At the closing remarks of the Olympian Symposium 2026, I shared a simple thought: science moves forward through ideas, but ideas are made by people.
Behind every discovery, there are conversations, disagreements, questions and collaborations. Sometimes an idea begins not in front of a computer or inside a laboratory, but over coffee with someone who sees the same problem differently.
That is why when I organize a scientific meeting, I care more than the program and the presentations. I want people to talk, connect and feel comfortable with one another. I want colleagues to leave not only with new knowledge but perhaps with new friends.
We invest enormously in technology, telescopes, supercomputers, artificial intelligence, laboratories. And we should! These are extraordinary tools to see further. But tools are not ideas.
Science remains at its heart a human adventure. It is driven by curiosity, creativity, and the exchange of ideas between people who see the world differently.
Science moves forward with ideas. But ideas are made by people through collaborations, discussions, friendship and honesty.
