ELISA ODDONE
Photojournalist
“This is a unique opportunity to study remains without transporting them elsewhere, which is not desirable considering their fragility and the lengthy permit procedures”
Al Salt, JORDAN — In a region in turmoil, an unprecedented joint venture of scientists and governments is working together at a new particle accelerator that operates under the motto “science for peace.”
Jordan’s Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East, Sesame for short, is the first of its kind in the region. The machine is a 437-foot-long ring where electrons move at nearly the speed of light for several hours and generate beams of electromagnetic radiation that are used in myriad experiments.
The facility took two decades to build, but that is not the only thing that’s special about it. Sesame overcame inconsistent funding on top of the region’s infamous instability.
Modeled after CERN, the world-class European Organization for Nuclear Research based in Geneva, the facility’s regional joint venture of scientists and governments spans Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestine, and Turkey. Diplomatic relationships among these countries have been traditionally strained, if nonexistent—and yet, Sesame pools these countries’ scientific resources under one roof.
Technicians work on the new storage ring at Jordan’s Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (Sesame). Though the machine uses an updated booster from a German machine shut down in the 1990s, the new 2.5 GeV ring makes it a competitive third generation research facility. Sesame, Jordan, December 2017. Sesame, Jordan, May 2015. Photo by Elisa Oddone
Cyprus Institute Assistant Professor Kirsi Lorentz shows a tooth from over 3,000 years ago at Jordan’s Sesame synchrotron facility in December 2017. Applying synchrotron light to the field of human bioarcheology is a new approach in the Middle East. Sesame, Jordan, December 2017. Photo by Elisa Oddone
Sesame beamline scientist Gihan Kamel and researcher Kirsi Lorentz observe a tooth from over 3,000 years ago with the lab’s conventional infrared and X-ray device. These preliminary studies indicate clear differences in the preservation of bones and different component of a tooth based on the different areas of the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean. Sesame, Jordan, December 2017. Photo by Elisa Oddone
Sesame Scientific Director Giorgio Paolucci pauses during a tour of the freshly opened synchrotron facility in Jordan in February 2018. Photo by Elisa Oddone
The opening in the flooring by removing thick protective concrete slabs exposes Sesame’s storage ring tunnel where electrons move at nearly the speed of light for several hours and generate electromagnetic radiation to study a range of properties of matter. Sesame, Jordan, May 2015. Photo by Elisa Oddone
Works are ongoing on the new storage ring at Jordan’s Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (Sesame). The facility is the first of its kind in the region. Sesame, Jordan, May 2015. Photo by Elisa Oddone
Jordan’s Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East (Sesame) opened in May 2017 and the first photons were detected in November. Modeled after CERN, the facility’s regional joint venture of scientists and governments spans Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority and Turkey. It provides researchers in the region with a unique particle accelerator for their experiments. Sesame, Jordan, February 2018. Photo by Elisa Oddone