May 12 – From Frascati to Jordan in the name of science and peace. The SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East) project aims at installing in Jordan an accelerator, the first in the Middle East, used as a light and synchrotron source, which works as a very powerful microscope. It will be applied in various fields: life sciences, cultural heritage, and nanotechnologies. It will allow researchers in the region to study the properties of advanced materials, biological processes and works of art. The National Laboratories of Frascati welcomes today the scientists of the SESAME Council and the Minister of University and Research, Stefania Giannini. SESAME will be a tool dedicated to experimental sciences but the project also takes on a significant political value, enabling scientific cooperation between countries that do not cooperate in other contexts, such as Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Pakistan and Turkey. Italy contributes to the project via the INFN and Electra, which will provide some components and will be responsible for staff training in their own laboratories.
