Kolkata :

Leading physicists from around the world will analyze CERN experiments and theories over the next three days at a conference — ‘India’s International Collaborations In Physical Science’ — to be held in the city.

Sessions will review and dissect CERN experiments and chart out a future course of action. They will also discuss theories thrown up at CERN, according to scientist Bikash Sinha, a former director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), which played a key role in getting India involved with the CERN experiment.

“CERN has thrown up hundreds of theories that will dictate particle physics in years to come. Scientists who will be here have been directly associated with CERN from its inception and it will be a good opportunity to listen to them. Indian scientists will have a rare opportunity to collaborate with them,” said Sinha.

Among those who will join the conference are Horst Stoecker, the director general of GSI Darmstadt, Johanna Satchel, a recipient of the Lise Meitner Prize, CERN director Rolf Heuer and CERN spokesperson Jurgen Schukraft. Larry McLerran, professor of theoretical physics, Brookhaven National Laboratory and a recipient of the Herman Feshbach Prize, will also attend the conference.

Heuer is arguably the biggest name on the guest list. An outstanding experimental physicist, he has been the architect of the leadership of CERN’s experiments with LHC, which led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.

Several renowned Indian scientists will also share the dais. Notable among them are Siraj Hasan, a former director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Rakesh Bhandari, a former director of the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and Dinesh Kumar Srivastava, an outstanding theoretical physicist and Sibaji Raha, director of the Bose Institute and S N Bose Centre, Kolkata.

Though the science community in the country is upbeat about the conference, India’s status at CERN remains unclear, according to Sinha. While the community has been trying hard to elevate India to the grade of an associate member at CERN, the government clearance is yet to come through. “Even Pakistan is an associate member now. We deserve to play a greater role now,” said Sinha.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / February 03rd, 2015