The meeting went very well. The speakers from Africa came with the
exception of South Africa. There were Ethiopians, Senegal, Nigeria,
and Guinea Bissau. The talks were great. We run out of time for the
panel discussion, but we will continue on online, The most important
information that is very useful to every physicist and physics
department is the following ( PLEASE CONTACT Abkebede@gmail.com)
1) American physical society is offering free APS journals.
2) American Physical Society is offering a free membership to
physicists from developing countries
3) American Physical society awards travel grants to allow individuals
to get together and discuss research, do research and write proposals.
This is very helpful for African physicists to apply, and attend APS
sessions and meetings in the US. Particularly it would have helped our
physics in Africa.
A brief about the session
1, we reviewed Physics in Senegal (Dr. Arame Faye), Congo (Dr. MPassi)
and Nigeria (Dr. Animalu)
2. Open mic: Universita Della Calabaria (Dr. Galilleo Violini)
Ethiopian physical society-North America (Dr. G.X. Tessema), Forum for
International physics (Prof. Clark), African Institute for
Mathematical Sciences and University of Illinois, Vanderbilt-South
Africa collaboration (Dr. David Ernst), Director of International
Affairs (Dr. Amy Flatten), Synchrotron Source (Prof. Winick), African
Physical Society and African Journal of Physics (Dr. Kebede), EGY-
Africa/Pinger (Dr. Kebede)
Outcomes
The talks from Senegal and Congo are conveying the following messages
1) Hand’s on experience for students is non-existent at high school
level. The first time they see equipment is at the university
2) There are major efforts to build regional PhD program in material
science (Gabon, Cameroon, and Benin)
3) Focus on Economic development is critical in developing physics
programs.
4) Human resources data on physics is almost unavailable. Therefore
work is needed to help collect this and similar data
5) African Journal of Physics is iintroduced with its first
publication
(http://sirius-c.ncat.edu/asn/ajp/allissue/ajp-ISOTPAND/index.html)
It is understood that there are difficult systemic and structural
issues. There is a general agreement on the need to engage the African
physicists so that they can speak for themselves. Therefore it is in
general agreed that there should be effort to connect the physics and
related activities in Africa, so that there is one movement towards
one goal. This will avoid the uneven participation of African in
physics. '
Casual conversations
1. Universita Della Calabaria has a good program for African graduate
students: Please contat Dr. Violini (abkebede@gmail.com)
2. Dr. Winick wishes thatevery one concerned in physics research in
africa should join the effort to build a regional sychrotron
faciltity, probably in South Africa (Please contact Dr. Winick)
3. There should a serious effort so that Africa has a reasonal
representation in the physics entrprise. One important aspect is the
organization or strengthening the country physical societies, and
support for African Physical Society
Informal assessment
1. There is uneven participation of US scientists in this session.
The people who happen to be there were there. The session did not
generate enough interest to attract the attendees, among our
objectives was to bring the condensed matter community to be active in
shaping research and education in the area in Africa.
2. Uneven participation of Africans from Africa and elsewhere. We
could have brought many African physicists from Africa, had I known
that there is travel grant form APS. (PLEASE JOIN THE FORUM FOR
INTERNATIONAL PHYSICS)
3. There was not adequate funding for the speakers,
Future plan (suggested)
1. Continue organizing "physics in Africa” at APS and every
professional organization that there is for example Physics in Africa
at meetings of physical societies in Europe, Canada and Australia
2. APS-Africa session at a selected city in Africa, similar to the
satellite meetings
Let people know each other and put them to work
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