2012 Kavli Prizes – Three Discussions: Astrophysics, Nanoscience and Neuroscience

Left to right: 2012 Kavli Prize Laureates Michael Brown and David Jewitt

2012 Kavli Prize in Astrophysics: A Discussion with Michael Brown and David Jewitt 

IN 1992, THE SOLAR SYSTEM became a much larger and more interesting place. That’s when astronomers David Jewitt and Jane Luu discovered the first of many dozens of objects at the frigid and dark edge of the solar system – celestial bodies that collectively would be known as the Kuiper Belt. Later, Michael Brown made startling discoveries of increasingly larger Kuiper Belt Objects, including one he called Eris that is more massive than Pluto, and another beyond the Kuiper Belt he called Sedna. These and other discoveries forced astronomers and the larger public to re-think not only the overall architecture of the solar system but the very status of Pluto so that now the solar system has only eight planets. Drs. Jewitt and Brown talked about their discoveries of the Kuiper Belt and its larger bodies, the nature of the outer solar system, the reclassification of Pluto, and where their current research is taking them. (Read Discussion)

2012 Kavli Prize Laureate Mildred Dresselhaus (Courtesy: Mildred Dresselhaus)

2012 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience: A Discussion with Mildred Dresselhaus

MILDRED DRESSELHAUS, the first sole recipient of a Kavli Prize, has had a long and illustrious career in physics. Dubbed "The Queen of Carbon" by her peers, she was instrumental in unlocking the secrets of carbon's electronic structure and the mysterious forms it takes on in nature. Among her accomplishments, Dresselhaus contributed to the discovery of fullerenes – very large molecules of carbon that resemble Buckminster Fuller’s geodesic domes. She also predicted the existence of carbon nanotubes – single-atom-thick cylinders of carbon that could be used in everything from stronger materials, ultrastrong cables, and hydrogen storage to advanced electronics, solar cells, and batteries. And she remains a leader in the science of nanoscale carbon structures, which are thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair, exploring their electronic behavior and how they convert heat into electricity. (Read Discussion)

Left to right: 2012 Kavli Prize Laureates Cori Bargmann, Winfried Denk and Ann Graybiel

2012 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience: A Discussion with Cori Bargmann, Winfried Denk and Ann Graybiel

HOW DOES THE BRAIN gather information from the outside world and use it to guide behavior? Cori Bargmann, Winfried Denk and Ann Graybiel discuss this question, as well as share what led them to their specific lines of research. They also explore how the brain changes its behavior in response to environmental conditions, to what degree such responses are hard-wired or automatic, and how there are subtle influences on our behavior and decision-making of which we often are not conscious. Lastly, the three researchers debated the best approach to uncovering how the brain functions, and whether we will ever fully understand how our own brains work. (Read Discussion)