YEREVAN — On May 3 Armenia’s President Armen Sarkissian, accompanied by the chairman of Yerevan Physics Institute’s board of trustees, Nerses Yeritsyan, visited Yerevan Physics Institute (YerPhI) headquarters. The president, who himself has a PhD in physics, met the new director together with both senior and young scientists to discuss their research.
In April, the Board of Trustees of the Alikhanyan National Scientific Laboratory, YerPhI, approved the appointment of Ani Aprahamian, professor of physics at Notre Dame University (Indiana, USA), as YerPhI’s new director. Prof. Aprahamian takes over YerPhI’s leadership from Prof. Ashot Chilingarian who held this position for 10 years while simultaneously continuing his role as the head of its Cosmic Ray Division (CRD). As Aprahamian takes responsibility for all of YerPhI, Chilingarian will continue to focus his attention on directing CRD’s research and education projects.
During Sarkissian’s visit, Chilingarian introduced him to some of CRD’s ongoing research projects including the Space Environmental Viewing and Analysis Network (SEVAN), a network of astroparticle detectors, and CRD’s Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) facility.
The SEVAN network was designed and deployed by young CRD scientists and engineers to monitor cosmic radiation in the atmosphere. Networked cosmic ray detectors are installed in a number of Eastern European countries as well as in Armenia and Artsakh. Data from the detectors is relayed via the Internet to CRD’s headquarters where it is analyzed and made available to scientists worldwide. The LIDAR facility was designed and fabricated in Armenia for atmospheric research.
Chilingarian informed the president about CRD’s annual international summer school, held this year from June 4-8 at its Nor Ambert center on Mt. Aragats. The theme of this year’s event is “From Measurement to Discovery – The Scientific Method in Physics”. Included are both lectures on topics of modern physics, as well as exercises and the solution of simple problems by students. Attendance is free for qualified high school and college students. More information is at www.spc.yerphi.am/index.php/en/events .
The president also was informed about CRD’s upcoming international conference Thunderstorms and Elementary Particle Acceleration (TEPA), held at its Nor Ambert center from September 17-20. Details are at https://www.atmospheric-electricity-net.eu/node/106 .
