Kavli Prize Science Forum established to discuss major topics on science and science policy

US President science advisor John P. Holdren and Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first secretary general of the European Research Council, to join leaders of international science societies and academies in Oslo, Norway, this fall

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, in partnership with The Kavli Foundation and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, has announced the establishment of the Kavli Prize Science Forum - a new biennial international forum meeting to facilitate high-level, global discussion of major topics on science and science policy.

John P. Holdren, Science Advisor to President Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President, will give one of two keynote speeches at the inaugural forum, which will convene in Oslo, Norway this fall and focus on the topic: "International Cooperation in the Advancement of Science."

The second keynote speech will be given by Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker, the first Secretary General of the European Research Council and now the Secretary General of the Human Frontier Science Program. Holdren and Winnacker will also join a panel discussion that includes seven global leaders who are critical in shaping science policy in the US, Europe and China:

• Ralph J. Cicerone, President, US National Academy of Sciences
• Rita R. Colwell, Distinguished University Professor Emerita, University of Maryland; Former Director, United States National Science Foundation
• Herbert Jaeckle, Vice President, Max Planck Society
• Yongxiang Lu, President, Chinese Academy of Sciences
• Martin Rees, President, The Royal Society, United Kingdom
• Nils Christian Stenseth, President, Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
• Charles Vest, President, US National Academy of Engineering (moderator)

The Kavli Prize Science Form 2010 will address the promise and impediments of conducting science research across international borders, as well as provide a roundtable for discussing current and future opportunities for advancing science. "This will be an opportunity to discuss a range of vital issues - from jointly managing the growing costs of research to working more efficiently as part of a global science community," said Robert W. Conn, President of The Kavli Foundation. "Most important, it will do so by bringing together exceptional leaders who are shaping and influencing science policy globally."

The inaugural forum will launch the Kavli Prize Science Forum itself, to be held every two years in conjunction with the Kavli Prize Ceremony and Symposia - an international event that brings together scientists in celebration of the most recent Kavli Prize Laureates. Future forums will continue to bring together key scientists and science policymakers, as well as other individuals, to discuss a major topic of global interest to advancing science research.

"Today, science plays a more important role in the community than it has ever done. The Kavli Prize Science Forum will create an excellent opportunity for a dialogue between scientists and policymakers regarding how both basic and more targeted science can most efficiently be used when policy decisions are made," said Nils Christian Stenseth, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.

The new science forum is also aligned with the mission of The Kavli Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing science for the benefit of humanity. Said Fred Kavli, chairman and founder of The Kavli Foundation: "It is my hope that the Kavli Prize Science Forum provides a valuable and continuing opportunity for scientists and policymakers to engage on issues important to scientific research. If the world is to truly benefit from advances in science, it's critical that we address the most important issues as an international community."

KAVLI PRIZE WEEK: SCHEDULE IN BRIEF
(KAVLI PRIZE SCIENCE FORUM 2010, KAVLI PRIZE SYMPOSIA AND LECTURES, KAVLI PRIZE AWARDS CEREMONY)

The following events are open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, will be held in Oslo, Norway.

September 6

• Inaugural Kavli Prize Science Forum: "International Cooperation in the Advancement of Science"
• Kavli Prize Symposium: Astrophysics
  • Simon White (Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics, Garching, Germany)
  • Sandra Faber (UCO/Lick Observatory, UC Santa Cruz, USA)
  • Michel Mayor (Observatoire de Gen-ve, Switzerland)
  • Athena Coustenis (Observatoire de Paris LESIA/CNRS, Meudon, France)
  • Aake Nordlund (Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Alex Filippenko (UC Berkeley, USA)

• Kavli Prize Symposium: Nanoscience
  • Thomas Ebbesen (Universit- Louis-Pasteur, Strasbourg, France)
  • Paul Alivisatos (UC Berkeley, USA)
  • Andre Geim (University of Manchester, UK)
  • Moty Heiblum (Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
  • Albert Fert (Unit- Mixte de Physique CNRS/Thales, Palaiseau, France
  • Charles Marcus (Harvard University, Boston, USA)

• Kavli Prize Symposium: Neuroscience
  • Antonio R Damasio (University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA)
  • Richard Axel (Columbia University, New York, USA)
  • Tobias Bonhoeffer (Max Planck Institue of Neurobiology, Martinsried, Germany)
  • Michael E Goldberg (Columbia University, New York, USA)
  • Poul Nissen (University of Aarhus, Denmark)
  • Giacomo Rizzolatti (University of Parma, Italy)
  • Huda Y Zoghbi (Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, USA)

September 7

• The Kavli Prize Award Ceremony at Oslo Concert Hall - A celebration of the 2010 Kavli Prize Laureates. In attendance: His Majesty King Harald V of Norway

September 8

• The Kavli Prize Laureate Lectures

September 9

• Public Lectures by the Kavli Prize Laureates in Nanoscience and Neuroscience (Trondheim, Norway)
• Public Lectures by the Kavli Prize Laureates in Astrophysics (Troms-, Norway)