Onassis Lectures 2023: World-renowned scientists share their knowledge and experience | July 3-7, 2023, at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete.

Nine pioneers in the science and applications of extreme light from the United States, Europe, and Asia―among them, the Nobel laureate Gérard Mourou―are this year’s speakers at the Onassis Lectures 2023, which will be held from 3 to 7 July at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete.

The Onassis Lectures 2023, which will be held from 3 to 7 July at the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) in Heraklion, Crete, aim to further educate and champion young and talented scientists, postgraduate and senior undergraduate students active in the field of exact sciences.

This year’s Onassis Lectures are dedicated to the science and applications of extreme light. The keynote speaker is Nobel laureate Gérard Mourou, co-inventor (with his at that time Ph.D. student Donna Strickland) of CPA (Chirped Pure Amplification), while eight more pioneers in the field of extreme light from the United States, Europe, and Asia complement the panel: Jean-Claude Kieffer (Professor, INRS, Canada), Eleftherios Goulielmakis (Professor, University of Rostock, Germany), Maciej Lewenstein (Professor, ICFO, Spain), Victor Malka (Professor, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel), Nam Chang-hee (Professor, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, Korea), Jörg Schreiber (Professor, Ludwig Maximilians Universitaet, Germany), Toshiki Tajima (Professor, University of California, Irvine, USA), Paraskevas Tzallas (Research Director, FORTH, Greece). The individual presentations will cover a wide range of topics related to current and future high peak power, ultra-short pulse laser applications.

In the Onassis Lectures 2023, fifty-one students from universities and institutions in Greece and abroad have been selected to participate, based on their high academic accomplishments, with the Onassis Foundation covering their travel and accommodation expenses in Heraklion in full. In addition, eleven students from universities and institutions in Crete have been further accepted to participate (selected under the same criteria, without financial aid).

A few words on the initiative

Onassis Science Lectures Series is held this year for the twenty-eighth time at Heraklion of Crete by the Onassis Foundation in partnership with the Foundation of Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). Addressing issues at the forefront of scientific research, the series has established itself as the major event par excellence among like-minded events conducted worldwide.

Each circle of lectures lasts one week. Speakers in previous years include 23 Nobel laureates, 4 Turing Award honorees, and Fields Medal winner Edward Witten. The objective behind the institution is to grant young and talented researchers, postgraduate students, and senior undergraduate students―from Greece and abroad―the opportunity to delve further into critical research issues concerning their scientific fields, under the guidance of the world’s leading scientists.

The mission of the Onassis Foundation is to unleash the creative capacities of all those seeking to develop their research under the most optimal conditions across the fields of education, health, and culture.

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