Public Keynote Lecture by Finn Aaserud
On Friday, 19 July, at 14:00 (sharp), Finn Aaserud (Director Emeritus, Niels Bohr Archive) will give a public keynote lecture titled “Statesmen and diplomats encounter Niels Bohr.”
Finn Aaserud, Niels Bohr Archive.
Abstract: The Danish physicist Niels Bohr is best known for two major achievements: first, his model of the quantum atom, published in 1913, for which he received the Nobel Prize in 1922; and second, the “Copenhagen interpretation” of quantum mechanics developed together with colleagues at his institute in the latter half of the twenties. Having turned his institute toward nuclear physics, making it a pioneer institution in this emerging field, Bohr escaped from Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943. Learning in England about the advanced state of the secret project to develop an atomic bomb, which Bohr had so far considered impracticable in a foreseeable future, he agreed to join the project. Bohr decided instantly that the prospect of such a weapon of mass destruction would require what he came to call an “open world” among nations, and he worked conscientiously for this purpose until the end of his life. In the process, statesmen, including Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as diplomats from several countries, came to encounter Bohr and his political mission.
Additional information: This keynote lecture is part of the conference “Diplomats in science diplomacy: Promoting scientific and technological collaboration in international relations” which is organized by the Commission on Science, Technology, and Diplomacy of the Division of Science and Technology of the International Union of History and Philosophy of Science and Technology (IUHPST/DHST). The two-day meeting on 19–20 July 2019 is hosted by the Niels Bohr Archive and held at the Niels Bohr Institute.
Finn Aaserud's lecture is public and everyone is welcome without prior registration (please note that there will be limited seats and registered conference participants will have priority). The remainder of the two-day conference is not announced publicly, but there is a limited number of additional seats available in all sessions. The conference program can be downloaded here. In case you would like to participate in the conference or a part of it, please contact Christian Joas in advance (no later than Thursday, 18 July, at 14:00) and state which session(s) you would like to attend. Registration is free.