Join the event here: https://webcast.virtualevents.uk/20210421-nobelprize

What would you ask a Nobel Laureate? The Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative Austin 2021 is your chance to submit questions to three recipients of the Nobel Prize.

Please join us for a series of digital discussions in which Nobel Laurates will share insights into their lives, and tackle topical issues such as how digital tools are changing science.

The event will take place over two days on April 21–22. The schedule of sessions can be found below and you are free to join whichever sessions you wish. All are welcome, and science undergraduate and graduate students are particularly encouraged to attend.

Register at bit.ly/NPII-Austin.

The Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative Austin will feature three laureates:

• Elizabeth Blackburn received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase”. Read her full biography on nobelprize.org.

• Andrew Fire received the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine “for the discovery of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA”. Read more about Fire’s life and work on nobelprize.org.

• Robert Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry “for the development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis.” Read his full biography on nobelprize.org.

This event is part of the Nobel Prize Inspiration Initiative (NPII), a global program designed to bring Nobel Laureates into close contact with the worldwide scientific community, especially with young scientists. NPII Austin is held in partnership with 3M and in collaboration with the University of Texas at Austin.

Schedule

April 21, 2021

Session 1

10:00 - 10:15am Welcome

An introduction to the event with Mike Roman, CEO of 3M, Laura Sprechmann, CEO of Nobel Prize Outreach, and Jay Hartzell, president of the University of Texas at Austin.

10:15 - 11:15am Nobel Laureate introduction and audience Q&A

Gain an insight into the life and work of our three laureates, and submit your questions for them.

11:15 - 11:30am 3M Austin Science and Innovation Center Tour  

Video tour of the cutting-edge research taking place at 3M’s Science and Innovation Center in Austin.

Session 2

1:30 - 2:10pm How digital tools are changing science

Panel discussion with the three Nobel Laureates, moderated by Alison Preston, vice president for research at UT Austin.

Session 3

3:00 - 4:00pm Undergraduate poster session

UT Austin science and engineering students showcase their research to the three laureates and John Banovetz, chief technology officer at 3M.

April 22, 2021

2:00 - 2:30pm Nobel Laureate panel discussion

For this panel discussion, Elizabeth Blackburn, Andrew Fire and Robert Grubbs will be joined by Steven Weinberg from UT Austin, who received the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics.

2:30 - 2:45pm Closing session

The event will be brought to a close with reflections from David Vanden Bout, interim dean, College of Natural Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Denise Rutherford, senior vice president and chief corporate affairs officer, 3M, and Laura Sprechmann, CEO, Nobel Prize Outreach.