Tim Robinson was a student at Gustavus Adolphus College when it hosted its first Nobel Conference in St. Peter, Minn.
It was January 1965, and the topic was both timely and timeless: "Genetics and the Future of Man."
"I remember it as a grand event," said Robinson, now a professor emeritus at Gustavus. Except for a few years in graduate school, he said, he's attended nearly every one of the annual events, which featured some of the leading minds in the world of science. He'll be there next week, at what promises to be a greatest hits of the past five decades of Nobel conferences.
For its 50th anniversary, the conference has invited back some of its most popular speakers, as well as three Nobel laureates, to debate the future of science at a two-day event, Oct. 7 and 8, that is expected to draw 5,000 to 6,000 spectators.
Robinson, the former conference director, said he's been amazed at its enduring popularity. Like the popular TED talks, it's a chance for ordinary citizens to hear leading scholars talk about everything from Einstein to the future of medicine in — mostly — layman's terms.
"We have this amazingly loyal audience," he said. "A lot of them will admit that science wasn't really a topic of much interest to them as students, but yet they really enjoy this."
In all, about 100 Nobel laureates have flocked to St. Peter, Minn., to explore such themes as "Who Were the First Humans" (2008), the "Science of Aging" (2004) and "The Evolution of Sex" (1987).
"You might wonder how is it that a little college can attract world-class speakers," Robinson said. It turns out that scientists often enjoy breaking out of their "tunnels" to talk to a general audience like this.
