Tag Archives: Claude Cohen-Tannoudji

May 16, 2018: UNESCO’s (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) First International Day of Light

Courtesy: UNESCO

From a May 11, 2018 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) press release (received via email),

UNESCO will welcome leading scientists on 16 May 2018 for the 1st edition of the International Day of Light (02:30-08:00 pm) to celebrate the role light plays in our daily lives. Researchers and intellectuals will examine how light-based technologies can contribute to meet pressing challenges in diverse areas, such as medicine, education, agriculture and energy.

            UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay will open this event, which will count with the participation of renowned scientists, including:

  • Kip Thorne, 2017 Nobel Prize in Physics, California Institute of Technology (United States of America).
  • Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics, Collège de France.
  • Khaled Toukan, Director of the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) based in Allan, Jordan.

The programme of keynotes and roundtables will address many key issues including science policy, our perception of the universe, and international cooperation, through contributions from experts and scientists from around the world.

The programme also includes cultural events, an illumination of UNESCO Headquarters, a photonics science show and an exhibit on the advances of light-based technologies and art.

            The debates that flourished in 2015, in the framework of the International Year of Light, highlighted the importance of light sciences and light-based technologies in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Several thousand events were held in 147 countries during the Year placed under the auspices of UNESCO.  

The proclamation of 16 May as the International Day of Light was supported by UNESCO’s Executive Board following a proposal by Ghana, Mexico, New Zealand and the Russian Federation, and approved by the UNESCO General Conference in November 2017.

More information:

I have taken a look at the programme which is pretty interesting. Unfortunately, I can’t excerpt parts of it for inclusion here as very odd things happen when I attempt to ‘copy and paste’. On the plus side. there’s a bit more information about this ‘new day’ on its event page,

Light plays a central role in our lives. On the most fundamental level, through photosynthesis, light is at the origin of life itself. The study of light has led to promising alternative energy sources, lifesaving medical advances in diagnostics technology and treatments, light-speed internet and many other discoveries that have revolutionized society and shaped our understanding of the universe. These technologies were developed through centuries of fundamental research on the properties of light – starting with Ibn Al-Haytham’s seminal work, Kitab al-Manazir (Book of Optics), published in 1015 and including Einstein’s work at the beginning of the 20th century, which changed the way we think about time and light.

The International Day of Light celebrates the role light plays in science, culture and art, education, and sustainable development, and in fields as diverse as medicine, communications, and energy. The will allow many different sectors of society worldwide to participate in activities that demonstrates how science, technology, art and culture can help achieve the goals of UNESCO – building the foundation for peaceful societies.

The International Day of Light is celebrated on 16 May each year, the anniversary of the first successful operation of the laser in 1960 by physicist and engineer, Theodore Maiman. This day is a call to strengthen scientific cooperation and harness its potential to foster peace and sustainable development.

Happy International Day of Light on Wednesday, May 16, 2018!

Nanotechnology and Easter Island

There’s going to be an international nanotechnology conference on Easter Island, June 4 – 8, 2013,

[Downloaded from http://cedenna.cl/en/]

[Downloaded from http://cedenna.cl/en/]

A May 29, 2013 article by Kate Manning for The Santiago Times, describes Chile’s interest in nanoscience and nanotechnology,

The director of CEDENNA (Universidad de Santiago de Chile’s Center for Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology), Dora Altbir, said the conference will link Chilean students and young researchers with the most cutting-edge nanotechnology today and allow them to connect with leading scientists.

The director said she wants the conference to “broaden the study of nanoscience and nanotechnology in Chile, since all developed countries and many developing already conduct studies and have advanced in these disciplines.”

But broadening the study demands heftier investment. Chile allots US$4 million annually to develop nanotechnology. Comparatively, the United States and the European Union spend about US$3.7 trillion and US$1.2 billion respectively. Brazil spends US$1 billion.

Chilean politicians, the gatekeepers of public funds, often mention their goal for Chile to become a developed nation by 2016. Dangling a carrot, Altbir champions nanoscience as a field where Chile could distinguish itself in the scientific community and as a developed nation.

The conference, being organized by CEDENNA. has attracted some accomplished scientists. From the May 27, 2013 CEDENNA news release,

The conference led by the Center for the Development of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (CEDENNA) of the Universidad de Santiago de Chile will bring together leading academic scientists, researchers and students from Europe, Asia and the Americas to exchange and share their experiences and results on diverse themes related to this groundbreaking field of science.

The first week of June, the eyes of the scientific world will be focused on “the navel of the world” (Te Pito or Te Henua) given that for the first time an International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, EINC 2013, will take place on Easter Island.

That a Conference will be held in Easter Island is no small thing. At present nanoscience and nanotechnology are at the center of groundbreaking research around the world owing to the fascinating advances that basic science is achieving in this area and the technological benefits they bring.

The Easter Island Conference on Nanoscience (EINC2013) will bring together in Chile world-class scientists from the fields of physics, chemistry and the material sciences to share their knowledge and discuss their research in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
The conference, which will take place June 4 – 8, 2013, will include the participation of two Nobel Prize winners and around 100 academic scientists, researchers and students from three continents.

Among the scientists invited to the conference are Claude Cohen-Tannoudji, Nobel Prize winner, 1997, from the École Normal Supérieure de Paris, France, Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize winner, 2011, from Technion, Israel, Kornelius Nielsch from the University of Hamburg, Germany and Myriam Sarachick from City College of New York, USA. [emphasis mine]

(I briefly mentioned Shechtman in a May 8, 2013 posting where I noted that he’d been a pariah within his scientific community for several years. Scroll down to the last paragraph for the mention.)

I am delighted to be able to publish something about Chile and nanoscience. I have this is the first of many future mentions. You can find out more about EINC2013 here.