Stephen Hawking supporting the first-ever Advanced Physics School in Palestine

World famous physicist Stephen Hawking supporting physics education in Palestine

The first-ever Palestinian Advanced Physics School is organized by Scientists for Palestine, an international organization created by and for scientists to promote science in Palestine, and support the integration of the occupied Palestinian territories into the international scientific community.  The idea of the school was initiated approximately 10 months ago, when a group of physicists came together to determine how they could use their scientific profile to have a social and political impact.  Many had been working in solidarity with the Palestinian cause for years, and some had even taught physics in various Palestinian universities.

Ultimately, the conclusion was that a school, with lecturers who are world leaders in their fields, and which could energize the already vibrant and growing Palestinian physics community, was the best way to start the project. Since then, the leaders of the Palestinian physics community have enthusiastically embraced the idea, and the school has grown to now have 40 master students from all four of the major universities in Palestine ready to participate!

All accommodations, housing, food, etc., will be provided by Scientists for Palestine, and here is the three day schedule.  This is an incredible project, and USPCN is proud to help introduce it to the world!

See this official press release:

For Immediate Release: Scientists for Palestine

Press Contacts:
Dr. Mario Martone, University of Cincinnati, + 1-504-756-5635, [email protected]
Dr. Adli Saleh, the Arab American University of Jenin, +972-59-931 3675, [email protected]

First Palestinian Advanced Physics School

Professor Stephen Hawking, University of Cambridge, and member of the International Advisory Board for the Palestinian Advanced Physics School, expressed his support for the school: “I am very glad to see the first Palestinian Advanced Physics School being organised in Jenin. The school provides an opportunity for Palestinian master students to learn more about the mysteries of the universe, and perhaps some of the students will become inspired and help unravel them in the future. Physics does not respect borders, and international collaborations are the engines of rapid scientific progress. I am delighted to see that physics education and research in Palestine continues to grow and strengthen its international connections. I wish the students the best of luck!”

From  July  26th to  28th, Palestinian physicists  and  the  international  group  Scientists for Palestine are organizing the first ever Palestinian Advanced Physics School at the Arab American  University  in  Jenin.  At  the  school,  advanced  Palestinian  master  students  in physics  from  several  Palestinian  universities  (Al  Quds University,  Birzeit  University,  An Najah University, the Arab American University in Jenin [AAUJ], and the Islamic University in Gaza) will listen to lectures and engage in scientific discussion with internationally leading physicists in topics at the frontiers of physics research. Lecturers at the school will include Philip Argyres, professor of theoretical particle physics at the University of Cincinnati in the United  States;  John  Ellis,  the  Clerk  Maxwell  Professor  of  Theoretical  Physics  at  King’s College London and visiting scientist at CERN in Geneva, Switzerland (home of the Large Hadron  Collider,  where  the  Higgs  boson  was  discovered  in  2012);  and  Giorgio  Paolucci, Scientific Director of SESAME (a synchrotron light-source laboratory in Jordan established by a group of Middle Eastern countries including Palestine and scheduled to begin operation in 2017). The school is organized by physicists from the universities of Amsterdam, AAUJ, Birzeit, Cambridge, CERN, Cincinnati, and Southampton.

Physics  has  a  strong  tradition  in  Palestine.  For  example,  the  bi-annual  Palestinian Conference  on  Modern  Trends  in  Mathematics  and  Physics, organized  by  Palestinian academics  since  2008,  bring  together  scientists,  engineers,  and  mathematicians  not  only from  Palestine,  but  also  from  around  the  world.  This  year  the  conference  will  be  held  at AAUJ, immediately following the Palestinian Advanced Physics School.

However,  physics  higher  education  and  research  in  Palestine  faces  many  challenges, including  some  common  to  many  countries,  such  as  lack  of  funding  and  heavy  teaching loads for professors, as well as unique challenges from the ongoing occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, including restrictions on mobility of students and academics, international isolation, raids and forced closures of Palestinian universities and other scientific institutions, and indictment or imprisonment without trial of individual academics.

Nevertheless,  interest  in  physics  education  and  research  in  Palestine  continues  to  grow rapidly not only within Palestine but also throughout the international scientific community.  In December  2015,  Palestine  signed  an  International  Cooperation  Agreement  with  CERN, signaling Palestine’s increasing involvement in cutting-edge scientific research at one of the best laboratories in the world.

The organization of the school has benefited tremendously from the contribution of a Palestinian based Organizing Committee. Adli Saleh, associate Professor at the Arab American University expressed his optimism for the years to come: “The Palestinian people, while they continue to yearn for freedom from the heavy weight of the occupation, place a very high value on education, particularly in the areas of science and technology to realize their full potential. Despite the difficult challenges Palestinians faced over the past several decades, they made great contributions throughout the region and the world. Enrollment in university education is over 10% higher than the average for the Arab region, and half the students are women, a ratio among the highest in the world.”

Wafaa Khater, Birzeit University Physics Department chair, also stressed how the school could help students to be successful in academia: “Being one of a few female faculty members in physics in Palestine, I am so happy to see such a large number of excellent female students participating in the Palestinian Advanced Physics School.  I am hopeful that they will be able to pursue a career in physics either in academia or research. And this school is an excellent opportunity for all participating students to meet scientists from the international community and learn from them. This opens up new windows for our students to continue their higher education in prestigious universities and research centers around the globe.”

To  help  meet  the  rapidly-increasing  demand  for  high-level  scientific  education  and collaboration in Palestine, physicists from around the world created Scientists for Palestine, an international group whose goals are to promote and support science in Palestine and to help integrate Palestine into the international scientific community. The group’s first action was to establish the Palestinian Advanced Physics School as an annual event, with plans for many further schools, conferences, workshops, and other scientific activities in Palestine in the  coming  years. In  the  words  of John  Ellis,  “these  are promising times  for  physicists in Palestine,  I’m  excited  to  participate in  this  School,  and we welcome  support  from  other members of the international physics community.”

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