palestinian advanced physics school 2016 · on different topics in contemporary physics from...

Palestinian Advanced Physics School 2016 Arab-American University, Jenin, July 26-28, 2016 Organised by Scientists for Palestine

Palestineplacesaveryhighvalueoneducation,with over 25% of 18-24 year olds enrolled inuniversity, 10% higher than the average in theArab region. Half of all students are women, aratio that is among the highest in the world.Despite this, thedevelopmentof the sciences ingeneralandphysicsinparticularinPalestinehasbeen stifled by a number of factors. Manyproblems and hardships are a consequence ofthe ongoing and internationally denouncedoccupation of theWest Bank and Gaza, causingstrong restrictions on mobility of students andacademics.Nevertheless,thedemandforahigh-level exchange with the international scientificcommunity has been growing rapidly in recentyears:forexample,PalestinehasrecentlysignedacooperationagreementwithCERN,theworld’sleadingparticlephysicslaboratory.To address the need for further scientificexchange,thenewlyfoundedinternationalgroupScientists for Palestine organised the firstPalestinian Advanced Physics School (PAPS)with financial support from CERN and theSharingKnowledgeFoundation.Theschooltookplaceon July26-28,2016at theArabAmericanUniversityinJeninintheWestBank.Duringtheschool thirty Masters students from differentinstitutions within Palestine attended lecturesondifferenttopicsincontemporaryphysicsfrominternationallyrenownedscientists.Theschoolconsistedofthreecoursesoflectures.Professor John Ellis (of King’s College Londonand CERN) provided an introduction to theStandard Model of particle physics and itsextensions,ideasthatarecurrentlybeingprobedat CERN. Professor Philip Argyres (of theUniversityofCincinnati) taught a courseon theideas of symmetry and symmetry breaking, keyconceptsthatareusedthroughoutmanyareasofphysics. Finally, Professor Giorgio Paolucci ofSESAME – the synchrotron light source locatedin Jordan – lectured on the physics andapplications of synchrotron radiation, with afocusonthephysicsstudiedatSESAME.

Theschoolgeneratedan interactiveandvibrantenvironment which inspired students to takesmall research initiatives on their own. Inadditiontoformallectures,studentstookpartinsmaller discussion sessions on the lecturematerial,eachledbyamemberoftheorganizingcommittee. They also performed a hands-oncomputer activity, testing their newly acquiredparticle physics knowledge by analyzingsimulated collision data from the CERNexperiment. In the evenings, before socialdinnersprovidedby theschool, studentssolvedproblemsetsonthelecturematerial,whichtheyhanded in to receive a certificate at the end ofthe school.A sessionon life inacademia, aimedat helping interested students secure PhDpositions abroad and streamlining for them thedetails of the involved PhD application process,closedtheprogram.

PhilipArgyres(left)andJohnEllis(right)lecturingatPAPS2016.

Students attended from the four universities inthe West Bank that offer Masters programs inphysics: Birzeit University, Al-Quds University,An-Najah University, and the host university oftheArabAmericanUniversityinJenin.Allofthestudents at the school were motivated andenthusiastic. When interviewed regarding theschool,oneofthestudents,FalastineAbuSaif(ofAn-Najah University) commented, “In one word

theschoolisverycool!Itisgreattohearlecturesdirectly from world experts and connect withthem…Palestineneedsmoreandmoreconnectionswith the rest of the world. We have plenty ofpotential, and very smart people. We just needmore support and encouragement”. Fellowparticipant Waad Awad (of Birzeit University)saidthat,“BeingatthefirstPalestinianAdvancedPhysics School was a wonderful experience. Thelectures were helpful and interesting. We feellucky to have such a chance to improve ourphysics knowledge, meeting scientists from allovertheworld.”

Inthestudentevaluationforms,filledattheendof the school, the students consistentlyexpressed tremendous enthusiasm, giving theschool the highest possible overall rating andremarking that it was not only an educationalbut also inspiring experience. This does notmean, however, that there was no room forimprovement. A clear demand emerged for alonger school, with a minimum length of fivedays, covering a broader range of topics, inparticular various aspects of condensed matterphysicsandcosmology.

Unfortunately, not all admitted students wereable to attend the school: a highly meritedstudent from Gaza was not granted permissionbytheoccupationtotraveltoJenin.Article26ofthe Universal Declaration of Human Rights,adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948,states “[H]igher education shall be equallyaccessible to all on the basis of merit”. It isregrettablethatthisstudent'srighttoeducationhasbeenviolatedinthiscase.Overall, the school was a great success. Thestudents’ performance on the problem sets andduring the discussion sessions was particularlyimpressive, demonstrating that they hadobtainedahealthycommandoverthematerial. Encouraged by the success of the school,Scientists for Palestine intends tomake PAPS arecurring event. In particular, we are currentlyorganizing PAPS 2017, to be held at Al-QudsUniversity in Jerusalem in the summerof 2017.Following student desires – and contingent onsecuredfunding–PAPS2017willbelonger(fivedays rather than three) and have a differentfocus, on condensed matter physics andcosmologyratherthanhigh-energyphysics.Scientific education and research in Palestinecontinues to grow and connect in newways totheinternationalscientificcommunity.ScientistsforPalestinehopesthatPAPSwillplayakeyroleinthatprocess.AcknowledgmentsPAPS2016wasfundedbyCERNandtheSharingKnowledgeFoundation.ThelocalorganizingcommitteewasWafaaKhater,AdliSaleh,andHenryGiacaman.TheinternationaladvisoryboardoftheschoolwasPhilipArgyres,MichaelBerry,JohnEllis,andStephenHawking.ScientistsforPalestineconsistsofNabilIqbal,DavidMarsh,MarioMartone,AndyO’Bannon,andKateShaw.

To know more or get involved, visit www.scientists4palestine.com.

StudentsofPAPS2016workingonacomputerexercise.