News from Gustavus Adolphus College

Five Nobel Laureates to Discuss Scientific Issues at
Gustavus Adolphus College’s Annual Nobel Conference, Oct. 2-3

Conference to Celebrate 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Prizes, Past Discoveries

ST. PETER, Minn. (Aug. 17, 2001) – The future of science, new discoveries in genetics, cell biology, and chemistry, as well as the societal and ethical implications of these discoveries are the focus of a public conference Oct. 2-3 at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn. Timely topics such as genetics, mad cow disease, and future predictions will be among those discussed by leading scientists and science writers at Nobel Conference XXXVII "The Second Nobel Century: What Is Still to Be Discovered?"

A special tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes, the conference features a distinguished group of speakers, including five Nobel laureates, two highly regarded science writers, and the secretary general of the Swedish academy that awards three of the Nobel Prizes. The speakers and their topics are:

• Günter Blobel, recipient of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, “Protein Targeting”
• Edmond Fischer, recipient of the 1992 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, “How Proteins Speak with One Another in Cell Signaling”
• Roald Hoffmann, recipient of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, “Science and Ethics: A Marriage of Necessity and Choice for This Millennium”
• Sir Harold Kroto, recipient of the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, “Science, a Round Peg in a Square World”
• Stanley Prusiner, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine, “Mad Cow Disease, Demented People, and the Biology of Prions”
• Cornelia Dean, editor of science news at The New York Times and author of Against the Tide: The Battle for America’s Beaches (1999), moderator and responder
• Sir John Maddox, former editor of Nature and author of What Remains to Be Discovered: The Agenda for Science in the Next Century (1998), “What Remains to Be Discovered”
• Erling Norrby, Secretary General of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, “A Century of Nobel Prizes”

The two-day Nobel Conference attracts about 6,000 people annually, including high school and college students and teachers from throughout the Midwest. “The Nobel Conference is unique: It presents hard science to a mass audience,” said Gustavus Nobel Conference Director Tim Robinson. “It is timely and futuristic; it includes at least one speaker who addresses the moral impact of the topic; it brings world-class speakers to campus; and it includes panel and audience interaction.”

The Nobel Conference at Gustavus is also the first formal lecture program in the world (outside of Sweden and Norway, where Nobel prizes are awarded) to have the official authorization of The Nobel Foundation.

Each conference lecture will be one hour, followed by a 30-minute question-and-answer panel session. The conference will begin at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2 with lectures also that day at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. The Wednesday, Oct. 3 lectures will begin at 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m. Conference tickets, which are good for all seven lectures, are $30 per person, $100 per school delegation of 50 people or less, and $150 per school delegation of 51 people or more. Individuals who are unable to attend the conference may watch it via a live Webcast.

In addition to lectures, the 37th Nobel Conference includes two special art exhibits, the premiere of The Nobel Symphony, and a Nobel Banquet. American composer Steve Heitzeg’s six-movement Nobel Symphony was commissioned by Gustavus to commemorate the centennial of the Nobel Prizes. This major work – based on prizes in chemistry, economics, physics, physiology/medicine, literature and peace – is written for orchestra, chorus, children's choir, soloists, and a narrator. The symphony and art exhibits are free, while tickets for the Nobel Banquet are $25 per person ($15 for students); advanced registration is required as banquet seating is limited. (A detailed conference schedule is on the Nobel Conference Web Site.)

“Gustavus Adolphus College is privileged to host the annual Nobel Conferences and is excited to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Prizes,” said Gustavus President Axel Steuer. “These educational conferences, established as a living memorial to Alfred Nobel, have brought to the college scores of Nobel laureates, hundreds of other prominent scholars, and thousands of lay participants from around the world to explore the leading scientific and philosophical issues of our age. Nobel Conference XXXVII brings together Nobel laureates and science writers to give us a foretaste of what the next big discoveries might be, as we look toward ‘The Second Nobel Century’.”

For more information, contact the Gustavus Office of Public Relations at (507) 933-7520 or visit the online site.

Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minn. (one hour south of Minneapolis) that prepares 2,500 undergraduates for lives of leadership, service, and lifelong learning. The oldest Lutheran college in Minnesota, Gustavus was founded in 1862 by Swedish immigrants and named for Swedish King Gustav II Adolf. At Gustavus, students receive personal attention in small-sized classes and engage in collaborative research with their professors. Fully accredited and known for its strong science, writing, music, athletics, study-abroad, and service-learning programs, Gustavus hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and is internationally recognized for its annual Nobel Conference.
 

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Note to Editors: For more information or to register to attend as a member of the media, please contact Gustavus News Director Stacia Senne at (507) 933-7510 or via e-mail ssenne@gustavus.edu. Complimentary lecture tickets, along with informational packets, will be available to pre-registered media representatives at the conference media registration table.