SESAME
Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East
Synchrotron Radiation Sources provide the essential tools needed to do high level basic research in physics, as well as having applications in everything from archaeology to health. Most of these facilities are based in North America, Europe and East Asia – until SESAME there was no facility of this kind in the Middle East.
SESAME is the Synchrotron-light for Experimental Science and Applications in the Middle East. SESAME was initially completed in 2007 and was built near Amman, Jordan, providing a 2.5 GeV light source.
With member countries including Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Jordan, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Turkey, SESAME was built to be intergovernmental scientific and technological centre of excellence open to all scientists in the middle east and beyond, bringing together a diverse group under the key concept of ‘science for peace’.
With the support of CERN, UNESCO and many other scientists and organisations from around the world, SESAME overcame the technical, scientific, political and financial challenges involved in such an undertaking. SESAME currently houses two beamlines, XAFS/XRF (X-ray Absorption Fine Structure/X-ray Fluorescence) and IR (Infrared Spectromicroscopy), as well as a number of spectrometers, detectors and other lab equipment.
SESAME is open to users worldwide and is currently focused on building up a user-base and increasing capacity to meet some of these many needs. With MS (Materials Science) and MX (Macromolecular Crystallography) beamlines expected in 2019, SESAME’s scope is continuously increasing, and aims to continue to produce world-class science to improve the lives of people in its area and beyond.