February 28 - March 1, 2005
University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The Charlotte Research Institute collaborated with The Echo Foundation in a program that introduced approximately 150 university students in the Southeast U.S. to a group of five Nobel Laureates being brought to Charlotte by The Echo Foundation.   Institutions in the Southeast, including UNC Charlotte, were invited to nominate a select number of students to participate and attend the events in the Charlotte area.  The goal was to keep the events small enough for students to have informal interactions with each other and the Laureates. 

The visiting Nobel Laureates were:

• Günter Blobel (1999) cited for the discovery proteins have intrinsic signals that govern their transport and localization in the cell.

• Edmond Fischer (1992) cited for discoveries concerning reversible protein phosphorylation as a biological regulatory mechanism.

• Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard (1995) cited for discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development.

• Douglas Osheroff and Robert Richardson (1996) cited for their discovery of superfluidity in helium-3.

Also on hand for the events and serving as the panel discussion moderator was Anders Bárány, the Senior Curator of the Nobel Museum in Stockholm. 

The Laureates’ gathering coincided with Nobel Portraits: Celebrating Innovation and Creativity*, a photographic exhibition on loan from the Smithsonian Institution, shown at The Light Factory in Uptown Charlotte from Februrary 11 through March 25, 2005.  The Echo Foundation arranged for this exhibit to come to Charlotte, and this provided the impetus for inviting the Laureates themselves.   The Laureates were invited not only because of their scientific achievements but because of their interest in encouraging the next generation of scientists and thinkers.  For the invited college and university students, a reception was held at The Light Factory to view the Nobel Portraits exhibit the evening of February 28. 

The Nobel Laureates then visited the UNC Charlotte campus for a panel discussion and small group interactions on March 1.  Opening comments and introductions were made by Dr. Joan Lorden, Provost and Vice Chancellor, UNC Charlotte; Bert Scott, Executive VP for Product Management, TIAA-CREF; Stephanie Ansaldo, President, The Echo Foundation; and Deborah Clayton, Executive Director, Charlotte Research Institute.  Below are photographs from that visit (click on each thumbnail to view the photograph larger).  Additional photos available on the website of The Echo Foundation.

Featured: Bárány, Fischer, Osheroff, Nüsslein-Volhard	Featured: Blobel	Featured: Fischer	Featured: Osheroff	Featured: Nüsslein-Volhard
Featured: Richardson	Featured: Richardson, Bárány, Provost Lorden, Deborah Clayton, Osheroff, Blobel, Nüsslein-Volhard, Fischer	Featured: Bárány with students	Featured: Blobel with a student	Featured: Fischer with students
Featured: Nüsslein-Volhard with students	Featured: Osheroff and students	Featured: Osheroff with students	Featured: Richardson with student	Featured: Reception at The Light Factory
Featured: Reception at The Light Factory	Featured: Reception at The Light Factory	Featured: Reception at The Light Factory

The University program was made possible by the generous support of TIAA-CREF.

* Nobel Portraits: Celebrating Innovation and Creativity is drawn from the exhibition Nobel Voices - Celebrating 100 Years of the Nobel Prize which was jointly produced, organized and developed by the Smithsonian Institution's Lemelson Center and the Deutsches Museum Bonn, with funding from The Lemelson Foundation.