SESAME
SESAME under construction in 2014: this source of synchrotron light will begin operating in Jordan by December 2016SESAMEThe Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME), the first source of synchrotron light in the Middle East, is now under construction in Jordan and should be up and running by December 2016. Chris Llewellyn Smith, president of the SESAME Council, made the announcement at an event held in July 2016 in the United Kingdom. According to him, the first call for projects will be issued soon to promote the use of radiation to investigate atoms and cells. SESAME is considered a milestone of international diplomacy since the project is the outcome of cooperation between Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine and Turkey. Llewellyn Smith tells SciDev.net that “It’s the only body outside of the UN that puts both Israel and Iran in the same room.” Researchers in a number of disciplines, including biology, chemistry, geology, medicine and archeology, can use the equipment. “This project shows that science is an excellent way to establish diplomatic relations and overcome political barriers,” says Brazilian physicist Antonio José Roque da Silva, director of the National Synchrotron Light Laboratory (LNLS) in the city of Campinas. Years ago, the LNLS hosted and trained three SESAME researchers from the Middle East to work with synchrotron light.
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