As every year, just before the holidays we held the Physics Research Week, an event intended for excellent undergraduate students from all over the country who are a step away from a master’s degree. The activity is essentially a week-long meeting that is a celebration of the Physics research held @ Technion, and includes visits to laboratories, personal guidance on projects in the research laboratories, and many meetings and meals with faculty and graduate students.
This year, we received an unexpected challenge in the form of the escalation in northern-Israel that did not allow for the in-person meeting in the department. BUT! Good physicists know how to solve problems and not be intimidated by challenges; hence we did not give up on the activity and converted it into a Zoom meeting over several days with lectures by researchers and online-work on research projects that have been adapted to the new concept.
At the end of three intensive days, the participating students presented their research work and there was overwhelming admiration for the impressive results everyone accomplished in a short time!
When the ceasefire went into effect in the end of October, we were also able to hold a physical meeting at the faculty with an emphasis on visits in research laboratories, personal discussions and of course good food! Some of the students even started their master's degrees this semester and there is much excitement when meeting in the hallway.
We thank everyone who took part in the program and contributed to its success; the lecturers, the staff members and the graduate students who mentored and instructed the participants in their projects.
To all the wonderful students who participated in the research week, we wish much success in the future and hope to see you in an advanced degree in physics at the Technion!
We hope that this coming summer we will be able to hold the activity and that by then all the hostages will return home.
Research week website: https://phsites.technion.ac.il/physics-summer-research-program/
