About SESAME Launch of SESAME

Balqa- his majesty king Abdullah on Monday laid the cornerstone for the international center for synchrotron- light for experimental science applications in the middle east (SESAME) at Princess Rahma University College.

The center is expected to provide a powerful source of light that can be used by researchers to analyze and define the structure of all types of materials.

Egypt, the Palestinian National Authority, Bahrain, Turkey and Iran have, joined Jordan in the accelerator project, said minister of education Khalid Touqan as he briefed king Abdullah on the benifits such a project would bring to Jordan and the region .

Synchrotron light is produced when charged particles (electrons) circulate for several hours inside a ring shaped, long tube under vacuum. Due to the action of special magnetic systems, the electrons emit synchrotron light whose wavelength can range from infra red radiation to x-rays.

The project's key component is employing synchrotron light for industrial fabrication and for applied and fundamental research in biology, medicine, environmental science, physics and chemistry.

The applications of synchrotron radiation include materials modification, sterilization of medical products, diagnostic and therapeutic medicine, isotope production and materials characterization, said Werner Burkart, deputy director general, department of nuclear sciences and applications, at the international atomic energy agency.

Israel has expressed a willingness to join the project, and Kuwait and Libya have shown interest in joining the project as observers said director general of the united nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO) Koichiro Matsuura.

More countries, said Touqan, will join the project considered the first of its kind in the Arab and Islamic world .

Jordan was nominated as host to the project in 2000, and in mid-2002, the scientific committee at UNESCO's executive council took its decision in favor of the kingdom, which provided the land and the building to host the center.

The center will be jointly operated and supported by all member countries with other countries interested in developing science and technology in the region.

SESAME, said Matsuura, is a project born out of exchange and contacts among scientists from all parts in the middle east, helped and encouraged by scientists of other regions, notably Europe.

The JD 4 million nuclear accelerator project is expected to promote scientific tourism, innovation and transfer of scientific experiences and help improve the economies of Jordan and the other partners in the project, said Tuoqan.

Synchrotron light has no negative impact on the environment and poses no threat to human health, he said.

Construction of the accelerator will start within a few weeks and it is expected to be completed in 2005. The building will be fully equipped by 2006, Touqan added.

Jordan is looking for $10 million in funds to upgrade the capacity of the accelerator from 800 electro volts to 2.5 GeV.

At the end of the ceremony, king Abdullah bestowed al Kawkab medal on Matsuura and al Istiklal medal on Herwig Schopper, president of SESAME international interim council.

Also yesterday, Prime Minister Ali Abul Ragheb met with Matsuura and discussed with him ways to enhance collaboration between Jordan and UNESCO.

Abul Ragheb expressed hope that more Arab countries will join the promising project, according to the Jordan news agency, Petra.