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Linus Pauling Exhibition
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"Linus Pauling and the Twentieth Century: Quest for Humanity," an exhibition dedicated to Dr. Linus Carl Pauling, was shown at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in March, where it received more than 22,000 visitors, and at two locations in Geneva, Switzerland, from April to June: the UN Headquarters and the University of Geneva Medical Center. The exhibition is sponsored by the Linus Pauling Family, Oregon State University and the SGI. Dr. Pauling
(1901-94) is the only individual to have received two unshared Nobel prizes, for chemistry in 1954 and peace in 1962, and he is considered to be the father of modern chemistry.
At the opening ceremony at the UN Headquarters, Dr. Pauling's son, Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr., stated that the exhibition was conceived during the last meeting between his father and SGI President Daisaku Ikeda in San Francisco in 1993. He explained that the exhibit aims to convince visitors of the potential of a single individual to have a positive, long-term influence on society, and the importance of having unyielding conviction in the face of persecution.
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Children
visiting the exhibit in Geneva |
On May 1 in Geneva, Sir Joseph Rotblat, 1995 Nobel Laureate and former nuclear scientist, received the second Linus Pauling Centennial Award for Science, Peace and Health. In his acceptance speech, Sir Joseph, the sole survivor among the signatories of the "Russell-Einstein Manifesto," spoke of the need to condemn unilateralism and support the United Nations, and stressed the urgency of abolishing weapons of mass destruction.
In a message read at the exhibition opening, SGI President Ikeda, the first recipient of the Linus Pauling Centennial Award in 2001, affirmed the exhibit's purpose in inspiring ordinary citizens to break through the apathy that plagues contemporary society.
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