Scientific developments impact the lives of every one of us: in the fields of health, medicine, energy, economics, transportation, family planning and communication – indeed in every area of our lives. What are the next scientific breakthroughs? How will they impact our tomorrow?

Moderator:

Professor Tsvi Piran, Israel:  Schwartzmann University Chair, Racah Institute of Physics, former Dean, School of Business, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; former Distinguished Moore Scholar, California Institute of Technology; former Visiting Professor (Physics) Columbia University; former Visiting Professor (Astronomy) Harvard University; former Long term Member, The Institute for Advanced Studies, Princeton  former Member, Steering Committee, Israeli Space Agency; Member, Editorial board, J. Cosmology and AstroParticle Physics; Member, Editorial board, International Journal of Physics D.  Recipient: Reuters' list of “highly cited” and most influential researchers in Space Sciences; Advanced Research Grant of the European Research Council; Gravity Research Foundation (USA) Awards.

Participants:

Professor Jeffrey Hoffman, USA: Professor of Aerospace Engineering, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, MIT; former NASA astronaut; former NASA European Representative; Member, International Academy of Astronautics; International Astronomical Union; American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; American Astronomical Society.

Professor Bat Sheva Kerem, Israel: Scientific Director, National Center for Genomic Technology, Institute of Life Sciences, Professor, former Head, Authority for Research Students, former Head, Department of Genetics, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Member, the scientific team that discovered and characterized the CFTR gene; former President, The Israeli Society of Genetics Development Committee; Member, European Molecular Biology Organization, HUGO (Human Genome Organization) Council; Member, Editorial Board, European Journal of Human Genetics. Recipient: Abisch-Frenkel Prize for Excellence in Life Sciences, Emet Prize for Contribution to Genetics Research.

Professor Bruno Leibundgut, Germany: Observational Astronomer; Director for Science, European Southern Observatory (ESO); former Staff Astronomer for development of VLT operations model, implementation of the VLT data flow, ESO; Member, High-z Supernova Search Team,  one of the two teams discovering the accelerated expansion. Co-editor: From Twilight to Highlight: The Physics of Supernovae (2003), Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology - Einstein's Legacy (2005). Recipient: (As part of High-z Supernova Search Team) 2007 Gruber Cosmology Prize.

Professor Tomaso Poggio, USA: Eugene McDermott Professor, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences; Co-Director, Center for Biological and Computational Learning, Member, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Honorary Member, Neuroscience Research Program; Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; Founding Fellow, AAAI. Recipient:  Otto-Hahn-Medaille Award of the Max-Planck-Society; Max Planck Research Award; Gabor Award, Okawa Prize; American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellowship.

Professor Anton Zeilinger, Austria: Scientific Director, Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Austrian Academy of Sciences; Professor of Experimental Physics, University of Vienna. Author: Dance of the Photons (2010). Recipient: Wolf-Prize in Physics, Wolf Foundation, Israel; ERC Advanced Grant, European Research Council; Inaugural Isaac Newton Medal, Institute of Physics, U.K.

The panel will be simultaneously translated into Hebrew and English.