(Yicai) Nov. 6 -- The 6th World Laureates Forum, one of the world's largest science and technology forums, kicked off at the Permanent Site of the WLA Forum in Shanghai today. The theme of the Forum this year is set to be "Science Leads Transformation". The Award Ceremony of the 2023 WLA Prize was also held at the opening ceremony of the 6th WLA Forum.

This gathering brings together laureates from 25 countries and regions, including esteemed recipients of the Nobel Prize, the Turing Award, the Wolf Prize, and many other prestigious scientific accolades. In addition to the laureates, the Forum welcomes academicians, senior scientists, young scientists, science-minded students, and professionals across the globe. With an impressive attendance of over 300 guests, the Forum solidifies its standing as one of the world's highest-profile global scientific conferences.

Roger Kornberg, Chair of the World Laureates Association and 2006 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry addressed the opening ceremony. "The Forum has particular significance as the first held in person since 2019," said Prof. Kornberg. He further illustrated that some challenges faced by all human beings “make even more apparent the need for the WLA, as a meeting place for discussing and addressing such issues.”

Roger Kornberg, Chair of the World Laureates Association and 2006 Nobel Laureate in Chemistry

The 2023 WLA Prize in Computer Science or Mathematics recognizes the dedication of two scientists: Arkadi Nemirovski, John P. Hunter, Jr. Chair Professor at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, and Yurii Nesterov, Professor Emeritus and Senior Scientific Researcher at the Center for Operations Research & Econometrics and Mathematical Engineering Department at the Université Catholique de Louvain, “for their seminal work in convex optimization theory, including the theory of self-concordant functions and interior-point methods, a complexity theory of optimization, accelerated gradient methods, and methodological advances in robust optimization.”

The 2023 WLA Prize in Life Science or Medicine recognizes the dedication of three scientists: Karolin Luger, Professor and Jennie Smoly Caruthers Endowed Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Colorado Boulder, Daniela Rhodes, Emeritus Group leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, and Timothy J. Richmond, Professor of Crystallography of Biological Macromolecules (Emeritus) at ETH Zürich, “for elucidating the structure of the nucleosome at the atomic level, providing the basis for understanding chromatin, gene regulation, and epigenetics.”

"Thank you again for this incredible honor which means the most to me coming from an association that actively promotes scientific research as an international endeavor transcending national boundaries and diverse cultures," said Prof. Timothy J. Richmond when expressing his gratefulness in his speech.

The 2023 WLA Prize was given by Roger Kornberg, Chair of the WLA Prize Management Committee & WLA Prize Awards Committee, Randy Schekman, Chair of 2023 WLA Prize Selection Committee (Life Science or Medicine), WU Xiangdong, Executive Director of the World Laureates Association and Chair of the WLA Prize Management Committee, and Michael I. Jordan, Chair of 2023 WLA Prize Selection Committee (Computer Science or Mathematics)

Centering on the annual theme of the Forum -- "Science Leads Transformation", five eminent scientists made the keynote speeches. Serge Haroche, 2012 Nobel Laureate in Physics and Professor Emeritus at the Collège de France, Martin Hellman, 2015 Turing Award Laureate and Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, May-Britt Moser, 2014 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine and Founding Director of Centre for Neural Computation, Co-Director of the Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Nicholas B. Dirks, President and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, Xiaoliang Sunney Xie, 2015 Albany Prize Laureate in Medicine, Director of Changping Laboratory, and Lee Shau-kee Professor at Peking University share their opinions on the opportunities and challenges in the development of science and the transformation in scientific collaboration.

Pilot sessions including WLA Prize Laureates Lecture, WLA Prize Laureates Roundtable, and the WLA Sci-T Conference were held on November 5. Additionally, the new academic lecture series, the WLA Frontier Lectures, featuring approximately 60 scholarly presentations that showcase cutting-edge research progress are launched at the 6th WLA Forum. The over 50 lectures, held from November 5-7, aim to include all the disciplines, for instance, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Intelligent Science etc.

In addition to the flagship young scientists forums, the 6th WLA Forum introduces a new format for young scientists to communicate freely with other participants. The WLA Young Scientist HUB which has begun yesterday will continue until November 7, serving as a bridge that links the scientists of different fields.

On November 6, the WLA SHE Forum will be convened with the purpose of empowering, motivating, and inspiring, and ultimately fostering greater participation by women to actively engage in scientific pursuits. While the WLA Entrepreneurs Roundtable, focusing on exploring the industrial shifts driven by scientific progress and the crucial role that businesses play in propelling scientific advancements, will be held on the same day today. Also, the WLA Young Scientists Forum, serving as a platform for exploring strategies to foster and nurture emerging talents, will start this afternoon, bringing together over 100 exceptional young scientists from around the globe for stimulating discussions with world laureates and esteemed senior scholars. 

The three featured forums, namely the WLA Life Science Forum, the WLA Intelligent Science Forum, and the WLA Zero Carbon Forum, together with the WLA Astronomy Forum and the WLA Quantum Science Forum will be held on November 7, discussing about the latest innovations and frontiers in the concerning fields. 

The attention-drawing flagship forum – WLA Mobius Forum will also be held this year on November 8, gathering about 60 elite scholars and experts. More outlooks and novel opinions about science education will be discussed and concluded with fertilizing inspirations.

The 6th WLA Forum is hosted by World Laureates Association and Chinese Association of Science and Technology, co-hosted by Parkland Foundation.

The World Laureates Association (WLA) is a non-governmental and non-profit international organization. It is one of the world's highest-profile organizations of laureates with three missions: "promote basic science, advocate for international cooperation, and support the development of youth." Upholding the vision of "Science and Technology for the Common Destiny of Mankind," the WLA actively fosters close scientific collaboration and academic exchange among esteemed scientists and scholars around the globe.

The WLA Forum, initiated by the World Laureates Association (WLA) in 2018, is Asia's highest-profile global conference in science that attracts the greatest number of prize winners in the world. Over the years, the WLA Forum serves as a valuable platform for profound discussions that transcend national borders, fields, disciplines, and generations.

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