The Thursday of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum has ended, and what a day it was!

For a collection of some memorable moments and glimpses into the setting of the HLF, check out our “Snapshots” video above (or on our YouTube channel)!

Thursday morning kicked off with a lecture by ACM Prize in Computing recipient Yael Tauman Kalai on "Proofs in the Modern World." One emphasis of hers was on "integrity": If we outsource a huge computation, how do we know the answer we get back is correct? One answer is succinct cryptographic proofs: short, easy-to-check proofs that a large computation was performed correctly. 

Afterwards, several more laureates took to the stage for another round of Spark Talks, among them Fields Medalist Martin Hairer, who introduced "First Proof," a way of testing how useful AI really is to mathematical research, by giving it useful problems talented mathematicians would work on in a realistic scenario.

After a break, the Lindau Lecture, held each year at the HLF to celebreate the bond between the Forum and the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, was held by Nobel Prize recipient and astrophysicist Brian P. Schmidt, who shared insights into "The State of the Universe." From Hubble’s observations back to the Big Bang, he traced how we came to understand that the universe is expanding.

The rest of the afternoon offered room for attendees to dive into more detail on their favorite subjects, with another round of Master Classes and small group sessions with laureates.

The evening's program featured a perennial favorite, the "Cultural Evening," in which attendees celebrated their cultural heritage and diversity by donning the traditional clothing of their home countries.

As always, select photos from this day can be found on our Flickr page.

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