CERN scientists helping Indian students decode mysteries of universe

A Noida-based school has collaborated with scientists from CERN and India for a physics conclave to help students understand the mysteries of universe such as the Higgs Boson and the Big Bang.

The two-day 'The Mime of the Universe' conclave that began Monday has been organised by Shiv Nadar School Noida in collaboration with Life Lab Foundation.

"There are a lot of opportunities for students at CERN now that India is an associate member. It is conclaves like these which can highlight the scope for students in physics and at CERN," Archana Sharma, a senior scientist at European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Geneva, Switzerland told PTI.

Sharma is an internationally recognised expert for her experimental work on gaseous detectors for research in 'High Energy Physics'.

Another highlight of the conclave is the virtual interactive session with Dr Albert De Roeck, Senior Scientist and Convener of Higgs, an expert on Neutrino from CERN.

"Events like these also help us to understand the fundamentals of the world in a better way," said Aryaan Shankar Misra, a grade 12 student at Shiv Nadar School.

"Starting with very depth of the subject to the scope of the concepts in Physics, this collaboration will not only help students in the science stream, but also others who want to absorb and understand the concepts as heavy as particle physics," he said.

Other participants of the conclave include Patrick Das Gupta, senior astrophysicist at Delhi University, and Manohar Sidana, ex director Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

To add to the exploration and the experience that the conclave offers, there is a 45-minute virtual tour of The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) directly from the CERN headquarters at Geneva.

"Schools should have real scientists coming to encourage the students and faculty to keep doing research. We as a society need an inspiring touch to keep doing the good work and I believe this event will inspire so many of us," said Shashi Banerjee, Principal, Shiv Nadar School Noida.

Among other activities there will be a quiz competition, panel discussions, interactions with scientists and screening of a movie on CERN.

"The conclave, unique in its design and participation offers an opportunity for school and university students to discover and explore the Universe by means of interactions and discussions with scientists," Banerjee said.

Among the events at the conclave are a series of dialogues on 'Unfolding the mysteries of the Universe', 'the Big Bang', and 'Neutrinos'.

The event is being attended by around 1,000 participants, including those from 20 schools and one university.