Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors

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The Physics Center Bad Honnef, seat of the GDNÄ office
Bad Honnef, Hölterhoffstift, Hauptstraße 5, aerial photo (2015)

The Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors e. V. (GDNÄ) is the oldest and largest interdisciplinary scientific association in Germany (see also: Naturforschende Gesellschaft ). She sees her main task in the exchange of knowledge and information between scientists from different disciplines and between science and the public. It was founded in Leipzig in 1822 and re-established as an association in Göttingen in February 1950 after the Second World War . It currently has about 4,000 members. Your office is located in the physics center Bad Honnef in Bad Honnef near Bonn .

history

Lorenz Oken, founder of the GDNÄ

The association was founded in 1822 by the natural scientist and doctor Lorenz Oken . In the same year the first meeting of the society took place in Leipzig . The aim of the foundation was to get to know the German scientists and doctors personally in order to benefit from the exchange between them. These meetings (“negotiations”) increasingly became a forum for the presentation of new results from scientific and medical research. In 1828 specialist sections were set up within the GDNÄ. In the beginning, the work of the society was hindered by the danger of censorship and it was not until 1861, for example, that the Austrian members could also be named because they had previously been exposed to persecution. Well-known examples of the presentation and discussion of important findings at GDNÄ meetings are: Ernst Haeckel's presentation of Darwin's theory of development at the 38th meeting on September 19, 1863, Albert Einstein's theory of relativity in 1909 and a lecture by Gerhard Domagk in 1936, which marked the beginning of chemotherapy for bacterial infections . The meetings, which were initially held annually after the Society was founded, are currently held every two years in different cities. They each have a general theme. Since 1983, the GDNÄ has awarded the Lorenz-Oken-Medal to people “who have made outstanding achievements in the generally understandable interpretation or dissemination of scientific and / or medical knowledge and insights” .

aims

The GDNÄ sees its goals and tasks in creating understanding and trust for scientific research through dialogue between scientists and the public and in promoting the interdisciplinary exchange of information and opinions between scientists from various fields. It pursues these goals through various events, publications and other forms of public relations. Its official organ is the monthly magazine " Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau ".

The most important event is the biennial assembly of the society, for which a conference proceedings are published in the form of “negotiations”. The 125th meeting was themed “Growth - Escalation, Control and Limits” and took place from September 19-22, 2008 in Tübingen . The 126th meeting took place from September 17th to 21st, 2010 in Dresden on the general topic "Human challenge: energy, nutrition, health". The 127th meeting took place in Göttingen from September 14 to 18, 2012 . The topic was: " Society needs science - science needs society: mobility - communication - interaction ". The 128th meeting in Mainz was titled “Role Model Nature - Fascination People and Technology” and took place from September 12th to 15th, 2014. The 129th meeting was titled “Science and Medicine - Between Continuity and Change” and took place from September 9th to 12th, 2016 in Greifswald . The 130th meeting took place from September 14 to 17, 2018 in Saarbrücken and was entitled “Digitization in the Sciences”. The next meeting will take place in Würzburg from September 11th to 13th, 2020 .

Membership and Structure

Ordinary membership is open to anyone interested in the natural sciences, medicine and technology. While most of the members do research at universities, non-university research institutions and in industry, schoolchildren and students in particular are just as welcome as interested laypeople. The society currently has around 4,000 full members, around 14 percent of whom are younger than 35 years. Associations, organizations, institutes, companies and similar legal persons can also become corporate members.

The association is divided into the specialist sections chemistry , physics including geosciences , biology , medicine and technology including computer science .

The chairmen / presidents

Since 1890 the board has consisted of the chairman of the company and three other board members. The chairman is responsible for the meeting taking place during his term of office. The other board members are the chairman of the previous meeting, the chairman of the next meeting and the treasurer of the company.

Awards

The Lorenz-Oken-Medal can be awarded by the society to persons who have contributed in particular to the interpretation and dissemination of scientific or medical knowledge. The Alexander von Humboldt Medal can be awarded to anyone who has made particular contributions to the GDNÄ. The awards are presented in a ceremony at the beginning of the biennial meetings.

literature

  • Harald Fritzsch , Jörg Hacker, Henning Hopf , Klaus Peter, Markus Schwoerer, Wolfgang Donner: Matter in space and time. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-7776-1375-4 (Negotiations of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, 123rd Assembly, Passau 2004).
  • Rolf Emmermann , Rudolf Balling , Günther Hasinger : On the front lines of research. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-7776-1257-X (Negotiations of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, 122nd Assembly, Halle / Saale 2002).
  • Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker , Johannes Dichgans, Gerhard Erker: There is a diamond under every stone. Hirzel, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7776-1122-0 (Negotiations of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, 121st Assembly, Bonn 2000).
  • Detlev Ganten , Erhard Meyer-Galow, Hans-Hilger Rogers: Gene, Neurone, Qubits & Co. Hirzel, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-7776-0970-6 (Negotiations of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, 120th Assembly, Berlin 1998) .
  • Joachim Treusch , Helmut Altner, Harald zur Hausen: Coordinates of the human future: energy, matter, information, time. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-8047-1525-7 (Negotiations of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, 119th Assembly, Regensburg 1996).
  • Katrin Ursula Schmalenbeck: Ludwig Franz Alexander Winther (1812–1871). First full professor of pathology at the Ludwig University of Giessen . Dissertation, University of Giessen 2007 ( full text ).
  • Ansgar Schanbacher: People and Ideas, The Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors 1822-2016. Wallstein, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8353-1880-9 (available as PDF at www.gdnae.de).
About history
  • Axel W. Bauer : The theory of diseases on the way to scientific morphology. Pathology at the meetings of German naturalists and doctors from 1822–1872. Series of publications on the history of the gatherings of German natural scientists and doctors, volume 5. Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart 1989.
  • Heinz Degen: A hundred years ago: The Göttingen naturalists' meeting and the dispute over materialism. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 7, 1954, pp. 271–277.
  • Heinz Degen: The 16th meeting of German naturalists and doctors in Freiburg i. Br. In 1838. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 7, 1954, pp. 358-367.
  • Heinz Degen: Lorenz Oken and his Isis around the founding time of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 8, 1955, pp. 145–150, 180–189.
  • Heinz Degen: The founding history of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 8, 1955, pp. 421-427, 472-480.
  • Heinz Degen: The development of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors in Late Romanticism up to the Munich Assembly in 1827. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 9, 1956, pp. 185–193.
  • Heinz Degen: The meeting of natural scientists in Berlin in 1828 and its significance for German intellectual history. In: Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau , Volume 9, 1956, pp. 330–340.
  • Lübeck: Festschrift to the participants of the 67th Assembly of German Natural Scientists and Doctors, dedicated by the Medical Association and the Natural Science Association in Lübeck. Rahtgens, Lübeck 1895.
  • Ansgar Schanbacher (edited by Eva-Maria Neher. With a preface by Lorraine Daston ): People and Ideas: the Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors 1822–2016. Wallstein, Göttingen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8353-1880-9 .
Meeting reports
Wikisource: Society of German Natural Scientists and Doctors  - Sources and full texts

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Company website , accessed January 26, 2016

Coordinates: 50 ° 39 ′ 5 ″  N , 7 ° 13 ′ 11 ″  E