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Participants By Last Name
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| David
Pekker Burl Peterson Anthony Piro Matthew Quinn Elizabeth Raley Teri Robinson |
Carolyn Sealfon Karl Sebby Stanley Seibert Andrew Silberfarb Dale Stentz Timothy Stoltzfus-Dueck |
Alexis Thompson Sara Ubaid-Kassis Adrienne Wells Briggs White Marcus Young Deborah Zorn |
| David Pekker (University of Illinois, Urbana) | ||
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t’ Hooft’s views on
aliens and quantum mechanics were interesting to listen to, even if they
do not directly impact me. Though, unfortunately, t’Hooft was wrong on the
prediction of the Euro 2004 results. There was a nice review of some of
the recent HTC data, most importantly the shape of the T* line in relation
to the SC lobe at Dr. Muller’s discussion session.
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| Burl Peterson (Alabama A&M University) | ||
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The back ground
information on DOE and NSF was good, but I think it would have been better
if more time were spent on Lindau and what to expect when you get to
Germany. At first thinking about meeting the a Nobel Laureates was not a
big deal because at Alabama A&M University for the past six years a Nobel
Laureate has spoken at the university. I was wrong; having this many
Laureates together at one time and having access to them was unbelievable.
I found them to very normal people, but what was inspiring was their
passion for science. I know that my career has been given a shot in the
arm and believe even more firmly that nothing is impossible.
The best experiences were lunches and dinners with the Laureates. It was unbelievable the one on one interaction with Laureates cannot put into words. The time I spent with the Laureates was really worthwhile. I spent time with Prof. Riccardo Giacconi, and Prof. Martnus Veltman, they provide interesting discussion about much more than just their main topic of research. This experience, in all, has been truly awesome. I can’t believe I met so many Laureates at one time. I don't know if I will ever get that chance again. Also, I was able to meet other graduate students from around the world. And Germany was just wonderful.
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| Anthony Piro (University of California, Santa Barbara) | ||
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I felt it was good to have some idea about the organizations which are doing the sponsoring, and also appreciate all the time and hard work people are doing for the meeting. The most important influence that meeting the Nobel Laureates may have on my future career is the overall perspective it brings. I now have a better understanding of what the Nobel Prize means, how it affects people, and how it is perceived both in America and overseas.
As for the other discussion, like the dinner and lunch with the Laureates, I thought those were great. I really, really appreciate the time you guys made to organize all of these nice meetings. They really made a difference for me in providing me with a good experience. I appreciated the new friendships I made. It gave me chance, especially when talking with the other American students, to learn about all the exciting projects taking place in science right now. The Nobel Laureates were wonderful people, surprisingly generous with their time and also very patient. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity!
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| Matthew Quinn (University of Notre Dame) | ||
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I took away how
many of the Laureates look at interesting problems and try to explore
them. They don't look at science as just a job, and many of them are in
different research areas than the ones they received their prize in.
It was really fun and interesting to meet people that are in science but that are in different fields than myself. The U.S. sponsored dinner was a great chance to talk to students from all over the world... Now I have people to visit if I go to India. The trip was fantastic. Sam, Linda, Roland, and everybody else did a great job. I'm glad that the DOE and NSF have decided to increase the number of people that are able to go since this is such a great program. The Laureates were very informative and approachable. The international students that I talked to were just fantastic. I hope that I am able to see some of them again in the course of our careers.
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| Elizabeth Raley (Florida Atlantic University) | ||
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I was very impressed
with the way things were run. The Laureates’ interest in us, the
students, is very motivating. The Laureates seem to be regular people who
have had failures and great successes and were open to sharing their
experiences with us. I felt that they encouraged us to love science and
that believed that being able to contribute in science was something
attainable for all of us.
I was surprised that so many women were in the American group. It was great to meet so many other women scientists. We also interacted with the DOE and ORISE staff who accompanied us on the trip. I had a great time with the American students. We had many interesting talks about science and about life. I enjoyed listening to the Laureates speak. Overall they were great speakers. I enjoyed the discussion sessions where they answered students questions on science, politics and their personal interests.
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| Teri Robinson (Jackson State University) | ||
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The orientation was a
good use of time because it gave us time to get to know one another. I
place a tremendous amount of value on meeting in DC and traveling as a
group to Europe. It created a bond for my roommate and I that could not be
broken. It allowed us to also bond as a group.
I gained personal and professional experiences from the meetings such as great friendships with some of the US delegates and some international students from India and Germany, and even an opportunity to collaborate with one of the Nobel Laureates. It was a great experience overall. From the US delegation to the food to the Hotel Brugger to the one-on-one discussions with the Nobel Laureates, it was all worth it and I hope more students will continue to receive the opportunity in the future.
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| Carolyn Sealfon (University of Pennsylvania) | ||
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I loved Michael Turner's talk. The German ambassador's talk provided useful, interesting information and good perspectives. Meeting in Washington and traveling with the American delegation gave me more opportunity to get to know the other American students before the meeting--I think it was a good idea. I was able to reflect on academia and my potential role in it and why I might or might not want to stay in academia after grad school.
Osheroff’s student discussion session: Good/effective response to student saying he was offended by Osheroff's comments about the American education system and that teachers incompetent in the sciences can kill students' scientific curiosity--Osheroff turned the comment into a question for the student that put the student in agreement with him, that there's a problem, and what can be done? Meeting students both within the American delegation and from other countries was what I loved most about the meeting. I'm excited about keeping in touch with them. The full value of the experience and the new friendships I made will take me time to truly realize. I also came away with new motivation to really understand the evidence for the acceleration of the expansion of the universe. I loved meeting students from all over the world, but obviously there were far too many students to get to know even a small fraction of them in one week, and the students were all at different levels in their physics education and interest. The dinners/lunch with the laureates were a good opportunity for informal discussion.
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| Karl Sebby (Montana State University) | ||
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Primarily, it
helped me to be more comfortable approaching professors with questions,
without fear of exposing my ignorance. The conference was very open in the
sense that you could approach people and discuss things without feeling
intimidated at all, and realizing that they liked to talk about their work
and explain it to you.
Being in Germany and associating with students and professors from around the world gave me a broader and more accurate view of the worldwide scientific community. Meeting students was probably the most important thing that I took away from the conference. I specifically got to know the Pakistani delegation the best and am currently staying in contact with a new friend from that country. This really was a unique experience that I feel very fortunate to have participated in. I appreciated the way our travels were set up to see as much as possible and the organizers' emphasis on taking advantage of the local culture.
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| Stanley Seibert (University of Texas, Austin) | ||
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Meeting in Washington
and traveling as a group to Europe is an essential part of this trip
because it gives us time to get to know each other a little before we are
thrown into a very foreign environment. I received some good advice
from the Laureates about how the Nobel Prize works, what it means, and why
physicists should not obsess over it. I also got to see what the
Laureates thought were the most important issues in physics, which is
interesting to know for planning my career.
I also learned a lot about Europe from my discussions with the various European students at the conference. This trip was a fantastic opportunity to get a broader view of physics and science as a whole. I learned at least as much from the other students on this trip as I did from the Nobel Laureates. Ensuring that there are many opportunities for student interaction is very important to maximizing the value of this conference. I learned a lot about the science of physics, but also the society of physics and the economics of physics. All of these things will be important to my future career.
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| Andrew Silberfarb (University of New Mexico) | ||
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It was interesting to
find out the general history of the meeting as well as about the agencies
funding the meeting. I received the most benefit from the discussion
sections with the Laureates. In particular the Laureates' views on
scientific history and the direction in which science is headed were
interesting and may prove useful in my further studies.
Interacting with students from other countries also provided an interesting experience, and served to demonstrate exactly how small the world of science is. The personal interactions with the Laureates were the most memorable experiences, especially their personal stories. The trip was an altogether excellent experience, I would definitely go again. I enjoyed both the insight of the Laureates and personal interactions with them. Having such a variety of students on the trip provided many opportunities for interesting interaction, and for forming new friendships.
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| Dale Stentz (Northwestern University) | ||
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I think I gained a
bit of perspective because of the answers the Laureates gave us to our
questions which certainly influences my thinking on various scientific
topics in my or related field. The
scientific discussions between Prof. ‘t Hooft and later Prof. Veltman were
particularly insightful and enjoyable.
I have never thought much about the actual travel – only the experience of getting to meet so many Nobel Prize winners all at once. Hearing other students’ research as well as their questions to the Laureates was an excellent experience. All of the Laureates were outgoing and receptive to our questions and gave very unique answers. Overall I thought the meeting of the Nobel Prize Winner in Lindau was a great trip!
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| Timothy Stoltzfus-Dueck (Princeton University) | ||
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Probably the most
valuable aspect of meeting in Washington was getting a chance to meet the
other American students coming to the Lindau meeting. It was nice to head
to the meeting knowing the other students coming from my home country and
it was interesting to find out about the research the other American
students were doing since our group cut across many disciplines. As I am
in the process of choosing a thesis topic, the next step in focusing my
research interests, I was paying particular attention to the opinions of
the Laureates regarding the most promising topics in physics for the next
decades.
The interaction between the different fields encouraged my ongoing interest in interdisciplinary research. I greatly enjoyed the trip to the Lindau meeting. It was also valuable to me to meet many students of science from varied fields, both American and international.
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| Alexis Thompson (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) | ||
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I think the half-day
orientation was about the right length of time for the topics covered. I
am very glad that we met in Washington and had a chance to meet other
people in the group before arriving in Germany and meeting hundreds of
other people.
The discussion with Prof. Walter Kohn on Monday afternoon was quite valuable because of how carefully and completely he answered our questions. It was very worthwhile to hear him describe the implications of certain aspects of his work and definitely gave me some ideas for my own research. In addition to the interaction with the Laureates, the trip allowed me to meet graduate students from all over the United States and from countries around the world. Some will likely turn into scientific colleagues while others have just exposed me to areas of research with which I was previously unfamiliar. The Lindau meeting was an amazing opportunity for me to learn more about interesting fields of science and meet amazing people who are working on these problems.
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| Sara Ubaid-Kassis (Kent State) | ||
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I felt that the
Laureates are honest, down-to-earth scientists who innocently stumbled
upon their findings without a thought they were about to receive the most
important and prestigious award in science. That's because they love what
they do. I appreciate that. I will continue with the mind frame that I
love physics and I will not give up doing what I like best.
I have met with other students who are in my line of work right now who I can contact to share information with. I have met with students who work in other areas in Physics that are also interesting, and maybe we might collaborate on research in the future. This has been a most rewarding experience in that I have had the honor and privilege to have met and discussed with some of the most important people in science in the present time and those important to science in the future. |
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| Adrienne Wells (Duke University) | ||
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I thought it was useful to have some orientation before we arrived at the Lindau meeting. Meeting and being able to have discussion with Nobel Laureates was a great inspiration. The Laureates were all very passionate about their science and this enthusiasm is very contagious.
Overall, this trip was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to spend time with dedicated, passionate scientists - both Laureates and students. I am very thankful that I was able to participate in it.
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| Briggs White (University of Florida) | ||
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It was informative to
understand the funding emphasis for NSF and DOE. I think some examples
from DOE and NSF funded university research would have been good to add to
the program.
The discussions weren't particularly pertinent to my research topics; however, that didn't diminish the value for me. I really felt privileged to talk with Nobel Laureates. The international students I met from Austria, Scotland, Pakistan, and around the USA were all quite interesting. It struck me after a while that we were all so similar in our experiences in the scientific world and that our struggles with issues like funding and professors were alike. I was inspired, amazed, challenged scientifically and personally. I loved the trip. I learned a lot about the history of science, some about Germany, and a lot about my future. Nobel laureates push you from within without even trying. The whole trip was really special and I feel really privileged to have meet Nobel laureates in Lindau, Germany and met some many other nice students. Thank you.
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| Marcus Young (Argonne National Laboratory) | ||
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The orientation was
excellent. It was very nice to meet and travel with everyone before we
started meeting the international students. It was interesting to see
that the Nobel Laureates are relatively normal science people and that
essentially what it takes to do good research is to work hard, have
connections, and get lucky (and be able to recognize the
luck). Specifically, I enjoyed hearing about the socio-political issues in
science and about the Nobel Laureates personal lives.
Words can't express how great an experience this trip was. You hear about and read about these Nobel Laureates as you go through school and to actually meet some of them really helps to put things in perspective and see that we students have a lot more in common with them than I originally thought. Also, it was great talking with international students to learn about differences in scientific research. It also made me much more appreciative of the opportunity I have to do research in the USA.
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| Deborah Zorn (Iowa State University) | ||
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I believe that the
orientation in Washington created a sense of community among the group. It helped us to realize that we were not just individuals going to a
meeting, but a group chosen to represent graduate science in the United
States. It was very inspiring to see people who were so devoted to their
science that they devoted their entire life’s work to it.
I feel really lucky that I was able to travel to this meeting with such an excellent group of people. It was great to be with people who were so eager to meet new people and to share their experiences in science and in life. I really enjoyed learning about the differences and similarities in graduate education in the US and around the world. The opportunity to spend a week on a little island in Germany with 16 Nobel Laureates, and 500+ graduate students is one that I will never forget. This meeting is so unique that I am almost amazed that it exists. The fact that the laureates were in Lindau specifically to talk to students was really wonderful. I was touched by their devotion to students that prompted them to take the time to meet and talk with us. The dinner with international students was really excellent. All the international students that I met were very friendly and I enjoyed seeing them all week long. |
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Although I do not think
that Dr. Muller’s ideas on the nature of HTC are the complete solution, it
was nice to see someone who was so much more optimistic than my colleagues
here. In addition I listened in a bit on Dr. Esaki’s discussion of
international physics in Japan and Dr. Osheroff’s thoughts on education
and NASA culture and photography. In general, I am very impressed with how
well the trip was organized. 
The
solutions are out there, but only through hard work will the answers be
revealed. Meeting and interacting with the Nobel Laureates was a wonderful
opportunity, but meeting and discussing everything with other graduate
students made the whole experience worthwhile. I learned a great deal
from the other students in attendance about their work, institutions,
ideas, and thoughts on the week's events. These conversations were
meaningful to me on both a personal and professional level, and I was
extremely happy with the level of intellectual curiosity I found in every
other participant. 
My favorite lectures were those which taught me something and those which
gave interesting historical overviews of some sub-area of physics. The
afternoon discussions were a very interesting format. I thought the
headsets were cool and allowed us to make the most out of the time. 
Prof.
Richardson's discussion session was inspiring because he told us about his
path to getting into science. It usually seems like you need to be a
genius and have gone to a top ten school since you were 18 to make it in
science. He really didn't do that and came across as a pretty normal guy,
which was great to see. 
It is too hard to choose a favorite
lecture. I liked the round table discussions where the Laureates would
interact with each other. Penzias' student session was my favorite. He is
great communicator. He answered a lot of questions about his career and
personal experiences as well talking about the importance of speaking up
about things. 
My experience with the
Nobel Laureates gave me a boost in my work drive to push toward an
international credibility in my scientific community. For some time I was
only focusing on the United States but there is such a wealth of science
being performed in other countries that should be closely admired. 
The Nobel Laureates have some interesting perspectives. I realize that
simply doing good physics is often not sufficient to become a good
physicist. Even in a field such as pure physics, it's important to market
one's skills, potential, and research to have a successful career. The
round table discussion on "Fundamental and Applied Physics" probably had
the most value for me. It was a topic I hadn't thought much about. This
discussion brought out some strong points of view that the Nobel Laureates
have about how physics is done and how it should be done/funded, and
advice for grad students. 
The most important lectures to me were those that stressed the importance
of science and stressed the benefits that can be gained by it, i.e. the
talks that stressed the importance of what we are doing with our lives.
How could I not talk about Professor Josephson here? Although a lot of his
ideas are a bit out there, I appreciated the fact that he was raising
controversial questions. I really agreed with what he said about exploring
physical evidence and getting rid of preconceived ideas on the way things
are, or ought to be, as this is a big hindrance to scientific progress. 
The large dinner in the Inselhalle was especially interesting because I got to participate in a
long discussion some of the American students had with Dr. 't Hooft. We
discussed one of his contraversial ideas on the validity of quantum
mechanics, and I got to see a different perspective on the issue. Along
the way, I learned that some areas of physics are far more similar to each
other than I thought they were. 
I found the
discussions by t'Hooft and Veltman to have the most value. t'Hooft
provided insights into where he believes particle physics is headed, and
possible solutions to open questions such as quantum gravity. I found
Veltman's insights into the history of science quite incisive. In
particular his comments about Einstein's greatest insights being physical
rather than mathematical in nature were interesting.
Questions concerning dark
matter/energy were always interesting. Discussions concerning electroweak
symmetry breaking and the Higgs were my favorite and Laureates talking
about their interpretations on these and other matters was particularly
rewarding. In some cases this reaffirmed ideas already in my mind and also
allowed me to re-question others. I gained many personal acquaintances
and friendships during the meeting with the other Americans on the trip
and several international students (Japanese, German, Swedish, etc.). 
The main insights I gained from discussions with the Laureates
were encouragement to pursue interdisciplinary research and applied
research, and an increased appreciation for the unexpected ways in which
new discoveries become apparent. I expected the greatest benefit of
the trip to be the interaction with the wide variety of international
students at the meeting. While I was not disappointed, and indeed met
several students from other countries that I hope to keep in touch with, I
was also pleased to discover the diversity of people present in our own
American delegation. 
Meeting the Nobel Laureates and having the opportunity to
discuss their scientific interests has increased my motivation to focus on
my own research. Hearing their stories of how they made their
prize-winning discoveries was very inspiring. 
It is great that the Laureates are seeking new and different fields of
science to broaden our knowledge about the world. I had the privilege of
meeting many, many good people, and ones that I will hopefully continue to
keep in contact with in the future. I have had the privilege and the
honor of being invited to a meeting where I would be interacting with the
some of the most prestigious scientists in the world. 
It w
The
philosophical questions raised at the meeting will affect my ethics and
morals as a scientist. Additionally, I was inspired to think in creative
ways and work hard at the same time. Prof. Osheroff showed the
importance of thinking creatively and morally. I am further assured that
collaborations across boarders are only going to be more important in
science as time transpires. 
Learning about
differences in scientific institutions was the most insightful to me.
Learning about how Germans feel about Germans going to the USA to do
research was also very interesting. I also thoroughly enjoyed meeting all
of the remarkably bright and fun students (both American and
international) and I hope to keep in contact with a few. The overall
experience was overwhelmingly amazing. I can not thank you enough for this
opportunity. I am truly grateful to have been invited to attend the
meeting. Lindau is a beautiful place to meet with students and Nobel
Laureates.
I was also very
impressed with their wide range of interests that the laureates had aside
from just their area of Physics. I really enjoyed Dr. Osheroff’s
discussion group on the Columbia Shuttle Accident. It really makes you
understand how proper funding and organization of the NASA program can be
a life of death situation, not just a political one. I also realized how
important it is to have administration who understands science and who is
willing to really listen to their scientists.