https://www.cas.cn/cm/202604/t20260415_5107007.shtml
On April 13, a symposium entitled “Interdisciplinary Dialogue Towards Science of Tomorrow,” hosted by the CAS Bureau of International Cooperation and organized by the CAS Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, was held in Beijing. Experts from China and Germany engaged in interdisciplinary and cross-border intellectual exchanges on the future development of science, the value of basic research, the mission of scientific research organizations, and the interactive relationship between science and society, and science and culture.
Currently, global technological innovation is accelerating, and interdisciplinary integration is deepening. Human society is facing a series of common challenges, including climate change and energy transition, artificial intelligence and social governance, and population aging and health. At this symposium, the Chinese version of the new book “Questions for the Future” by Patrick Cramer, President of the Max Planck Society was presented in the framework of a symposium on “A Dialogue Across Time: From the Origin of the Universe to Human Aesthetics,”
In his keynote speech, Patrick Cramer began with a series of interdisciplinary case studies, ranging from Sino-German cooperation on radio telescopes, tracking global animal migrations from a space perspective, and climate monitoring in the Amazon rainforest, to nuclear fusion energy exploration, the ethical challenges of artificial intelligence and deepfakes, and the international legal gaps arising from lunar development. He vividly depicted how contemporary science, while expanding the boundaries of knowledge, is also deeply involved in real-world issues facing human society. “Every leap forward in natural science is inseparable from the cultivation and support of the humanities and social sciences,” Cramer stated, citing Galileo’s hand-drawn lunar observation maps as an example, reminding the audience that science and art have always nourished each other, rather than going their separate ways.
During the roundtable discussion, more than ten experts and scholars from institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Peking University engaged in in-depth discussions on the core topics of the book. They unanimously agreed that future scientific development increasingly relies on the continuous accumulation of basic research, deep integration between disciplines, and open cooperation within the global scientific community; strengthening interdisciplinary dialogue and deepening international scientific and technological exchanges are not only inherent requirements for scientific development but also realistic paths to addressing common human challenges.
Guan Xiaowu, deputy director of the CAS Institute for the History of Natural Sciences, said that scientific exchanges between China and Germany have a long history. The 52-year cooperation between the Max Planck Society and the Chinese Academy of Sciences is a vivid example of science transcending national borders and connecting the people of both countries. This symposium is not only an important measure to promote science communication and facilitate academic exchanges between China and other countries, but also a joint inquiry into the “science of tomorrow.”