The sublime utility of useless science – Special Colloquium with Prof. Pedro Echenique

Kick-starting the new funding-period, SFB 1083 proudly welcomes Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Pedro M. Echenique from the Donostia International Physics Center in San Sebastián (Spain) and principal investigator in former guest project GP1 of the first funding periode for a special colloquium on “The sublime utility of useless science”.

“The Sublime Utility of Useless Science”

…how science and innovation stand at the center of any successful strategy for the long-term economic development of a country, and how it is even more important and profitable to create an atmosphere for fundamental research rather than to define specific targets…

Professor Echenique is a theoretical physicist at the University of the Basque Country in San Sebastián, Spain, and an external member of SFB 1083 who has continuously engaged himself as a vivid supporter of fundamental science. From 1980 to 1984, he served as a minister for education and culture in the first Basque government elected after the Spanish transition to democracy. In recognition of his fundamental scientific contribution on the interaction of electrons and ions with solids and solid surfaces, Echenique received prestigious prizes, including and the Prince of Asturia Award and the Max Planck Research Prize. In 1999, he founded the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), a center of excellence that receives significant funding from private donations. In 2016, his institute received an award by the European Physical Society (EPS), recognizing not only the outstanding contributions of the DIPC in the field of condensed matter physics and materials science, but also for its numerous, successful activities in the outreach and communication of science.

Further information:
Announcement of Professor Echenique’s talk /Ankündigung auf Deutsch
Homepage of the Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC)
Curriculum vitae of Professor Echenique