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A prize-winning scientist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has used his winnings to promote particle physics in Africa.
Professor Tejinder Virdee, who was born and raised in Kenya, was part of the team that played a key role in the discovery of the Higgs boson, a tiny element nicknamed the “God particle.” Virdee, a winner of the 2013 Fundamental Physics prize, used his money to bring science teachers from Africa to the CERN lab in Geneva, Switzerland. “I wanted to do something to promote science education in an international context, in ways that makes a significant impact,” he said.
The science teachers took part in CERN’s long-running teaching program, originally designed for physics teachers from member states, which has participants from more than 50 countries — although, until now, hardly any from Africa.
The link between the highly complex particle physics studied at CERN and the development needs of poor countries is a hard one to make, but Calestous Juma, professor of international development at the Harvard Kennedy School, said there is a strong connection.
“The principles that underlie the way we understand the world, which is really what’s behind physics and math, is something people deal with on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “There are many theoretical ideas that influence our daily lives, where we have no direct physical connection — religion is one of those.”
Ugandan physics teacher Mpamizo Gonzaga said he found the experience inspiring.
“The best thing has been the international nature; we can share the experience of teaching in schools. I’ve not interacted with high officials, but with the people who deal with the child in the classroom. I hope to share this same experience with my fellow teachers back in Uganda and improve how we teach science.”
He said the cutting-edge scientific research at CERN is becoming increasingly relevant. “It gives us an insight; we can also start probing into the questions CERN is trying to answer — the origin of the universe, for example,” Gonzaga said. “Those questions have an impact on the advances in technology, telecommunications, and it is high time Africa took up such projects.”
George Omondi, a physics teacher in Kisumu, Kenya — the city where Virdee attended high school, said he plans to use what he learned at CERN to make physics more appealing to his students. “In our country, most top brains go for medicine, not physics, because it’s not very interesting. So that’s what we want to do — to make it interesting.”