Spark Session

Martin Hairer, Robert Melancton Metcalfe, Shigefumi Mori, Leslie Lamport, Tom Crawford

Spark sessions are blocks that include several short plenary "Spark Talks" (15-20 minutes) by laureates. Here they give insights into their current research projects, discuss their work and spark inspiration for new ideas and problem-solving approaches. 

Moderator: Tom Crawford 

Martin Hairer: What’s Happening With AI in Mathematics? 
Robert Melancton Metcalfe: Connecting Geothermal Arrays 
Shigefumi Mori: Early Explorations in Mathematics: My Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Years 
Leslie Lamport: Why I Won a Turing Award 

The 13th Heidelberg Laureate Forum took place from September 13–18, 2026. #HLF26 

The Heidelberg Laureate Forum (HLF) is an annual networking conference where 200 carefully selected young researchers in mathematics and computer science spend a week interacting with the laureates of the most prestigious awards in their disciplines: the Abel Prize, ACM A.M. Turing Award, ACM Prize in Computing, Fields Medal, IMU Abacus Medal and Nevanlinna Prize. 

The opinions expressed in the videos do not necessarily reflect the views of the Heidelberg Laureate Forum Foundation or any other person or associated institution involved in the making and distribution of these videos.

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