The facility is officially called “Synchrotron Light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East”. This gives rise to the cute acronym SESAME – it’s no coincidence that it resembles the password that gave Ali Baba access to a legendary treasure he needs. to be highlighted here are ideal in nature.
The research center in the al-Balka Hills, about 35 kilometers north of Amman, is also known as the “CERN of the Middle East” due to the particle accelerator built there. This is not the only parallel with the large research center near Geneva. Just as CERN, in the 1950s, was explicitly designed to reunite the world after the Second World War, at least scientifically, SESAME has had “the status of a peace project” since its founding, says Andrea Lausi, scientific director of the SESAME. The fact that the situation in the neighboring country now threatens to worsen even further is “scary” for him and his team.
Search for materials with light
The facility was opened in 2017. In addition to researchers from Israel, Palestine and Iran, several other countries in the region are involved, such as Egypt, Jordan and Turkey. As well as, as participating “observers”, half from Europe and the USA.
AFP SESAME open up: the king of Jordan at the ceremonial opening of the research center
SESAME is a materials research center. Particles accelerated in the electron synchrotron generate electromagnetic radiation in all frequency bands – and this is used to examine all types of materials. These could be archaeological artifacts or tissue samples from living creatures.
Or materials for technical applications: a study last year caused controversy when Jordanian researchers managed to produce a type of sponge from organometallic compounds that extracts water from the air. An advance that is crucial for “an extremely dry country like Jordan”, says Lausi. The German representative on the SEASME Council, Wolfgang Eberhardt, can also confirm this. Research is sometimes limited by resources, “but what is being done is really first class”.
“Conflicts are left out”
Andrea Lausi is extremely willing to provide information when it comes to scientific questions in the interview with Ö1. However, when it comes to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, there is little comment other than concern.
In any case, he does not see the commitment to cooperation as being in danger; no fronts were formed within the small research community, he emphasizes. “We have always managed to keep conflicts outside the walls of this building. What we do at SESAME is science. When we enter the laboratory we are exactly that: scientists. We are not worried about the so-called ruptures in the region.”
Wolfgang Eberhardt describes the situation as follows: “It was gratifying for me to see that Israelis, Palestinians and Iranians were sitting at the same table and looking for solutions. Of course, recent events have shocked us all. At least we have had a joint video conference since October 7th.”
Outpost in the Global South
The geographic location also shows that SESAME strives to overcome polarities of all types. There are dozens of systems like this around the world, probably around 50 in total. They are in rich countries, in Europe, the USA and East Asia. There is also one in South America, Brazil, and one in Singapore. But the global South does not appear on this list. It is even more important that there is at least one plant, SESAME, located on the soil of a resource-poor country like Jordan, says Lausi. “We simply cannot afford to lose the ideas of half the world.”
An incident that occurred seven years before the opening of the research center should not go unnoticed at this time. In 2010, two Iranian physicists who had also done preliminary work for SESAME were murdered in the street. The context is still unclear today; Iran blames the Israeli secret service, while Israel claims that politically unpopular people were eliminated by the Iranian regime.
In any case, one thing is certain: even this enclave of science will only have its inner peace if it continues to be tolerated by the powers that be. Andrea Lausi is also aware of this. The situation is calm at the moment. “But I don’t know what will happen next week.”