See this release online at: http://newsdesk.umd.edu/global/release.cfm?ArticleID=2189
Newswise — In late July, Physics Professor Rajarshi Roy, Math Professor Brian Hunt, and three Maryland graduate students (Adam Cohen, Bhargava Ravoori and Shelby Wilson) will head for Cameroon and the University of Buea (Buea is the provincial capital of the South West Region of Cameroon). They're expanding Maryland's Global Community by taking part of an international "table top research" program on the frontiers of science. The goal is to help graduate students and young faculty in developing nations conduct scientific research without using expensive equipment.
Professor Roy - who also directs the Institute for Physical Science and Technology at Maryland - is one of the founders of the Hands-On research school program. He says the emphasis here is on conducting modern physical, chemical, and biological research - inexpensively. "Each day for two weeks, small groups of 4-5 participants and two instructors work closely together. The close interactions lead to subsequent exchange visits and scientific collaborations." Roy adds, " The 50 or so participants are able to introduce new tools and demonstrations into the classroom and teaching laboratories, and to use these new tools in their own research. Thus the Hands-On Schools foster the development of scientific leaders in less developed countries."
Officially called the "Hands-On Research in Complex Systems Schools," the August 2-13 program is sponsored by the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy (in association with the Italian Government and the United Nations), and brings some 100 faculty and graduate students from around the world to be part of the two week initiative. Previous research programs have been held in Brazil and India.
Math Professor Brian Hunt will be going on his first trip with the program, and says that beyond the adventure of it all, he looks forward to the program as a real learning experience. "I hope the participants are able to learn as much from me as I am from them," he says. Hunt is an expert in Matlab - a high level computer language and interactive platform that's been used by Maryland math students for a decade - and he'll be bringing that experience to Cameroon as well. "The material will form the basis for what we'll be doing," he says. But adds it will have a different focus because of the hands-on approach to cutting edge research.
Recently Newsdesk asked Professor Roy about the Hands-On research program, how the University of Maryland is involved and its impact on the future.
Q -The unique thing about this program (to me) is that you are working to show that real scientific research can be done without using sophisticated equipment. What kind of an impact does this have on the young scientists and graduate students you work with from developing nations?
We are trying to show that there is now some quite sophisticated instrumentation widely available at very low cost that can be used for real, high quality, quantitative scientific research.Portable computers, digital cameras, sound cards and telecommunication electronics (cell phones and simple fiber optics) are changing the way we can design experiments to explore nature and the world around us.We hope that the scientists and students we work with will not be intimidated by the perceived difficulties of doing experimental science and computational modeling.
Q - In the past two years, the program has gone to India and Brazil. This August, the program heads to Cameroon - how was this African nation chosen? What are the basic objectives?
We wanted to do a program in an African nation, and communicated with several people before we could find a mutually satisfying arrangement that we thought will work. It will be interesting to see how we need to adapt our program to work in different circumstances and environments on the three continents. The Hands-On program is an experiment itself. A major goal is to learn about science, technology and education around the world. What are the universal challenges, what problems are unique in certain environments? The basic objectives - exploring nature and enhancing life.
Q - Along with Math Professor Brian Hunt, you're taking three UM graduate students with you. What part will they play? What are you hoping they come away with from this experience?
Two of the grad students - Adam Cohen and Bhargava Ravoori - are veterans who have been to the two previous schools. Their Ph.D. research projects have evolved through the preparation for these schools. All of us will have a great deal of fun preparing the experiments and modeling sessions (Brian and assistant Shelby) and making them work in Cameroon - that in itself is a demonstration of how robust and replicable these experiments and computational platforms are. Each time, we come away with many new friends and scientific collaborators, and keep in touch with them over the years. I hope they come away with the joy of cooperatively working together to solve interesting problems, engaging with people we would not normally meet here, and learning how they live and learn in their environments.
Q - How do you see a program like this helping to establish Maryland as it works to expand its presence around the world?
UM's visibility increases with each of these schools and we make contacts with the new generation of scientific leaders around the world. Many students and faculty want to continue collaborations and interactions and visit us when possible. And we have a lot more eyes, hands and brains able to work with us on research problems we ourselves may not have enough time to do.
Q - It would seem this kind of research model can be used not only around the world - but even here in the US - conducting hands-on research using the most basic of tools is perfect for middle and high school students.
Yes, we realize today that children all over the world can connect with each other through the internet and share the joy of scientific discovery. Certainly, middle and high school students could benefit from these types of experiments - and they can develop new ways of doing outstanding research and realize that they can grow as scientists - beginning right now, if they are patient, persistent and observant. Great science is not any "easier" to do than before. It requires hard work and imagination, and a lot of luck sometimes. We are just removing the physical and mental barriers many people have about doing it, and helping them see that the tools they need are more available than ever before to a wider range of people. Then they can think of fantastic applications of science and technology in their daily lives, or transform the path of science through new concepts and discoveries Q - Where do you see this program going in the future?
Literally - to Shanghai in 2012, then to Central or South America or the Caribbean, then back to Asia. We have a new MOU with ICTP (the Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste) to do three schools in the next six years.
We want to get folks excited about doing experiments and observing nature and to see that this is becoming possible in increasingly "quantitative" ways every day. Science and technology are mixed up in the lives of people everywhere, with cell phones, computers and digital cameras in ways that have never been possible before. Capturing the imagination of young people and helping them see that a lot more is possible than they may have originally assumed - is a big goal, for people everywhere, in developed as well as developing countries.
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