INTRODUCTION

The Alfred Nobel Symposium – Energy in Cosmos, Molecules and Life, held in June 2005, was the first Nobel Symposium that brought together scientists representing all three scientific categories of the Nobel Prize: Physics, Chemistry and Medicine. The overall themes of the symposium were: energy in a cosmological perspective; the energy flow as a driving force for life and evolution; the taming of energy sources in the service of society; and future energy sources.

The aim of the symposium was to create conditions for exchange and interaction, partly between the different disciplines and partly between promising younger researchers and the world's leading scientists.

According to the participants, these intentions were indeed fulfilled during the five days of the symposium. After the concluding open session in Aula Magna, Stockholm University, Professors Kandel, Zare and Luther summarized the symposium as a brave experiment by the Nobel Foundation, where outstanding spokesmen from the most different scientific disciplines had been invited. This gave the participants the rare opportunity of meeting over the boundaries of the different scientific disciplines, and the possibility of finding a common language to discuss energy issues from various perspectives.

This is the official website of NS 132 – Energy in Cosmos, Molecules and Life, where you will find extensive materials related to both the closed and open parts of the symposium. The speakers have contributed with both abstracts and their full illustrated presentations. Reports commenting on the lectures have been written by scientists participating in the symposium. A web cast from the panel discussions of the last day's open session in Aula Magna, Stockholm University, will be produced and published in the near future.

Organizing Committee and Lecturers»