The GYA is a nominating partner of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. For the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Chemistry, GYA members and alumni nominated their PhD students and post-docs for this unique opportunity. As GYA nominees, Ankit Kumar Chourasia (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad) and Sarah Martell (Dalhousie University, Canada) participated in the meeting, which annually brings together around 500 undergraduates, PhD students, and post-doc researchers from all over the world with Nobel Laureates to foster dialogue, inspiration and exchange of knowledge. Ankit was nominated by GYA member Chandra Shekhar Sharma (IIT Hyderabad, India), and Sarah was nominated by GYA alumna Mita Dasog (Dalhousie University, Canada).
Sarah and Ankit both left the week-long meeting with a strong sense of purpose and motivation to empower science, from the connections and dialogue.
“The Lindau meeting was an incredible, and unique experience that I believe will have a lasting impact on my career. I was deeply inspired by both the laureates and the hundreds of young scientists in attendance. One of my favourite topics that was a recurring theme for the laureates was serendipity in research. Many of them spoke about how their discoveries (as well as many discoveries in the world) happened because of a mistake, or from noticing something unexpected in their experiments. For me, all complexities aside, I think that serendipity is the true essence (and fun) of research. To encounter serendipity, it comes down to being present in your work, observing, and following the curiosity that arises, which is the thing I love most about research. It was truly special to participate in a meeting where, no matter our role (laureate, soon-to-be group leader, postdoc, graduate student, or undergraduate) we all shared the same love of discovery and could bond over our pursuit of serendipity.”
– Sarah Martell (Dalhousie University, Canada)
“I had the great honor of participating in the 74th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (Chemistry) in Lindau, Germany. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet the pioneers of lithium-ion battery technology—Prof. M. Stanley Whittingham and Dr. Akira Yoshino—whose groundbreaking work continues to revolutionize modern energy storage. Hearing their insights firsthand was both humbling and deeply motivating. Nobel Laureates’ lectures were not only impactful for their scientific content, but for the stories of perseverance, doubt, and resilience behind the discoveries. It was also a tremendous honor to present my research on Metal–CO2 batteries during the Next Gen Science session. The Lindau Meeting embodies the spirit to “Educate, Inspire, and Connect”—a message I will carry forward in my academic journey and future collaborations.”
– Ankit Kumar Chourasia (Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad)
Read more about the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings on their website.
