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SESAME IS OFFICIALLY OPENED

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On May 16, the SESAME light source was inaugurated in Jordan by King Abdullah II.

SESAME, which stands for Synchrotron-Light for Experimental Sciences and Applications in the Middle East, is a facility similar to ALBA, an electron accelerator to study the properties of matter. It has three operating beamlines and one more under construction.

This new facility has been thought as a way opening new perspectives of cooperation in the Middle-Eastern region as well as to deal with scientific challenges. SESAME is "a big step in international scientific collaboration, deleting political barriers in favour of research", says Caterina Biscari.

Among the subjects likely to be studied in the first experiments are pollution in the Jordan River valley with a view to improving public health in the area, as well as studies aimed at identifying new drugs for cancer therapy, and cultural heritage studies ranging from bioarchaeology to ancient manuscripts.

The members of SESAME are currently Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey (others are being sought). Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Portugal, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA are Observers. SESAME was set up under the auspices of UNESCO, but is now a completely independent intergovernmental organisation.

Further information
Press release

IM-SESAMEInaguration1  IM-SESAMEInaguration2

Moments of the opening ceremony held last 16th May 2017 in Jordan.

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