Joanne Heslop (Discovery Fellow at Sec. 3.7 Geomicrobiology) and Jeffrey Perez (Post-Doc at Sec. 3.5 Interface Geochemistry) participate in the 71st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, dedicated to “Chemistry” this year.

From June 26 - July 1, the 71st Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting takes place at the Landau-Insel. In this world-renowned forum, the world's best young scientists in their field meet Nobel Laureates with all their scientific expertise and life experience for a lively exchange in a variety of formats.

This year’s Lindau Meeting was dedicated to “Chemistry” and hosted 32 Nobel Laureates and about 600 young scientist from all over the world.

Two GFZ Scientists, Joanne Heslop and Jeffrey Perez, are participating. They were both selected after being nominated by the GFZ and the Helmholtz Association.

Here, they tell what it means for them to participate in the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting – and what their current research is about:
 

Joanne Heslop, Discovery Fellow at GFZ in Section 3.7 Geomicrobiology

“To me, the most exciting part of my nomination to the Lindau Meeting, apart from the rare and unique opportunity to learn from over 30 Nobel Laureates at the same venue, is the exposure to cross-disciplinary ideas that spark discussions on how these new ideas can apply to my own research. Each speaker has selected their own topic for their lecture, and even though it is early in the meeting listening to the Nobel Laureates discuss topics I may not have necessarily sought out on my own has definitely sparked new ideas for how I can approach issues my own research. The virtual attendance also maintains opportunities to expand my network, and I am greatly looking forward to these discussions with both the Nobel Laureates and my peers.

My position at the GFZ is as a Discovery Fellow in Section 3.7 Geomicrobiology; my appointment officially ends June 30 but I will still be working during the year to complete the project to publication. My research examines microscale interactions between soil organic matter and microbes in the context of greenhouse gas production, with particular emphasis towards climate change in permafrost environments.”

Jeffrey Paulo Perez, postdoctoral researcher at Sec. 3.5 Interface Geochemistry

“Being selected to participate for the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is a massive opportunity for me as an experimental geochemist. I will have an opportunity to
meet and interact with my long-time "Science heroes". It will also allow me to network with other young scientists in the field of chemical sciences, and potentially extend my current research network and foster new collaborations.”

My current research is centered around using molecular and nanoscale solid-state characterization techniques to elucidate reactions at mineral interfaces. Specifically, I focus on iron redox (geo)chemistry and its
influence on (i) carbon cycling, (ii) nutrient availability and (iii) contaminant dynamics. I use state-of-the-art electron microscopy and synchrotron-based
X-ray techniques to pinpoint and visualize these (geo)chemical reactions at the mineral interface. By doing so, I am able to derive a quantitative and mechanistic
understanding of these key (geo)chemical interfacial reactions that may be difficult to examine using conventional laboratory techniques.