Geni ed eroi della scienza
Nobel Prizes were awarded for the first time in 1901 based on the last will of Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel (1833-1896).
Now that more than a century has passed these prizes have become a prestigious award in the world of academia, science and culture, but they have also acquired a symbolic value. The announcement of Nobel Prize winners captures the attention of both the public and the press, and puts science, research, literature and peace in the spotlight.
Every year around this time the University of Trento organizes a series of lectures on the Nobel topics and invites the student and local community to attend. This year the lectures will also focus on the meaning of these prizes since their establishment, and on their impact on how we perceive science and scientists.
One lecture will be on the Fields Medal, which is often described as the Nobel prize for Mathematics. It has been awarded since 1936, every 4 years, to 4 mathematicians under 40 years of age. It is not awarded by the Swedish Academy of Sciences but it is as prestigious as the Nobel.
Next event:
Tuesday, 30 January 2018, 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The Fields Medal
The prize awarded to Maryam Mirzakhani for her outstanding contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.
- Claudio Fontanari, Department of Mathematics, University of Trento
Bibliography (in italian)
Full Programme
Wednesday, 18 October, 17.00 *
Fondazione Caritro, via Calepina 1, Trento - Conference room
Un Nobel è per sempre. Come il premio Nobel ha (re)inventato l'immagine pubblica dello scienziato
- Massimiano Bucchi, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento
Tuesday, 24 October, 17.00
Aula Kessler, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento, Via Verdi 26
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Awarded to Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young "for their discoveries of molecular mechanisms controlling the circadian rhythm"
Lecturer: Alessia Soldano, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento
Thursday, 26 October, 17.30 *
MUSE, corso del Lavoro e della Scienza 3, Trento - Conference room
Being a scientist: yesterday and today
- Steven Shapin, science historian, Harvard University
Followed by:
- “Les Jeux Sont Science”: visual and musical performance by Les Jeux Sont Funk
Tuesday, 31 October, 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics
Awarded to Rainer Weiss, to Barry C. Barish and Kip S. Thorne "for decisive contributions to the LIGO detector and the observation of gravitational waves"
Lecturer: Giovanni Andrea Prodi, Department of Physics, University of Trento
Wednesday, 8 November, 17.00 *
Fondazione Caritro, via Calepina 1, Trento - Conference room
Dal camice bianco allo smoking. La rappresentazione del premio Nobel nella fiction
- Alberto Brodesco, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento
Tuesday, 14 November 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Awarded to Kazuo Ishiguro who "in novels of great emotional force, has uncovered the abyss beneath our illusory sense of connection with the world"
Lecturer: Greta Perletti, Department of Humanities, University of Trento
Wednesday, 22 November, 17.00 *
Fondazione Caritro, via Calepina 1, Trento - Conference room
“Winners drink free”. I Simpson e il Nobel
With videos and commentary by
- Alberto Brodesco, Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento
Tuesday, 28 November, 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize
Awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons"
Lecturer: Paolo Foradori, School of International Studies, University of Trento
Tuesday, 5 December 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences
Awarded to Richard H. Thaler "for his contributions to behavioural economics"
Lecturer: Luigi Mittone, Department of Economics and Management, University of Trento
Tuesday, 12 December, 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Awarded to Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank and Richard Henderson "for developing cryo-electron microscopy for the high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules in solution"
Lecturers:
Stefano Gialanella, Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Trento
Graziano Lolli, Centre for Integrative Biology (CIBIO), University of Trento
Tuesday, 30 January 2018, 17.00
Department of Sociology and Social Research, Via Verdi 26 - Trento - Aula Kessler
The Fields Medal
The prize awarded to Maryam Mirzakhani “for her outstanding contributions to the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces”
- Claudio Fontanari, Department of Mathematics, University of Trento
*This is a for-credit seminar. Students, PhD candidates and teachers may request a participation certificate.
With support from:
In collaboration with:
For information contact:
Communication and Events Division
Communication Staff - Trento
via Calepina, 14 - Trento
+39 0461 281809-3216
comunicazione-citta [at] unitn.it
