International Centre for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science Applications in the Middle East
Encyclopedia
The International Centre for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (SESAME) is an independent laboratory formally created under the auspices of UNESCO
on 30 May 2002. It is located in Allaan, by the Al-Balqa nahia
of the Balqa
governorate
of Jordan
.
The founding members of SESAME are Bahrain
, Cyprus
, Egypt
, Iran
, Israel
, Jordan
, Pakistan
, the Palestinian Authority, and Turkey
. The project was launched in 1999 and the ground breaking ceremony was held on 6 January 2003. Construction work began the following July, with a scheduled possible completion date of 2015. However financial and technical infrastructural obstacles could force the project to be halted and shutdown status in the near future. President of the SESAME Council is Christopher Llewellyn Smith, the Chair of the ITER
Council and a former Director-General of CERN
. The first president of SESAME council was Herwig Schopper
, the former CERN
director general.
The synchrotron radiation
facility operated by SESAME is the former facility BESSY I, which was previously decommissioned in Germany
.
Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi
and Dr. Magid Shahriari, two Iranian members of SESAME, were killed in two different terrorist attacks, there is evidence to say that they have been killed by the Israeli Mossad in 2010.
In an interview published in 2009, physicist Herman Winick noted the name SESAME was coined to refer to door opener, the spice, and the children's television show
, and the meaning Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science Applications in the Middle East formulated to match the acronym.
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
on 30 May 2002. It is located in Allaan, by the Al-Balqa nahia
Nahias of Jordan
A nahia is an administrative division in Jordan. The 12 Governorates of Jordan are divided into 52 nahias. The nahias are listed below, by governorate:-Ajlun Governorate:*Ajlun Nahia*Kofranjah Nahia-Amman Governorate:*Amman*Al-Jiza...
of the Balqa
Balqa
Balqa is one of the governorates of Jordan. It is located northwest of Amman, Jordan's capital.The governorate has the fourth largest population of the 12 governorates of Jordan, and is ranked 10th by Area...
governorate
Governorates of Jordan
||The country of Jordan is divided into 12 governorates .-References:...
of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
.
The founding members of SESAME are Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, the Palestinian Authority, and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The project was launched in 1999 and the ground breaking ceremony was held on 6 January 2003. Construction work began the following July, with a scheduled possible completion date of 2015. However financial and technical infrastructural obstacles could force the project to be halted and shutdown status in the near future. President of the SESAME Council is Christopher Llewellyn Smith, the Chair of the ITER
ITER
ITER is an international nuclear fusion research and engineering project, which is currently building the world's largest and most advanced experimental tokamak nuclear fusion reactor at Cadarache in the south of France...
Council and a former Director-General of CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
. The first president of SESAME council was Herwig Schopper
Herwig Schopper
Herwig Schopper was born in Lanškroun, Czechoslovakia in 1924. He was involved at CERN as a Research Associate , Division Leader of the Nuclear Physics Division , member of the Directorate responsible for the Co-ordination of the Experimental Programme, Chairman of the ISR Committee at CERN ,...
, the former CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
director general.
The synchrotron radiation
Synchrotron radiation
The electromagnetic radiation emitted when charged particles are accelerated radially is called synchrotron radiation. It is produced in synchrotrons using bending magnets, undulators and/or wigglers...
facility operated by SESAME is the former facility BESSY I, which was previously decommissioned in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Dr. Masoud Alimohammadi
Masoud Alimohammadi
Masoud Alimohammadi was an Iranian quantum field theorist and elementary-particle physicist and a distinguished professor of elementary particle physics at Department of Physics of University of Tehran...
and Dr. Magid Shahriari, two Iranian members of SESAME, were killed in two different terrorist attacks, there is evidence to say that they have been killed by the Israeli Mossad in 2010.
In an interview published in 2009, physicist Herman Winick noted the name SESAME was coined to refer to door opener, the spice, and the children's television show
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
, and the meaning Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Science Applications in the Middle East formulated to match the acronym.
External links
- SESAME website
- Sameen Ahmed Khan, The Middle East Synchrotron Facility can bring Regional Cooperation, Digest of Middle East Studies (DOMES), 11, No. 2, pp. 517-526 (Winter/December 2002).