Curious Future Insight Conference
One of the world's leading gatherings on the future of science & technology. Learn and be inspired by world leaders, thinkers and researchers. Tickets are on sale now. July 10–11, 2024.
The Curious – Future Insight™ Conference brings together some of the world’s brightest scientists and most accomplished innovators to present their work and explore the future of science and technology, solving the challenges of today and discussing the vision of a better tomorrow.
July 10–11, 2024. Mainz, Germany, with both online and onsite participation.
Topics covered at the event include: synthetic biology, materials, energy, digitalization, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, mobility, health, nutrition, and space flight, and many more.
The Curious – Future Insight™ Conference brings together Nobel Laureates and other leading scientists and innovators from across the globe. It is a hybrid event with both in-person and online participation and is relevant for engineers, designers, and thinkers at all stages of their careers.
This bi-annual event, which attracted 1800 attendees in 2022, is organized by the Future Insight e.V. and was initiated at the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Merck, the worlds oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company in 2018.
Speakers and Events
The conference presents sessions in a variety of formats to provide participants the opportunity to meet and connect with peers in as many ways as possible.
Besides the keynotes, there are multiple interesting sessions that participants can engage in. Highlights include an “Ask Me Anything” circle where the prominent speakers will sit down in an informal setting and answer questions posed by the audience.
Additionally, there is a networking evening, workshops, a poster session, and an exhibition space. For researchers and thought leaders, the conference invites you to submit an abstract and apply to present your ideas at the “Ignite Sessions”. Abstract submissions will launch on the conference website soon, and entries should be submitted by March 31st, 2024.
The list of speakers is being announced here. Below are a few of the presenters we are excited about from the list announced so far.
Tobias Erb - Director at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology in Marburg, Germany
The fundamental long-term research approach of the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology has begun to yield results. The research team led by Erb is currently focused on deploying their technology in various setups to harness the full potential of synthetic CO2 fixation. The work in their lab bridges the gap between biology and chemistry, concentrating on the discovery, function, and engineering of new carbon-dioxide-converting enzymes. This is further applied in engineered and artificial photosynthesis. Through these efforts, they seek to offer innovative solutions for enhanced carbon capture in biotechnology, agriculture, and synthetic chemistry.
Michael Graetzel - École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
Michael Grätzel is a professor at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne where he directs the Laboratory of Photonics and Interfaces. He pioneered research on energy and electron transfer reactions in mesoscopic-materials and their optoelectronic applications.
Marc Raibert - Boston Dynamics/The AI Institute
Marc Raibert is the founder, former CEO, and now Chairman of Boston Dynamics, a robotics company known for creating BigDog, Atlas, Spot, and Handle.
Uğur Şahin - CEO of BioNTech
Uğur Şahin is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the founder and CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. The main focus of his research work is the discovery of mRNA-based drugs for use as individualized cancer immunotherapies, as vaccines against infectious diseases, and as protein replacement therapies for rare diseases.
Benjamin List - Max Plank Institute for Coal Research
Benjamin List is a German chemist who was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his work on asymmetric organocatalysis. The director of the Max-Plank Institut for Coal Research since 2005 and honorary professor at the University of Cologne, his research interests are new catalysis concepts, bioorganic chemistry and natural product synthesis.
Thomas C. Südhof - Stanford University
Thomas Christian Südhof, ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. He is a professor at the School of Medicine in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, and by courtesy in Neurology, and in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University. Together with James Rothman and Randy Schekman, he won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology for his work on vesicle trafficking.
Read about the past speakers here.
Future Insight Prize
The Future Insight™ prize is awarded to honour outstanding achievements in science and technology that help to realize visionary dream products important for humanity. The 2024 Future Insight Prize will be given out at the conference for work to help use AI to fight the next pandemic. Read more here.
The Venue
The Curious2024 – Future Insight™ Conference will take place at the Rheingoldhalle Mainz with a view of the river Rhine. Mainz is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany.
Tickets - Take Part in Curious2024
On-site and online tickets for Curious2024 are now available. Find all information and ticket categories on this page.
