Session Q50: International Perspective for Young Physicists from Particle to Materials

Overcoming the cultural shock: expectations vs. reality for international scholars in the US

International scholars’ mobility generates rich environments where scientific and community problems can be understood, discussed, and solved from different unique perspectives based on the scholar's diverse experiences and backgrounds. However, international mobility does not come without challenges. Adapting to a new environment (starting from the differences in food habits to navigating the financial system or interacting with peers) after moving to a different country can be troublesome and can potentially harm the overall performance of an international scholar.

 At the university level, the international affairs offices’ resources are often limited in providing support to new international scholars and other resources should be widely available to encourage a diverse scientific community where incoming scholars feel welcomed and can thrive. Academic and professional societies, union organizations, and local or national associations can play a vital role in helping international scholars cope with their new reality, aiding in their success, overcoming cultural barriers, and creating an inclusive and equitable environment where individuals can contribute to the overall scientific community. From my perspective as an international researcher in the US, I will share the challenges that I encountered, and my experiences on how I overcame them to become a member of the scientific community.

    

Challenges Facing Chinese International Scholars

Amid growing political tensions and a global pandemic, Chinese scholars are facing grave difficulties living, studying and performing research in the US. US and China's antagonistic rhetoric towards each other have significantly impacted the progress of science, and promoted nationalism and xenophobia in both countries. In this presentation, I will talk from a personal perspective about the multifaceted challenges faced by Chinese early career physicists in recent years. Some of the challenges are not unique to Chinese scholars, and have also affected other international researchers. We will explore the causes of the current situation and the possibility for building trust among people from different cultural backgrounds, which is essential for effective international scientific collaboration.   

Engaging young non-scientists in the world of particle accelerators through interdisciplinary youth programs

How can particle accelerators address environmental issues? Last summer, the EU-funded I.FAST project, Challenge Based Innovation (CBI), gathered highly motivated students from all across Europe to find innovative answers to that question. Working from scratch in 4 multidisciplinary groups including humanities specialities like business, law and communication in each group, each team identified a specific environmental challenge and developed an innovative solution involving particle accelerators.

The presenter, Reema, was the communication specialist for the winning team, "Human Beams".for their project "Cyan".

The team's idea aimed to eliminate toxic green algae blooms using a compact electron beam accelerator to tackle excess build-up of nutrients in the water.

Spent ten days attending high-level seminars on accelerators and learning about their environmental applications, Reema could get into the world of particle accelerators. At the end of the challenge and by the help of i.FAST intense seminars and professional mentors, she was able to run the PR campaigns for the idea, to present it in front of the jury in CERN main auditorium and to win their preference.   

Expanding the capabilities of neutron scattering simulation software to support the design of the European Spallation Source and its instruments

In material science, the most popular method for obtaining information about the atomic structure of condensed matter is arguably X-ray scattering, but there are weaknesses such as low sensitivity to hydrogen and heating of the sample from the powerful beam that makes the complementary technique of neutron scattering crucial. In the field of neutron scattering, beams of neutrons are used to investigate matter at the length scale of interatomic distances and at an energy scale that matches excitations in crystals. The European Spallation Source (ESS) aims to produce the world's brightest neutron source and is under construction in Lund, Sweden. The design of the neutron source and scattering instruments have all relied on computer simulations to maximize the capabilities afforded by this large investment. When I joined the field, the McStas Monte Carlo ray-tracing package was well established for instrument design. The focus of my career has been to improve its fidelity and usability with the aim of expanding the scope of the package beyond design of instruments. I created a system for simulating complex samples and sample environments with modularity for both the geometry and underlying physics. This contribution allowed for a completely new level of fidelity in McStas and opened new use-cases such as design of sample environments and replication of troublesome spurions from multiple scattering. I added a Python API allowing McStas to be used with modern scientific software and better suit new generations of scientists who are more likely to know Python than C which is used for the existing interface. I wrote tools such as an automatic optimizer of neutron guide systems that can handle tasks over great ranges of complexity and size. This had a large impact on the ESS when an opportunity arose for changing the source to achieve a higher brightness, at the cost of a smaller surface area. With my tools I could reoptimize guides for most of the instruments, and thus provide a large part of the data necessary for an informed decision on the source dimensions. I have chosen the path of a support scientist, and in this talk I will share my experience in this gratifying and important role.   

The Perspectives of the Young Physicists Forum of the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics (ASFAP)

Considering scarce resources, it is important for the world community of scientists, engineers, technicians, funding agencies and policymakers to come together and define a concerted strategy. Such efforts have been or are currently conducted in other regions, including Japan, China, India, Europe, the US and Latin America; all presented their regional or national strategies.Strategic planning should be a bottom-up and community-driven process, even if this means it may take time to culminate into a final report—to advise the scientific community, funding agencies and policymakers on strategic directions to improve research and education. The process to define ASFAP is a true spirit of international cooperation that forms the common denominator of today’s culture of our scientific activities, defining priorities for domestic and inter-regional projects to be supported.

In this talk, we will report progress on the African Strategy for Fundamental and Applied Physics, https://africanphysicsstrategy.org/. Then, we will discuss the focus and scope of the Young Physicists Forum (YPF); one of the working groups in societal engagements under the ASFAP.