Nobel winners' sketches on display

Nobel winners' sketches on display

Marrying science with art, an exhibition featuring more than 50 science Nobel laureates with self-drawn sketches of their discoveries has made its Asian debut at the Science Centre Singapore.

For "Sketches of Science", award-winning German photographer Volker Steger shot portraits of the scientists with their drawings. These are displayed with interviews and videos.

"I wanted to portray the Nobel laureates and their discoveries in a very personal way," he said. "The idea was to get something spontaneous. I hope this will help to catalyse creative scientific ideas and spark the innovative spirit among young ones."

Among the portraits are those of Professor Francoise Barre-Sinoussi, who won the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 2008 for the discovery of HIV, and Sir Timothy Hunt, who won the same prize in 2001 for his discovery of key regulators of the cell cycle. Sir Timothy said: "I'm glad to be part of this project where we got to show our passion for science and innovation in a lighter way."

The Singapore stop of the exhibition was launched by President Tony Tan Keng Yam on Monday. It aims to inspire young people to explore and pursue their passions in science and innovation.

"It shows some fundamental aspects of scientific research," said Dr Tan. "The researcher has to have a prepared mind but also imagination and present these complex ideas in a very interesting and human way."

Science Centre chief executive Lim Tit Meng said: "This provides an unusual peek into the brightest global minds of science and technology and their discoveries."

The exhibition, a joint project of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and the Nobel Museum, opened in Stockholm in June last year. It will be held in Singapore, its sixth stop, until Nov 22.

goyshiyi@sph.com.sg


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