Gathering of top minds to be held in Shanghai every year

The world's leading scientists and entrepreneurs will starting from this November gather in Shanghai every year to discuss ways of establishing scientific cooperation and application to address important issues such as human health and environmental problems.

The forum, initiated and co-organized by the Global Nobel Prize Scientists Association, will be held beside Dishui Lake in the Lingang port area in Pudong, Shanghai.

"We will invite as many as 30 Nobel Prize winners and 100 important scientists and entrepreneurs to establish a platform for global scientific cooperation," said Roger Kornberg, chairman of the association and the 2006 Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.

Founded in November 2017 by Kornberg and six other Nobel laureates including Michael Levitt and Ada Yonath, the association aims to "enhance innovative creativity and foster the development of future Nobel prize winners" for the benefit of the world.

It plans to expand its membership numbers to 100 within the next three years, making it one of the world's most important scientific organizations, said Kornberg.

"We plan to launch a Global Nobel Prize Foundation to create an open and collaborative technology community for the future," Kornberg said. "Such a community will be diverse and include fundamental science as well as application to important issues, such as human health and environmental problems."

Kornberg, who has a lab in Shanghai and a research group at ShanghaiTech University, considers the forum an "important milestone" in advancing science in China and increasing the contribution from China to the world.

He noted that Shanghai has become a leading city for scientific development and should enhance basic research, which is an important part in boosting scientific innovation and attracting talent from all over the world.

Wang Hou, secretary general of the association, said that the forum would boost Shanghai's innovations in technology even further and be focused on demonstrating the up-to-date scientific achievements made by the Nobel Prize winners.

He added that the Lingang port area, which was designated by the Shanghai municipal government as a leading base for smart manufacturing and strategic innovative industries, serves as a "perfect permanent venue" for the event.

"By bringing scientists, government bodies and entrepreneurs together, the forum aims to offer more possibilities for science to do more good for human beings," he said.

Contact the writer at linshujuan@chinadaily.com.cn