News Release

Mars, Incorporated extends partnership with the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

Business Announcement

CNC Comms

Signing Ceremony

image: Mars' Chief Science Officer Harold Schmitz and Countess Bettina Bernadotte, President of the Council for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, sign the agreements establishing an even stronger relationship between the two organizations view more 

Credit: © Mars, Incorporated

Lindau, Germany (June 29, 2016) -- Mars, Incorporated and the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings today announced the extension of their partnership to support the next generation of scientific talent.

Mars will remain a Principal Maecenate, or tier-one partner, of the Lindau meetings -- a scientific forum recognized internationally for connecting the best scientists across generations. Since 1951, the annual meetings in Lindau, Germany have brought together more than 350 Nobel Laureates and 30,000 of the best young researchers in the world.

Society faces a number of critical challenges around energy, climate, food security and poverty. Scientists have a massive role to play in finding solutions to these issues but will need to work together. Mars, Incorporated will continue to support the Lindau meetings in bringing together the best and brightest young scientists to inspire dialogue and collaboration aimed at addressing these grand challenges.

"If we want to continue thriving as a business and as a society, we must collaborate across disciplines and sectors to solve the grand challenges that will define our future," said Pamela Mars, Chair of Mars' Technology Committee and Member of the Honorary Senate of the Lindau Foundation. "We're proud to extend our support of the Lindau Meetings, and in so doing, drive collaborations that will yield solutions to these critical challenges," she added.

2016 Meeting

This year's Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is taking place from June 26, 2026 to July 1, 2016 and is dedicated to the field of physics. 29 Nobel laureates and 400 young scientists are gathering to discuss cutting-edge research topics, from gravitational waves to the future of the internet.

This morning, Mars, Incorporated and more than 100 leading young scientists addressed the topic "Why does soft matter matter?" in an interactive panel discussion. The panelists aimed to reveal the potential of soft matter physics in solving some of the world's most pressing sustainability issues and quickly moved onto the opportunities to transcend the boundaries of traditional research disciplines.

The panel comprised Nobel laureate in physics and former US Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Senior Scientist from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the USA Antonio Redondo and Adriana Marais, one of the young scientists attending the Lindau meeting and postdoctoral researcher at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

During the discussion, Chu, Redondo and the young scientists outlined new research that could yield societal benefits. According to Chu, "Remarkable research is taking place at the intersection of research disciplines and we are realizing that big charges we face will often mean that scientists need to work together -- uniting disciplines and sectors." Chu currently teaches at Stanford University, where he is the William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular & Cellular Physiology.

Later today, Mars will host another young scientist event on collaboration in science. 120 young scientists will be joined by two of Mars' partners, IBM and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, for a discussion on challenges and opportunities in big data.

Jeffrey Welser, Vice President and Lab Director of IBM Research - Almaden, and Benjamin Santer, Climate Scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will explore what physicists can learn from big data projects at these two prestigious organizations and more broadly about how the use of big data research can contribute to the future of science and society.

This is the tenth year of Mars, Incorporated's partnership with the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. It also marks the sixth annual panel that Mars has hosted, with the aim to foster discussions across disciplines to capture a wide range of perspectives on some of the critical issues of our time.

###

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars, Incorporated is a private, family-owned business with more than a century of history and some of the best-loved brands in the world including M&M'S®, PEDIGREE®, DOUBLEMINT® and UNCLE BEN'S®. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars has more than $33 billion in sales from six diverse business segments: Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. More than 75,000 Associates across 73 countries are united by the company's Five Principles: Quality, Efficiency, Responsibility, Mutuality and Freedom and strive every day to create relationships with stakeholders that deliver growth we are proud of as a company.

For more information about Mars, Incorporated, please visit http://www.mars.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

About the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings

Once every year, some dozens of Nobel Laureates convene at Lindau to meet the next generation of leading scientists: undergraduates, PhD students, and post-doc researchers from all over the world. The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings foster the exchange among scientists of different generations, cultures, and disciplines. The 66th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (June 26 -- July 1 2016) is dedicated to the field of physics. 30 Nobel Laureates will participate in this year's Lindau Meeting, joined by more than 400 young participants from 80 countries. The Lindau Meetings are jointly organised by two institutions -- the council and the foundation. More information: http://www.lindau-nobel.org


Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.