Because excellence is not an act but comes from a habit to excel, at OIST we are pushing the frontiers of science, education, and innovation one day at a time. This is further championed by the presence of notable scientists and distinguished thinkers from around the globe who are periodically invited to OIST to share their ideas and research with our community and to nourish our excitement in this journey.

• Prof. Makoto Fujita
  University Distinguished Professor at The University of Tokyo
  "Coordination Self-Assembly: From Origins to the Latest Advances" (Video).
• Prof. Sidney Nagel
  Stein-Freiler Distinguished Service Professor, The University of Chicago
  "Patterns in Nature" (video)
• Prof. Paul Chaikin
  Julius and Roslyn Silver Professor of Physics at New York University
  "Random to Ordered: From Candies to Monster Space Crystals" (video)
• Dr. Hitoshi Murayama
  Director of Kavli Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe, the University of Tokyo
  "The Dark Side of the Universe" (video)
• Prof. Christiane Nusslein-Volhard
  1995 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology
  "Animal Beauty: Function and Evolution of Biological Aesthetics" (video)
• Prof. Lakshminarayanan Mahadevan
  Lola England de Valpine Professor of Applied Mathematics, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University
  Professor of Physics and Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University
  "Origami - Mathematics, Science and Technology" (video)
• Prof. Eugene W Meyers
  Director, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
  "Towards Image-Based Systems Biology" (video)
• Dr. Bruce Alberts
  Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry & Biophysics for Science & Education, University of California, San Francisco
  "Science, Biology and the World's Future" (video)
• Prof. Klaus Mullen
  Director, Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research
  "Is the Future Black?" (video)
• Prof. Artur Ekert
  Professor of Quantum Physics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, UK
  Director of the Centre for Quantum Technologies and Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore, Singapore
  "Is There a Perfect Cipher?" (video)
• Prof. Douglas Soltis & Prof. Pamela Soltis
  Douglas Soltis is a Distinguished Professor in the Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology at the University of Florida
  Prof. Pamela Soltis is a Distinguished Professor and Curator in the Florida Museum of Natural History and Department of Biology at the University of Florida
  "Building, Using, and Teaching The Tree of Life" (video)
• Prof. Shrinivas. R. Kulkarni
  George Ellery Hale Professor of Astronomy and Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology
  "Astronomy on the Cusp: A Subject Driven by Progress in Technology" (video)
• Prof. Peter Zoller
  Professor of Physics, Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Innsbruck, Austria
  "A Quantum Leap in Quantum Information: Building Quantum Computers and Quantum Simulators with Cold Atoms and Ions" (video)
• Prof. Johannes Krause
  Director, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History
  "The Genetics History of the Ryukyuans" (video)
• Prof. Svante Pääbo
  2022 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
  Director, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany
  "A Neandertal Perspective on Human Origins" (video)
• Prof. Pavel Belov
  Dean of Physics and Engineering Faculty and Head of Research Center of Nanophotonics and Metamaterials, ITMO University, Russia
  "Advancing Nanophotonics for New Optical Technologies" (video)
• Prof. Jim Smith
  Director of Science at Wellcome; Senior Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute
  "Leadership in science with Sir Jim Smith" (podcast)
• Prof. Fred Turek
  Charles & Emma Professor of Biology at the Department of Neurobiology, Northwestern University
  Director, Center for Sleep & Circadian Biology
  "The Molecular Circadian Clock and its impact on Health and Disease" (video)
  "Circadian rhythms with Professor Fred Turek" (podcast)
• Prof. Tadashi Tokieda
  Professor, Department of Mathematics, Stanford University
  "Mathematics, Language and Much More with Tadashi Tokieda" (podcast)
• Dr. Samaya Nissanke
  Astrophysicist and Spokesperson of GRAPPA, The Center of Excellence in Gravitation And Astroparticle Physics, University Of Amsterdam, Netherlands
  "Binary Neutron Stars with Samaya Nissanke" (podcast)
• Dr. Thomas Kornberg
  Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco
  "Cell Signalling with Thomas Kornberg" (podcast)
• Prof. Takaaki Kajita
  2015 Nobel Laureate in Physics
  Director and Professor, Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, The University of Tokyo
  "Exploring the Universe with Neutrinos and Gravitational Waves" (video)
• Dr. Wieland Huttner
  Founding Director Emeritus and Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, Germany
  “A gene that made our brain big”
• Dr. Andrew Lobb
  Associate Professor at Durham University UK
  “The Square Peg Problem” (video)
• Dr. Lily Peng
  Physician-Scientist Lead for Medical Imaging at Google AI Healthcare
  "Deep Learning for Medical Imaging"
• Prof. Kai Simons
  CEO Lipotype GmbH; Director Emeritus, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG)
  “Lipid Rafts and Lipidomics for Health and Disease"
• Prof. Ben L. Feringa
  2016 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  Jacobus van't Hoff Distinguished Professor of Molecular Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands
  "The Art of Building Small"