Event brings together Latin students and Nobel Prize winners to discuss science

The Brazilian Academy of Letters, in partnership with the Nobel Prize and Ianas (Inter-American Network of Academies of Sciences), promoted this Tuesday (16) the Nobel Dialogue for Latin America and the Caribbean – United for Science.

The online event was attended by eighty young scientists and five Nobel Prize winners, in addition to representatives of the organizing entities.

All day long, Nobel Prize winners and students talked about how science and scientists can effectively positively impact society. Among the themes, participants spoke about climate change, inequalities, political instability, in addition to the impacts of Covid-19. The purpose of the event was to inspire the next generation of scientists to work together to use science to face these future challenges.

For the winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011, Saul Perlmutler, the dialogues represented a great starting point for solving society’s different global challenges. “It’s always a pleasure to hear the engagement and enthusiasm everyone has when they’re starting out. It’s clear how worried everyone is about what their careers are going to be like and how they can help society deal with the world’s problems.”

Between discussions, scientists and students also talked about the importance of being a science researcher. “We understand their concern with the lack of research infrastructure in their countries, compared to Europe, Asia and the United States. I thought it was important that they talked about the fear of not being able to combine conducting the research with private and family life. They feel a bit stuck in the system and don’t believe they can evolve or be able to make a difference. It’s a lot of complex questions, but they were very excited and asked some fantastic questions. I was quite surprised by their level of preparation,” commented 2020 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Emmanuelle Charpentier.

During the dialogue, university students from 24 countries addressed issues that include scientists’ responsibilities and strategies for defending science, as well as discussing the power of collaboration and the social implications of this topic.

“It was a wonderful experience. Latin American science has many things to improve with great social inequality and political instability, but this event allowed me to know the views of my colleagues, and it was surprising to see that we think alike about communicating science and how to be a good scientist . It is very important to realize that we are united by science, no matter what country we are from”, declared Ignacio Vega Vasques, from the University of Chile.

The president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, Luiz Davidovich, thanked the partnership between the Nobel Prize and Ianas and highlighted that the event is a “powerful instrument to motivate the leaders of the future to work with science.”