Session N36: Large-scale Scientific Facilities and Diplomacy

Large International Facilities and their Role in Science Diplomacy

To address the global problems of the 21^st Century, the transmission of science and ideas across borders and boundaries is essential. This allows for a diversity in approach among differing populations bringing new concepts to address international fundamental and applied challenges. It also lays a foundation for science diplomacy, particularly challenging, and no less important in today’s rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.  I will generally address the role of User Facilities, including the MagLab and other US National Laboratories, in furthering global science and science diplomacy, internationally and domestically.   

The Thirty Meter Telescope: an international adventure at the frontier of physics

The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) is an extremely large telescope that will observe the universe with unprecedented sensitivity and detail. Its 30m diameter primary mirror will enable observations from ultraviolet to mid-infrared wavelengths with up to 80 times the sensitivity of today's largest telescopes. State-of-the-art adaptive optics systems will compensate for the blurring effects of Earth's atmosphere, and deliver images at infrared wavelengths that are more than 12 times sharper than those of the famed Hubble Space Telescope, and four times sharper than JWST. This breakthrough combination of sensitivity and resolution created a compelling case for the U.S. National Academy's ASTRO 2020 Decadal Review that placed extremely large telescopes as the top priority for NSF funding in the coming decade, preferably as part of a two-hemisphere system with the TMT in the northern hemisphere and the Giant Magellan Telescope in the south.

The two-telescope US-ELT will address questions in fundamental physics concerning dark matter and dark energy, test general relativity in unprecedented ways, trace the formation of black holes in a wide range of astrophysical seetings, provide rapid all-sky response to gravitational wave detections, trace the development of large-scale structure in the universe, elucidate the history of chemical enrichment of the universe and explore aspects of star and planet formation that are not accessible in any other way. It may even detect the effects of life on the atmospheres of nearby exoplanets.

    

A Tale of Two Accelerators II: Sesame- A source of Light in the Middle East

SESAME is a cooperative venture by scientists and governments of the Middle East set up on the model of CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research). Current members of SESAME are  Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority, and Turkey. It is a Synchrotron Light source and it is being used by researchers to study a large variety of scientific questions. It has been constructed in Jordan and has been operating since 2018. It is also the first green light source. I will describe it's present scientific  status. From a very personal viewpoint I will describe the joint regional journey of establishing a light source in Jordan. The trail starts at the CERN cafeteria, moves on through the

Sinai desert and Europe till its present day operation.

    

African Light Source and LAAAMP,Two Bold Projects for Promoting Scientific Development and International Collaborations in Developing Countries

This presentation will discuss the history and programs of the African Light Source  (AfLS) and Lightsources for Africa, the Americas, Asia, Middle East and Pacific (LAAAMP).  These programs are rooted in scientific diplomacy, government partnerships, and the sharing of information among nations.  While the AfLS focuses on infrastructure, namely the design and construction of a 4^th generation synchrotron light source somewhere in Africa, LAAAMP focuses on the training needed to build a large community of synchrotron light source users.  We will describe how these organizations work in partnership for the common goal of uplifting developing countries.