6. Vienna Seminar of Nobel Laureates

Physics

On June 29, 2006, the first Vienna Seminar of Nobel Laureates took place within the framework of a ceremony / Vienna Lecture at Vienna City Hall. The thematic focus was on the work of physicist and science philosopher Ludwig Boltzmann.

Boltzmann, born in Vienna in 1844 and deceased 100 years ago in Duino near Trieste, was the founder of statistical mechanics and modern atomism. His physical legacy and its significance for contemporary natural science were presented from the perspective of the four Nobel laureates Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Roy Glauber, Walter Kohn, and Chen Ning Yang, and discussed with renowned Austrian experts.

Nobel Laureates 2013

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (*1st April 1933 in Constantine, Algeria) is the bearer of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1997. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji studied mathematics and physics at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. He subsequently worked at the Université Paris-Sorbonne – Paris IV and thereafter, from 1973, as Professor for Atomic and Molecular Physics at the Collège de France.

Claude Cohen-Tannoudji was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, together with his American research colleagues Steven Chu and William D. Phillips, in recognition of the method developed by the trio to cool and trap atoms with laser light.

Laser cooling and laser traps are used in high resolution spectroscopy as well as in the construction of atomic clocks and atomic interferometers. The development of constantly refined cooling methods has led in the subsequent years to the generation of the so-called Bose-Einstein Condensates.

Roy Glauber

Roy Glauber (*1st September 1925 in New York, USA) is the bearer of the Nobel Prize in Physics 2005.

Roy Glauber studied at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He then worked at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and at the ETZ Zürich. He has been a professor at Harvard since 1976 and holds guest professorships at CERN in Genf, at the University of Leiden, at NORDITA in Copenhagen and at the Collège de France in Paris.

His main interest is Quantum Optics, the study of the quantum phenomena of light. In 2005 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics together with John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hänsch for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence. His theoretical work remains the foundation for developments in quantum optics to this day.

Walter Kohn

Walter Kohn (*9th March 1923 in Vienna) is the bearer of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1998.

Walter Kohn escaped the National Socialist regime in 1939, first fleeing to England and subsequently immigrating to Canada. He studied mathematics and physics at the University of Toronto and at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where his scientific career began in 1948. He has been Professor for Physics at the University of Santa Barbara in California since 1991.

Walter Kohn is involved with theoretical solid-state physics (Density-Functional Theory) and theoretical chemistry. He created the prerequisites for important computer-based calculation methods - several methods and theories bear his name (the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method, the Hohenberg-Kohn method, the Kohn-Sham equations and others).

In 1998 he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, together with John Pople, in recognition of his work in developing density-functional theory.

He has more than 200 publications to his name and was awarded the Austrian Medal of Honour for Achievements in Science and Art in 1999.

Chen Ning Yang

Chen Ning Yang (*22nd September 1922 in Hefei, China) is the bearer of the Nobel Prize in Physics 1957. Chen Ning Yang first studied at the University of Kunming and the Tsinghua University in Peking and in 1946 continued his studies at the University of Chicago.

After being awarded his doctorate with Edward Teller in 1948 he became Enrico Fermi’s assistant. He worked as Professor at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton and from 1965 to 1999 as Director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He is currently professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and at the Tsinghua University in Peking.

Chen Ning Yang is chiefly concerned with statistical mechanics and symmetry principles. The important Yang-Baxter and Yang-Mills equations both bear his name. They are essential for the understanding of models of statistical physics and fundamental physical agents.

In 1957 Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for research into parity violation in weak interactions.

Commissioned Composition

Konrad Rennert

Born in 1958 in New York, USA; studied in Vienna; received composition commissions and performances from international orchestras, ensembles, and organizers; active in concerts as a performer and speaker; engaged in theater work and improvisation; radio projects; lives and works in Vienna.

As part of the event, the world premiere of "BREATH II" took place. The piece was created as a commissioned work for the Vienna Seminar of Nobel Laureates.

Performers:
Koehne Quartet
Joanna Lewis, Violin
Anne Harvey-Nagl, Violin
Petra Ackermann, Viola
Melissa Coleman, Cello