For five years as a PhD student, I walked past the photos of Nobel Laureates like Mario José Molina and Kurt Wüthrich, a Nobel Laureate affiliated with ETH Zurich, that hang in a hallway of the Latimer building where I worked at UC Berkeley. Laureates like Molina and Richard Schrock are my idols, my mentors in Chemistry. Schrock inspired my passion for academia. Meeting them, along with Kurt Wüthrich last week, was not only a pleasure and an honour, but the greatness of their achievements still inspires me.
The 67th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting was like “Nerd Heaven” for me. This year it was dedicated to Chemistry and hosted 30 Nobel Laureates on the island of Lindau on Lake Constance. There I met up with 420 of the next generation of leading scientists: undergraduates, PhD students, and post-doctoral researchers from around the world. Among those I met, were 4 other Young Scientists from ETH Zurich - watch our Facebook live video with Brian Malow, Science Comedian. During my week at Lindau, I also had the honor to present my research on nitrous oxide activation in poster sessions and served as a panellist in a discussion about Science Careers.