Full Program PASSION FOR KNOWLEDGE
Thank you all for participanting
Passion for Knowledge was a resounding success, not just because of the extraordinary quality of the speakers, but also because it enabled scientists to share and interchange ideas and because the level of the presentations and keynote papers delivered was extremely high. All this is true, and we should all feel very proud. However, above all, the success of Passion for Knowledge lies in the response it provoked among citizens. Attendance by the general public and the participation of both students and teachers in the Encounters exceeded all expectations, and everyone followed the presentations and activities with great interest and enthusiasm. This overwhelming response has renewed the enthusiasm with which we at the DIPC approach our mission of bringing science to the general public. It is the beginning of a new decade.
The Donostia International Physics Center was officially inaugurated on April 27 2000 as a center for exchange and creativity between scientists from the world around.
Three basic programs have running along these ten years:
- Visiting Researchers Program, intended to attract the best scientists in the field of materials science allowing the emergence of new joint project proposals and the dissemination of our own scientific activity;
- International Workshops Program, intended to create new forums for debate in which experts from different arenas, yet common goals, would contribute to the resolution of hot topics;
- General Science Communication Program, intended to bring the world of science to the general public.
It is also important to note the launching of the Fellows Gipuzkoa Program, which allows young scientists, mostly from the Basque Country, who have been working abroad, to return. Along the same line of development, we can include the creation of our in-house Computation center in July 2003 with the aim of becoming an international reference in complex computational physics and materials simulation.
In September 2005 the DIPC organised a four-day conference to celebrate the annus mirabilis of Albert Einstein. The program included talks by six Nobel laureates, and thirteen other leading experts on the figure of Einstein and the impact of his work on modern physics and philosophy. In 2008, we launched our own WebTV channel that broadcasts talks, seminars, encounters, and events organized by the DIPC or in which DIPC staff participates. A recent symposium co-organised by the DIPC and nanoGUNE has been Atom by Atom, a conference on the developments, challenges, and implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology.
After ten years of activity, we can proudly say that the objectives we set from the start have been accomplished and we want to celebrate it. Passion for Knowledge is a fest that brings world leading scientists and humanists together from different disciplines, cultures and thinking to celebrate the tenth anniversary of DIPC under the commitment for the progress of science driven by a love of knowledge for its own sake. This has been the premise of DIPC that started and has consolidated as a true intellectual adventure beyond the instrumental and purposeful search for knowledge. However, we also want to recall the central role of knowledge to gain competitive advantage, exploit innovation commercially and contribute to the well-being of future generations. Along with highlighting the thirst for knowledge as the driving force behind scientific, technological and cultural progress, the fest aims to expand the debate and to engage the society in the celebration.
