Science Diplomacy and Scientific Cooperation with Middle East
According to this motto, the HESEB project team met at the FZJ on Monday, January 16, 2023 and discussed, among other things, ongoing projects from the PGSB community and potential joint activities with scientists and decision-makers.
The Helmholtz SESAME Soft X-ray Beamline (HESEB) at the synchrotron radiation source SESAME (Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Application in the Middle East) in Jordan was inaugurated in the summer of 2022 in the presence of, among others, the Jordanian Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Wajih Owais, Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres and Astrid Lambrecht, member of the FZJ Board. The beamline, designed by a consortium of five research centers of the Helmholtz Association under the leadership of DESY and with the participation of ZEA-1 as representative of FZJ, is a state-of-the-art measuring station for experiments with soft X-ray light and significantly expands the research opportunities for scientists from the region at SESAME. Participants included Prof. Dr. Ghaleb Natour (Director ZEA-1, Scientific Director PGSB, Chair), Dr. Andrea Lausi (Scientific Director SESAME) and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Eberhardt (Center for Free Electron Laser Research, DESY CFEL).
The HESEB consortium is contributing very significantly to science diplomacy and promoting peace in the Middle East. One contribution to science diplomacy that FZJ has also been making in the region since 2016 is the BMBF-funded Palestinian-German Science Bridge (PGSB).
Cornerstones for further cooperation in the region were discussed and initiated - promising first steps.