèges des Ingénieurs (CDI), active member of the Swiss Study Foundation, and enjoys weightlifting and playing chess.