FJSL Alumni Network
Robert Weis
Robert has been working since 2002 at the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg as manager of the palaeontological collections and researcher specialising in Jurassic marine invertebrates
Originally from the Minett region, Robert developed a passion for fossils and local rocks from a very young age. A former winner of the Young Scientists Competition in 1997 with his project “The Middle Toarcian of South Luxembourg and its Belemnite Fauna”, he has been working since 2002 at the National Museum of Natural History in Luxembourg as manager of the palaeontological collections and researcher specialising in Jurassic marine invertebrates. He is the author of about thirty scientific publications on the taxonomy and paleogeography of fossil cephalopods. More recently, the promotion and protection of the geological heritage has become one of his priorities.
As far back as he can remember, Robert has always been interested in fossils, their discovery, analysis and conservation. He declared to spend complete afternoons at the national library photocopying pages of books on geology or looking for fossils to enrich his collection. It is this interest and a strong desire to share his research that lead him in 1997 to present his project "The Middle Toarcian of South Luxembourg and its Belemnite Fauna" to a jury of the National Jonk Fuerscher Competition.
In order to appreciate the qualities of his work, the AJSL asked ==== to participate as a member of the jury, who would remember him a few years later when Robert applied to the MNHN.
Indeed, Robert's work won the first place of the competition in 1997, which led him to represent Luxembourg at the Eucys in Portugal; an important trip that pushed Robert to fly for the first time, far from his family and supervised by the members of the association.
In Portugal, he won a special prize for the quality and rigor of his work, which led him to represent Luxembourg again in Stockholm during a scientific competition proposed in the margin of the Nobel ceremony.
A unique opportunity for our young participant who will have the opportunity to exchange with the world's scientific elite, notably during an invitation to the traditional dinner gathering the Nobel laureates.
If you think the story ends here, you are underestimating the quality of Robert's work which will finally lead him to win another special prize at the Hanover Science Contest 2000: a two-week residency at the Marine Biology Research Center in the United States.
More than 20 years later, Robert is still as passionate as ever and with more than 30 scientific publications to his credit, he is in charge of the conservation of fossils in Luxembourg. He played an active role in the hiring of Ben Thuy a few years after his debut at the MNHN, a colleague he had the opportunity to meet during the latter's participation in the 1998 competition, sharing a certain passion for geology in Luxembourg.
We hope you explore this list, draw inspiration from their journeys and share your story as a past competitor.
If you would like to nominate yourself or other alumna/us to be considered for the website, please email alumni@fjsl.lu with the subject line “Alumni Nomination”.
Please visit our Linkedin group Les amis de la fondation des jeunes scientifiques to share with some of our existing community and discover the next generation of innovators.