Physics majors delve into cosmology, quantum physics in 2019 Palestinian Advanced Physics School

Fifty students from various Palestinian universities explored the latest developments and advancements in physics in a series of lectures, discussions, and seminars organized under the 2019 Palestinian Advanced Physics School, held on Birzeit University’s campus from July 14 to 18, 2019. 

Organized jointly by the university’s Department of Physics and Scientists for Palestine — an international organization of Palestinian scientists that aims to promote the country’s integration into the international academic community — the school featured international and local physics professors and experts, among them from England Anne-Christine Davis from the University of Cambridge and Nabil Iqbal from Durham University, from Germany Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski from Research Center Jülich and RWTH Aachen University and Beata Kardynał and Ghaleb Natour from Research Center Jülich, as well as Hannah Dalgleish, a Ph.D. student at Liverpool John Moores University. 

During the five-day event, students from Birzeit University, An-Najah National University, and Al-Quds University, as well as Al-Azhar University and the Islamic University of Gaza (via video call) attended lectures and discussions on cutting-edge research and the latest developments in modern cosmology, atomic resolution electron microscopy, semiconductor quantum optics, and string theory. 

Several talks were held on establishing connections between Palestinian universities and international research centers. 

Abdallah Sayyed Ahmad, chair of the Department of Physics at Birzeit University and coordinator of the Palestinian Advanced Physics School in Palestine, emphasized the importance of keeping students abreast of the latest developments in physics and of connecting them with international universities and research centers. He highlighted the role of the physics school in broadening the students’ academic horizons, providing them with opportunities to carry out advanced research in physics and related fields.