The Nobel Conference: 50 Years of History and Counting

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the Nobel Conference started in 1965 as a way to create a series of symposiums that promoted the College’s Swedish roots.

In 1963, Alfred Nobel Memorial Hall of Science was dedicated in honor of the Swedish chemist who gave his fortune to reward extraordinary people in the areas of physics, medicine, literature, peace, and chemistry.

During the dedication, Nobel Laureates and College administrators met to discuss bringing an annual science conference to Gustavus. Partnering with Nobel Foundation, Gustavus welcomed the first Nobel Conference, “Genetics and the Future of Man.”

This year’s Nobel Conference will feature speakers from conferences in the past, the earliest being Steven Weinberg from the 1976 Conference, “The Nature of the Physical Universe.” The theme of this year’s conference is “Where Does Science Go From Here?”

Instead of focusing on one specific scientific area, speakers will discuss many topics within the science realm, with topics ranging from climate change to Neanderthals to biomedical engineering.

Be sure to check out at least one lecture this year, to see where the future of science is headed and reminisce about how the Nobel Conference has grown in the past 50 years.