In the face of enormous challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic, research institutes around the world are finding ways to overcome the difficulties imposed by lockdown and social distancing.ICTP is meeting the challenge by increasing its offering of virtual seminars and colloquia and providing open source research and training resources. These services have been particularly appreciated by ICTP's partner institutes, regional centres of excellence in physics and mathematics located in Brazil, China, Mexico and Rwanda.Like ICTP, the partner institutes are closed, and all outreach activities such as seminars and workshops have been postponed indefinitely or cancelled. However, their willingness to carry on with research and supply quality learning opportunities is as strong as ever. In a series of recent interviews with ICTP, the heads of the partner institutes shared the strategies they are taking to keep their scientists connected. Technology plays a key role: partner institutes are organizing virtual lectures and are in the process of implementing remote research and distance learning courses. Some admit, though, that the local technology infrastructures are adding to the challenge of staying connected to the rest of the world.Nathan Berkovits, director of the ICTP-South American Institute for Fundamental Research (ICTP-SAIFR) in São Paulo, Brazil, says that many of their courses for graduate students are being held online and that most of the researchers meet regularly with other scientists or with students online through videoconference. Of the many activities that were usually taking place in the institute in São Paulo, several are now taking place online. For example, their weekly journal clubs in the four fields of string theory, particle physics, cosmology and complex systems, are now all happening through online meetings. “We also have an outreach program involving classes for high school students which are being taught online,” said Berkovits, adding, “One advantage is that we are attracting students from all over Brazil, and also from Portugal. So, we are hoping that our online activities will allow us to reach a larger audience than would be possible with activities that require physical presence.”Moreover, in June, two major events will happen online: a one-week workshop on string field theory and a two-week school on particle physics, organized jointly with ICTP.Zhang Min, coordinator of the ICTP-Asia Pacific (ICTP-AP) in Beijing, says that all of the institute’s activities have been cancelled or postponed until the emergency will start to subside, but that at the moment nothing is certain. Recently, China started to see a gradual reopening of activities and most scientists could go back to their offices or laboratories, but the academic courses are still conducted online. However, many concerns for the future of the institute’s research remain. “The COVID-19 pandemic is a global public health emergency,” says Zhang. “COVID-19 is not just altering everyday life; it’s also upending normal research. As universities and institutes across the country go virtual, researchers are scrambling to protect their funding and their careers. Although theoretical research is practically less affected, international cooperation and face-to-face exchanges would be interrupted for a long time.”ICTP’s partner institute in Mexico, the Mesoamerican Center for Theoretical Physics (MCTP), will start a programme of online conferences in the near future. “Nowadays, a lot can be made from home,” says MCTP Director Luis Felipe Rodríguez Jorge, “but there is no substitute to personal interaction. We are starting to realize that this situation may last many months and it will significantly affect interaction with colleagues and research networks.”In Rwanda, the ICTP-East African Institute of Fundamental Research (EAIFR) has cancelled all planned meetings, workshops and conferences, as well as all the travels to or from other research centres. “Students have been directed to online instruction materials for different courses and we have lecturers following them in their progress,” says Director Omololu Akin-Ojo, “but some of them do not have good internet at home, and research has been hampered for them. Our main concern now is to try to facilitate these students to have an improved internet connection wherever they are, so that they can resume their work properly.”ICTP's new virtual seminars initiative has been warmly welcomed by all scientists in its partner institutes, as they see it as a wonderful opportunity to learn and follow up on science while far away and even in isolation, provided that technological limits are not too difficult to overcome. “ICTP has helped us by opening up their seminars to us over the Internet. We are grateful for this,” says Akin-Ojo.The institutes’ directors agree that while in lockdown at home, most people have more time for personal research and they are taking advantage of the possibility to access more publications, books or audio-visual materials from ICTP’s archives.“As one of the most successful international organizations, ICTP is doing very well in cultural transmission, management and activities,” says Zhang. “ICTP-AP would like to follow the ripe experience from ICTP to grow fast.”Berkovits is also turning to ICTP to cope with the current situation. “It would be great to learn from the experiences of ICTP Trieste,” says Berkovits. “Director Atish Dabholkar and other ICTP-Trieste faculty invited our faculty to a videoconference meeting a few weeks ago where we discussed possible joint online activities, some of which are already taking place.”Apart from the possibility to take part in online seminars and conferences, the availability of scientific papers is fundamental to keep track of research around the world, and therefore the theme of open access is an important consideration for all of the directors. “I was really impressed by the action taken by several journals to give open access to their material,” says Director Rodriguez Jorge. And his view is shared by ICTP-AP Director Zhang: “The present pandemic makes us further recognize the importance for promoting widespread awareness and boundary-breaking ideas. ICTP-AP would promote open access data and collaborative analysis for global scientists in right time.”Many other opportunities can arise from adversity, especially if research is involved. At SAIFR, a research group is actively working on mathematical models for epidemics. The group had organized a workshop at the beginning of March on Modelling of Infectious Diseases Dynamics. The organizer of this workshop, Roberto Kraenkel, is now the leader of a team which monitors the disease in São Paulo. At EAIFR, they are considering to undertake research on the photo-degradation of parts of the covid-19 (SARS-CoV-2) virus. “There is some indication that sunlight stops the functioning of the virus,” says Akin-Ojo, “and it would be interesting to know more.”It is clear that in times of crises, science builds communities and keeps people together. “The aspect of physics that has most impressed me is the willingness of researchers to sacrifice their time to give online lectures,” says Berkovits. “There is no monetary compensation, they do not get to travel to new places, and they do not even hear applause at the end of their presentation, which is much more difficult to prepare than an ordinary lecture. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of physicists accept invitations to give online lectures.”
On November 24, space gravitational wave detection Taiji consortium 2019 annual meeting held successfully at University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS). The UNESCO International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific (ICTP-AP), and Taiji consortium jointly sponsored this meeting. The conference focused on the research of gravitational wave physics and the detection technology. It has attracted active participation of more than 160 experts and scholars from 36 institutions to discuss the latest scientific results and future development of gravitational wave detection.Yanfen Wang (vice-president of UCAS), Wenrui Hu (chief scientific adviser of Taiji Programme, Institute of Mechanics CAS), Min Huang (deputy commissioner of Bureau of Frontier Science and Education CAS), Xiaolong Dong (deputy director of National Space Science Center CAS) and Zijie Li (deputy chief of Photoelectric and Universe Section of Bureau of Major R&D Programs CAS) on behalf of Yingjie-Yu commissioner attended the meeting and delivered speeches.Yanfen Wang, on behalf of UCAS, extended a sincere welcome to all the representatives and congratulated the convening of the 2019 Taiji consortium meeting. In her speech, she stressed that Taiji consortium is not only an important platform for all-round and multi-disciplinary scientific cooperation among academic institutions but also important support for the cultivation of innovative talents in related fields.In May 2017, Taiji working group initiated and founded the ‘Taiji Consortium’ on the International Symposium on Space Gravitational Wave Detection. As an academic consortium, it brought experts in related fields together to carry out the research of gravitational wave space exploration.Taiji-01, the first satellite of Taiji programme, successfully launched into orbit on 31 August 2019. This means that the first step of the ‘three-step development’ strategy of ‘Taiji Program’ was initiated. The on-orbit test and data analysis results of Taiji-01 shows that:The first-stage in-orbit test showed that the accuracy of displacement measurement of the laser interferometer on Taiji-01 could reach a 100-picometer order of magnitude, equivalent to the size of an atom.The accuracy of the gravitational reference sensor on the satellite reached ten billionths of the magnitude of the earth's gravitational acceleration, equivalent to the acceleration produced by an ant pushing the Taiji-01 satellite.The thrust resolution of the micro-thruster on the satellite reached a scale equivalent to one-ten thousandth of the weight of a sesame grain.Taiji-01 Achieved: China’s highest accuracy of spatial laser interferometry. China’s first on-orbit drag free control technology test. Firstly and internationally on-orbit verification of micro-newton level radio frequency ion propulsion technology and dual mode hall-effect micro thruster technology.As the chief scientist of Taiji programme, professor Yueliang Wu, vice-president of UCAS, director of ICTP-AP, made a scientific interpretation of gravitational wave detection, and reported the progress of the orbit test of Taiji-01.Professor Jianyu Wang, president of Shanghai Branch of CAS and chief engineer of Taiji-01 project, reported and summarized the Taiji-01 satellite project.Professor Ronggen Cai, deputy director of the Institute of Theoretical Physics CAS introduced the relevant knowledge of gravitational waves and the significance of exploring gravitational waves from the perspective of fundamental physics research.Professor Weidou Ni from the National Astronomical Observatories CAS introduced his views on the future planning of the world's gravitational wave exploration and the discussion of the Taiji space gravitational wave detection mission.32 experts and scholars from 21 scientific institutions made academic reports on the relevant research of Taiji programme. This annual meeting provides a platform for cooperation and communication among members of Taiji consortium. It promotes in-depth exploration of scientific connotation and improves the influence of Taiji plan. Moreover, it also promotes interdisciplinary integration and the achievement of China's goal of space gravitational wave detection.
XIAMEN, Oct. 29 (Xinhua) -- China plans to launch four new science satellite missions by 2023, and scientists have completed concept research on another five to be launched in the next 10 years.Successful Chinese science satellites launched since 2015 include the Dark Matter Particle Explorer (DAMPE), the Quantum Experiments at Space Scale (QUESS) and the Hard X-ray Modulation Telescope (HXMT). These were under a space science program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).The second phase of the program has now started, Wang Chi, director of the National Space Science Center under the CAS, recently told the first China Space Science Assembly in Xiamen, east China's Fujian Province.The first mission of the second phase was Taiji-01, China's first satellite to conduct in-orbit experiments on key technologies related to space-based gravitational wave detection, which went into space on Aug. 31, 2019.The four new missions include the Gravitational Wave Electromagnetic Counterpart All-sky Monitor (GECAM), expected to be launched at the end of 2020, which will search for electromagnetic signals associated with gravitational waves, Wang said.The Advanced Space-borne Solar Observatory (ASO-S), expected to be launched at the end of 2021, will help scientists understand the solar magnetic fields, flares and coronal mass ejections.A satellite named Einstein-Probe (EP), tasked with discovering celestial bodies that emit X-rays during fierce changes as well as quiescent black holes with transient high-energy radiation, is expected to be launched at the end of 2022.The Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or SMILE, is a Sino-European joint mission expected to be launched at the end of 2023. It will focus on the interaction between the solar wind and the earth's magnetosphere.
The Signing Ceremony of International Centre for Theoretical Physics Asia-Pacific (ICTP-AP) was held in Beijing Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on May 13, 2017.Prof. Chun-Li Bai, President of the CAS, and Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), signed the Agreement regarding the Establishment of ICTP-AP as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO in Beijing, on behalf of the Chinese Government and the UNESCO respectively.Ms Irina Bokova was invited by the Chinese government to take part in the “Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation“. Chun-Li Bai thank her to take time to attend the signing ceremony in a very tight schedule. Chun-Li Bai briefly introduced the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) and CAS achievements in scientific and technological support for “the Belt and Road initiative”. Chun-Li Bai mentioned, more than 400 young students from developing countries came to UCAS to study for a degree by CAS-TWAS scholarship. Chun-Li Bai said CAS would fully support the establishment and development of ICTP-AP.Ms Irina Bokova said, she just finished some activities organized by the Chinese government and discussed the big cooperative plan with China after she arrived in Beijing. She believes, the establishment of ICTP-AP will be an important project and it will be a good opportunity to promote scientific development and South-South cooperation because basic science is one of the inalienable parts for the United Nations 2030 development plan and sustainable development goals.Prof. Yue-Liang Wu, Vice President of the UCAS, Prof. Fernando Quevedo, Director of ICTP, Mr Dian-Wen Cao, Vice Director of Bureau of International Cooperation, CAS, together with Representative of UNESCO China National Committee and Beijing Office, witnessed the signing process.ICTP-AP proposal was submitted by CAS, and adopted by 38th General Conference of UNESCO. ICTP-AP will be planed to co-construct by CAS, NSFC and ICTP (UNESCO Category 1, Italy). It will be the first centre (UNESCO Category 2) in basic science in China, and also the second centre co-constructed by CAS and UNESCO. ICTP-AP will be set up in UCAS campus. Under the auspices of UNESCO, ICTP-AP will provide opportunities for advanced education, training and research in basic science such as frontiers of theoretical physics and the relevant interdisciplinary areas for scientists from Asia-Pacific region and other countries. ICTP-AP will develop outreach activities in cooperation with national and international institutions, providing an international forum and enhancing collaborative networks among scientists from different countries in and out of the region. ICTP-AP will develop and coordinate research-education-oriented advanced studies in theoretical physics and related interdisciplinary areas; ICTP-AP will aim to be a world-class research centre, training base for talents with global eye sights and international academic exchange centre.
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