Singapore students hunt for God particle
It has been called the building block of the universe, but has eluded
the grasp of scientists around the world.
Now, students in Singapore are being given a chance to help European
scientists find the Higgs Boson particle - or so-called God particle -
an ultra-small particle believed to give all matter its mass.
They began doing so last week under a program run by the Nanyang
Technological University in conjunction with the European Organisation
for Nuclear Research (Cern), which is at the forefront of the hunt for
the particle.
The three-week program, to be held every two years, will focus on the
physics of particles and include lectures and workshops by experts in
the field.
This batch of participants will also help Cern scientists analyse
data from its laboratories to prove that the Higgs Boson particle
exists.
The Large Hadron Collider at Cern, a machine that collects
information on particles, generates about 15 million gigabytes of data
each year.
About 120 students, academics and researchers from Singapore and the
region were picked for this year’s program.
Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean, the guest of honour at the
opening ceremony on Monday, said the program, called a “winter school”,
will give Singapore students “a high-level platform to keep up to date
with the frontiers of particle physics and technology”.
Such short-term schools, traditionally held in the US and Europe
during the winter and summer breaks, are meant to help scientists keep
pace with developments in their fields and learn about trends in related
sciences.
Professor Ignatios Antoniadis, the theory division’s head of physics
at Cern, said the institute could in the future also collaborate with
other Singapore schools and agencies, such as the National University of
Singapore and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research.
DPM Teo said the Ministry of Education will send teachers to Cern to
enhance their science-teaching methods.The program’s patron is
Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, who visited Cern in 2009 and
initiated a collaboration between her country and the organisation.
Thailand holds its second workshop with Cern in April.
- The Straits Times
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