The 200th anniversary makes headlines

Whether broadcast, newspaper, websites or social media: the GDNÄ’s anniversary meeting is arousing the interest of journalists in the Leipzig region and far beyond. On this page we inform you about current contributions and provide background information.

In autumn 2023

Yearbook 2022 of the Leopoldina

In a 35-page article, Dr Michael Kaasch, scientific editor of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, reports in detail on the 200th anniversary of the GDNÄ and the Leopoldina lecture by Markus Gross "Computer Science for Hollywood Pictures". The article contains a great deal of detailed information on the joint history of the GDNÄ and the Leopoldina. Concise quotations and extensive references round off the carefully prepared article.

>> Special print "The Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians and the Leopoldina" (PDF, 1,24 MB)
>> Yearbook 2022 of the Leopoldina

In March 2023

„Leipziger Blätter“

The cultural magazine "Leipziger Blätter" reports in a three-page article („Zurück zu den Wurzeln“) on the 2022 Festversammlung, the history of the Society and its plans for the future. The special relationship of the GDNÄ to its founding city is a recurring theme.. The "Leipziger Blätter" are published by Passage-Verlag, which also published the commemorative publication for the 200th anniversary.

>> Article „Zurück zu den Wurzeln“ (PDF, 249 KB, German only)
>> Current issue of the cultural magazine "Leipziger Blätter", published twice a year

In November 2022

„Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau“

In two detailed articles, the organ journal of the GDNÄ, the Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau, reports on the anniversary conference in Leipzig. Dr Klaus Rehfeld, editor and publisher of the journal until 2021, describes his impressions of the glittering opening with ceremonial lectures and discussion rounds. Professor Michael Dröscher, treasurer and secretary general of the GDNÄ, reviews the four-day assembly with all the names, presentations and facets.

>> Professor Michael Dröscher: Ein glanzvolles Fest der Wissenschaften (German only, PDF, 1,79 MB)
>> Dr. Klaus Rehfeld: Wissenschaft im Bild (German only, PDF, 3,73 MB)

In October 2022

Culture blog "Leipzig-Lese

Against the background of a panel discussion on the history of the GDNÄ, this interview is about Schelling's and Hegel's obsession with questions of chemistry. Saxon science journalist Dr Konrad Lindner and science historian and GDNÄ representative Professor Dietrich von Engelhardt exchange views on this.

In September 2022

Physics portal “pro-physik.de”

The leading German-language specialist portal for all areas of physics reports in detail on the anniversary celebration and the history of the GDNÄ.

>> GDNÄ: Offener Austausch für die Wissenschaft (German only)

Website of acatech – German Academy of Science and Engineering

Since 1822, the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ) has brought together scientists, female scientists and those interested in science for interdisciplinary exchange. At the festive meeting marking the 200th anniversary of the society from September 8 to 11 in Leipzig, the focus was on various issues for the future. Acatech experts were also invited and discussed with the participants the possibilities of shaping technology, new forms of participation and the digital transformation in healthcare. (...more)

© acatech

Armin Grunwald, Karena Kalmbach and MDW (from left to right) at the acatech Science & Technology Café “What kind of world do we want to live in?”

Science blog of the Viennese "Standard"

In a vividly illustrated blog post peppered with many interesting details "Research in dialogue: Two centuries of meetings", Thomas Hofmann highlights highlights of the GDNÄ meetings in Austria. Austria was a frequently visited conference venue, with Vienna in first place (1832, 1856, 1894, 1913, 1966), followed by Innsbruck (1869, 1924, 1978), Graz (1843, 1875) and Salzburg (1881, 1909). For example, Thomas Hofmann writes about the great Vienna Congress in 1913:

"The fourth congress in Vienna attracted more than 5,000 congress participants and congress attendees to the capital in September 1913. The city was all about the sciences. 'One encounters them, now everywhere in the city, the German natural scientists and physicians, and one is pleased to meet them,' wrote the feature writer Paul Zifferer in the Neue Freie Presse."

Thomas Hofmann is head of the library, publishing house and archive of the Austrian Austrian Geological Survey.

© Wissenschaftsblog des Wiener „Standard“

Report about the student programme on MDR

In its news programme "Sachsenspiegel", Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk (MDR), will broadcast a report on the GDNÄ students' program on 8 September from 19:00. It shows how students at Leipzig's Goethe Grammar School are preparing for their performance at the opening of the 200th anniversary celebrations. The camera crew also accompanies them to their presentation entitled "We only have one world" in the Congress Hall at Leipzig Zoo. The feature will be available in the media library for a week and also later on request.

© MDR

© GDNÄ

6 September 2022: Students on the day before the presentation “We only have one world” at the Kongresshalle am Zoo Leipzig.

Pictures and texts on Instagram

The GDNÄ's own Instagram channel @gdnae.society provides current impressions of the conference events in Leipzig. The contributions come from a young team from Stuttgart Media University: Gloria Gamarnik, Lena Dagenbach and Maren Krämer, three students from the Crossmedia Editing/Public Relations course. The project is led by Dr. Alexander Mäder, science journalist and professor at the Media University. The focus of the reporting is the GDNÄ's student program.

Assembly hashtag: #gdnae200

In August 2022

Kulturblog "Leipzig-Lese" on Lorenz Oken and the founding of the GDNÄ

In a detailed article, Saxon science journalist Dr Konrad Lindner deals with the founding history of the GDNÄ and its further development. The text, which appeared on the Leipzig-Lese portal, takes us through the contributions of Schelling, Oken, Oerstedt and Carus to Einstein and Heisenberg and to today's Leipzig philosophers who have expressed their views on idealist-romantic natural philosophy and German idealism.

© Leipzig-Lese

Screenshot "Lorenz Oken rief Naturforscher und Ärzte für 1822 nach Leipzig"

Watch jubilee lectures in real time

The Nobel lecture is about a galactic voyage of discovery, the Leopoldina lecture shows how much computer science is in cinema films today and the grand opening ceremony entices with exciting discussions, music and insights into current research. Those who are present at the GDNÄ's anniversary conference will experience a great celebration of science with many highlights.

But also those who cannot be there are invited – and this is a novelty at GDNÄ meetings – to participate in real time. All lectures in the Great Hall of the Congress Hall at Leipzig Zoo will be livestreamed, as will the entire Festversammlung on Thursday, 8 September 2022 (14:00-18:00), and the public lectures by Nobel Laureate in Physics Professor Reinhard Genzel (Friday, 9 September, 18:30-20:00) and Professor of Computer Science Markus Gross of ETH Zurich "Computer Science for Hollywood Pictures" (Saturday, 10 September, 18:30-20:00).

Livestream use is free of charge; no special technical requirements are necessary. A digital device and a good internet connection are all you need to join the live stream below:

The livestream is intended for the real-time experience and is only available at the same time as the programme in Leipzig. The video recordings of lectures, interviews and summary contributions, which are posted on the GDNÄ's own YouTube channel after the meeting and are available free of charge, can be used permanently.

"We only have one world": Student presentation well on its way

The student program plays a special role at the Bicentennial Celebration in Leipzig. Right on the opening day, September 8, representatives of this year's group of students will present questions to science under the motto "We only have one world," which they have worked out together beforehand. The impulses of the young people will be the focus of a subsequent panel discussion with a high-caliber panel of experts. The panel of experts will be moderated by GDNÄ President Professor Martin Lohse.

To prepare for the presentation, students will meet several times before the assembly from September 8 to 11. A first meeting was held in early June; a final vote is scheduled for Sept. 7.

© Michael Dröscher

In work groups, students discuss their ideas for presentation at the jubilee assembly.

The first meeting was about defining the most important challenges with a view to the future of humanity. The guiding question was: Which problems are the most pressing and to what extent can the natural sciences contribute to solving them? Discussions took place in a total of six workshops, in which around one hundred students took part. The main topics were chemistry, biology, medicine, physics/geology, mathematics/computer science and technology/engineering. The working groups were supervised by Professor Eva-Maria Neher, Professor Wolfgang Lubitz, Professor Uwe Hartmann, Professor Michael Dröscher, Student Councilor Paul Mühlenhoff and tutors Clara Vogt and Moritz Sest. 

The students from Leipzig and the surrounding area developed three joint questions per working group. In digital networking, they will now continue to work on the joint task until the next face-to-face meeting on September 7. The idea is that each team will agree on a challenging core question to science at the end, which will then be presented at the festive meeting.

© Michael Dröscher

Preparatory workshop at Leipzig: group of students in action.

Würzburg 2021 will be merged with 200th GDNÄ anniversary

With a heavy heart, the GDNÄ Presidium has decided not to realize the 131st Assembly in Würzburg in 2021, but to combine it with the 132nd Assembly in Leipzig. The reason is the Corona pandemic, which made all previous plans obsolete. The anniversary conference will be held in Leipzig from 8 to 11 September 2022.

Everything was prepared on time for the meeting in Würzburg originally planned for September 2020 on the topic of "Science & Image". Many GDNÄ members, selected students, teachers and citizens had looked forward to high-level lectures, discussions and personal exchange. But then Corona came and called for new solutions. In the early summer of 2020, it was decided to postpone the Würzburg Assembly was postponed by one year. At the time, that seemed like a safe distance. But in the meantime we had to realize that planning for an assembly in September 2021 would be too risky. Hence the decision to present highlights on the topic of "Science & Image" at the anniversary meeting to mark the 200th anniversary of the GDNÄ at its founding location in Leipzig - together with new topics that will be developed over the next few months and then presented on this page.

The next conference takes place from September 10-12, 2021

In view of the current corona situation, the GDNÄ board has decided to postpone the annual meeting until 2021. The new date is September 10-12, 2021, and the topic "Science in Picture" and the program are to be retained as far as possible. The exact program will be announced on this website in autumn 2020 and sent to the members in spring 2021. We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting conference in 2021.

Together with the meeting, the next general meeting and the elections planned there must also be postponed to that date.