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Opening the window of cutting-edge physics to young investigators High school learners around the world are invited to participate in the International Masterclasses programme for a day - to experience science by working directly with high energy and particle physicists to analyse recent data from the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN, located near Geneva, Switzerland.
The LHC is at the forefront of high energy and particle physics research, the study of the fundamental constituents of matter and the interactions between them. Real data On this day, learners analyse real data containing evidence of elusive, unseen particles including the Higgs boson, or study a form of matter which existed shortly after the Big Bang, known as the Quark Gluon Plasma. Through their interactions with high energy and particle physics tutors, the learners are not only discovering fundamental particles, but also learn that scientists are real people, that understanding uncertainty is essential, and that great science is not only compelling but often leads to surprise discoveries. The learners end the day by touring labs and participating in international video conferences with their peers and peers from other countries, much as particle physicists do in their collaborations. Working elbow-to-elbow with scientists In its 10th year, International Masterclasses were held at universities and science institutions around the world from 12 March to 12 April 2014. "These masterclasses are a unique opportunity for learners to work elbow-to-elbow with scientists and get a taste of how modern research in physics works," says Michael Kobel, physics professor from Technical University Dresden and head of the programme. "The learners love the programme. They can work with real data from the LHC and find it both challenging and rewarding." iThemba LABS, the University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of KwaZulu-Natal (Durban) participated in the programme on 4, 5 and 11 April respectively. These institutes invited a number of learners from different schools around the City of Cape Town and Durban area. International Masterclasses are led by Technical University Dresden and QuarkNet, in close cooperation with the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG). IPPOG is an independent group of outreach representatives from countries involved in the research at leading research laboratories worldwide. QuarkNet is a United States teacher professional development programme supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Energy. Since 2013 the outreach programmes of both iThemba LABS and UCT have also been involved in this programme. View further information on the International Masterclasses. |
