FNR 20 years: An evening with science [fiction] in the House of Frankenstein

A type of insect known as whitefly spreads plant viruses and has devastating effects on the vegetables that we depend on and thanks to climate change their negative impact on agriculture is set to increase in the future. Current methods to protect crops depend on delicate relationships between whiteflies and their natural enemies, our crops, and microbial communities, a delicate balance threatened by climate change. Researchers are working with a ‘climate in the lab’ to get a better understanding of what could happen, with the ultimate goal to generate solutions to protect food security.

A temporary exhibition at the Escher Pop-Up-Store takes a different creative approach to storytelling: „HistorEsch: Escher Geschichten a 25 Objeten erzielt” features 25 local stories, told through objects of local residents rather than images. The exhibition is part of the project of FNR ATTRACT Fellow Dr Thomas Cauvin, who works in the field of public history.

For each Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, the FNR runs a Call for promising young researchers with a connection to Luxembourg to attend. For the 2022 Lindau Meeting, dedicated to chemistry, Adil Kabylda, PhD researcher in the group of Prof Alex Tkatchenko at the University of Luxembourg had this rare opportunity. We speak to Adil about the experience of meeting 30 Nobel laureates and inspiring young scientists.

Global supply networks are more complex than ever, and recent global events have shown how susceptible society is to unpredictable disturbances. Scientists are working to understand the effect disruptions have on the sustainability of productive systems with the goal to provide solutions to support decision-making.

For each edition of the annual two-week Alpbach Summer School, the FNR runs a Call for young science/engineering researchers/students with a connection to Luxembourg to attend. We spoke to participant Luca Cressa about this experience of the 2022 edition, including how the mission his team developed was awarded “best science case”.

Is it possible to use mathematical indicators to alert about natural disasters and help in the early detection of disease and health issues? Over the past 15 years, scientists have been working on bridging mathematical theory and empirical evidence to do just that. To move the science forward, a key challenge is the underlying mathematical problem, as well as determining how the indicators should be applied.