CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT Assistant Professor Rene Macahig, PhD was chosen to participate in this year’s Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting held last June 30 to July 5 in Lindau, Germany.

The annual scientific conference provides an avenue for selected young researchers worldwide to take part in informal lectures and discussions administered by Nobel laureates from the fields of chemistry, physics and physiology.

Nobel laureates are scientists recognized by the Nobel Foundation for their outstanding achievements in their respective fields.

This year, participants of the meeting discussed topics such as green chemistry, chemical energy storage and conversion, biochemical processes and structures, materials for next generation batteries and supercapacitors and the possibility of intelligent extraterrestrial life, among others.

Macahig said attending the meeting was a “grand experience,” as he was able to interact with several Nobel Prize winners and other young scientists.

However, he said he encountered some challenges during the event as well.

“I had to read up on articles to be a little bit more prepared for the discussions,” he said.

Despite this, Macahig said he tried his best to enjoy the meeting and “to soak in the atmosphere of the discussions.”

“Participants had the freedom of choosing which sessions to attend and I sometimes went to discussions far from my field just because I found the laureate interesting,” he said.

“Overall, I think the Lindau meeting is one of the most exciting things that has happened in my scientific career and will impact me in ways I probably cannot imagine yet,” he added.

Macahig was one of only two Filipinos selected to attend the conference.

Screening applicants

According to Macahig, those who wish to attend the conference are evaluated by the Council for the Lindau Nobel Meetings on the basis of their academic backgrounds.

“For the most part, applicants were screened by academic partners based on their own countries and the successful ones are nominated for the meeting,” he said.

With no such academic partners in the Philippines, Macahig applied to the Global Young Academy, an international organization for young scientists, so that he could be nominated.

“Eventually, they (Global Young Academy) nominated three researchers, including myself,” he said.

About 25,000 applications were screened by the council but only 600 young researchers from about 80 countries were selected to participate in the meeting.

“A conference like no other”

Macahig said that the highlight of his experience was having discussions with the Nobel laureates.

“I had the rare opportunity of sitting down with Dr. Ada Yonath, Dr. Brian Kobilka and two other young researchers to discuss drug discovery and development,” he said.

Yonath and Kobilka were chemistry laureates in 2009 and 2012, respectively.

Macahig shared that during the meeting, he found the stories of the Nobel Prize awardees more striking than their actual scientific contributions.

To be specific, he said he admired the story of how Dan Schechtman, PhD discovered quasicrystals.

“It took him many years to understand the phenomenon and even longer to gain acceptance from the scientific community,” Macahig explained.

According to Encyclopedia Britannica, a quasicrystal is “matter formed atomically in a manner somewhere between the amorphous solids of glasses and the precise pattern of crystals.”

Aside from the Nobel laureates, Macahig also met other chemists, biologists, neuroscientists, engineers and at least one astrophysicist, all of whom he found “impressive.”

“[The attendees were] a very interesting mix of young people who were at the start of their careers as scientists and were very eager to take on the challenges of doing good and meaningful science,” he said.

“Everyone disagreed on almost everything and agreed that Lindau was a conference like no other,” Macahig added, further saying that the conference provided him an opportunity to meet new friends and future collaborators.

Impact on the scientific community

Macahig said that after seeing only one other name from the Philippines in the directory of participants, he felt pressured to do well.

He said it was a challenge to become a representative of the country to the scientific conference, as he had to properly explain to participants the opportunities and challenges of working in the field of science in the Philippines.

School of Science and Engineering Dean Evangeline Bautista, PhD said that Macahig’s attendance to the conference is “inspirational.”

“I’m not saying we’re going to win the Nobel prize or anything like that, but [Macahig’s] exposure to [the conference] will serve as an inspiration for our scientists to work a little bit harder, to have people to emulate and hopefully to move a little more forward in terms of research,” she said.

Karla Quinita, a sophomore chemistry with materials and science engineering major, expressed the same sentiment.

“Having a representative will show that even as a third world country, we have the capability to excel, especially in the field of science,” she said.

Macahig hopes more Filipinos will be able to attend the Lindau meetings in the future.