Spreading Scientific culture - CSNSM

Spreading scientific
culture
Between 2010 and 2012, scientific/technical culture and scientific mediation were productive
activities for the CSNSM. As in previous years, understanding science and its applications was
highlighted through a number of activities targeting the general public, schoolchildren and
students. These events included the now traditional Fête de la Science plus exhibitions, seminars
and conferences, movies, radio broadcasts and different outreach work.
Participating members: J. Aléon, G. Audi, C. Bachelet, C. Baumier, L. Bergé, R. Bodson,
J. Bourçois, G. Briani, M. Chapellier, G. Chardin, F. Couëdo, A. Debelle, L. Delauche, L. Delbecq,
P. Desesquelles, P. Duarte, J. Duprat, C. Engrand, E. Azenath, F. Fortuna, F. Garrido, C. Gaulard,
A. Gentils, A. Giuliani, C. Hadrossek, O. Kaïtasov, A. Korichi, D. Ledu, A. Lefebvre-Schuhl,
J. Ljungval, A. Lopez-Martens, D. Lunney, C. Marrache-Kikuchi, S. Martineau, J. Moeyeart,
K. H. Nguyen, T. H. Ngyuen, E. Oliviero, S. Picard, C. Petrache, O. Plantevin, O. Rigaut,
S. Roccia, A. Santander-Syro, V. Tatischeff, M. Tenconi, C. Thibault, L. Thomé, C. Valtat, C. Zaoui.
General public outreach
Scientific cultural events
Fête de la science
Now an annual tradition, the lab opened its doors
to families and school children for la fête de la
science (its national science day). The public was
able to discover through a commented tour the
main equipment used in the laboratory by the teams
of engineers and researchers. In particular, the
Semiramis team, which manages three ion accelerators (ARAMIS, IRMA and SIDONIE) developed
at CSNSM, contributed actively to the dissemination
of scientific knowledge gained from these original
installations. A wide variety of experiments
Figure 1
Electrostatic experiment. © C. Zaoui/CSNSM
(Figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) combining chemistry, radioactivity, magnetism, vacuum, the discovery of micrometeorites or observation of the structure of a
crystal using a transmission electron microscope,
viewing the detail of a wasp’s wing with a scanning
electron microscope, or even tasting meringue with
liquid nitrogen marked these visits warmly
applauded by the families and school children in
attendance.
C. Bachelet, C. Baumier, J. Bourçois, G. Briani,
M. Chapellier, Chardin, F. Couëdo, A. Debelle,
L. Delauche, L. Delbecq, J. Duprat, C. Engrand,
E. Azenath, F. Fortuna, C. Gaulard, A. Gentils,
O. Kaïtasov, A. Lefebvre-Schuhl, C. MarracheKikuchi, J. Moeyeart, T. H. Ngyuen, E. Oliviero,
S. Picard, O. Plantevin, O. Rigaut, S. Roccia,
M. Tenconi, C. Thibault took part in theses activities.
Figure 2
Eplanation of the FBI. © C. Zaoui/CSNSM
La nuit des deux infinis
Figure 3
Magnetism.
© C. Zaoui/CSNSM
In 2012, the CSNSM, a member of the P2IO network
(Physique des deux Infinis et des Origines), helped
organize the first Nuit des deux infinis, an event
which brought together more than 450 people at
the Opéra de Massy and 600 people in Grenoble.
Various events, scientific conferences, shows and
stands (cloud chamber, quark poker, round of electrons, the passport des deux infinis, wall of images)
and a “Physics and Health” exhibition helped to
establish contact with the public and to explain the
advances in and the challenges of the field of
research.
C. Hadrossek, S. Roccia, and C. Thibault in particular participated in the leading and organization
of this event.
Figure 4
Liquid nitrogen
experiment.
© C. Zaoui/CSNSM
Other outreach activities
Children’s books
In 2010 and 2011, the focus of attention was on the
very young with the publication of two children’s
books written by J. Duprat. The books aim to help
the youngest among us discover the magic universe of the moon and the stars and perhaps to
generate an early interest in a scientific vocation…
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Institute, in particular, C. Thibault of the CSNSM
who actively participated in the conception of
Le mystère des rayons cosmiques.
Magazine articles
In addition to articles regularly appearing in the
newspapers of the Faculty of Orsay, the University
Paris Sud, or the CNRS, laboratory researchers also
strive to publish in outreach newspapers. Several
articles were published in the last three years to inform
the general public on various themes of research
conducted at the laboratory notably by J. Aléon,
C. Engrand, A. Korichi, A. lopez Martens, V. Tatischeff,
C. Thibault, J. Ljungvall, C. Petrache, A. Santander-Syro…
Exhibitions, « Bar des sciences », Conferences,
Presentations
Scientific news regularly give rise to cultural events
such as exhibitions, conferences, seminars or presentations to which researchers from the laboratory are invited.
In 2012, Sous l’œil de Chronos, a travelling exhibition on time and its effects was held with the association SCUBE and the cooperation and expertise of
A. Gentils who developed the section entitled
“Materials: design, conservation, restoring and
recycling.”
That same year on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of cosmic rays, an exhibition
organized by the IN2P3 mobilized a team of
researchers from different laboratories within the
Also in 2012, the Department of Earth Sciences and
IDES with the contribution of J. Aléon produced
La beauté du monde minéral, an exhibition of hundreds of mineral samples and a dozen paintings
inspired by the mineral world.
The conferences and presentations geared to the
public included, for example, conferences given by
A. Lopez Martens on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the atomic nucleus by
Rutherford, presentations by J. Aléon or C. Engrand
on micrometeorites as well as experiences related
by M. Chapellier on radioactivity or D. Lunney in the
nuclear area.
Films, Radio programs
In 2011, a 6-minute film entitled Les deux têtes de
JANNuS was directed by François Demerliac with
the participation of C. Bachelet, G. Chardin, A. Gentils, O. Kaitasov and E. Oliviero to explain the operation and usefulness of the particle accelerators
located at the CSNSM Orsay and CEA Saclay.
The film, made at the time of the unveiling of the
JANNuS platform, was also shown on Universcience
in the series les Idées plein la tech’.
CSNSM - Spreading scientific culture
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Activities targeting young
people (High school and
university students)
Chemistry workshops
In 2011 and 2012, 5th graders from the elementary
school of Aunay in Auneau (28) had the opportunity to
discover through various spectacular experiments the
mysteries and secrets of chemistry revealed by
A. Debelle (Figure 5). Demonstrations, manipulations
and dialogue with the scientist put these young students
into a context of research and playful experimentation.
opportunities in research laboratories which are
open to these young high school girls.
In addition to this overview intended to create interest in a scientific vocation, the class was able to
visit the lab and become initiated to doing research
by participating in various workshops on accelerators and microscopes.
The physics summer school Rencontre de l’infiniment
grand et l’infiniment petit Figure 5
Chemistry workshop experiment.
© École Elémentaire
d’Aunay-sous-Auneau
1. Nuclei and particles in high
school.
Nepal1 conferences and other
conferences
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In the last few years the laboratory was once again
requested to give lectures in high schools. Between
2010 and 2012, ten Nepal conferences on “energy”,
“radiation”, “antimatter” or “the fate of stars” were
given in Paris and Greater Paris by C. Gaulard,
J. Duprat and C. Thibault.
Other conferences, whether a Café des sciences,
Forum des metiers, “10-year existence of a Technical University Diploma” were performed by J.
Aléon, M. Chapellier, C. Engrand, A. Giuliani, D. Lunney and C. Marrache-Kikuchi.
The CSNSM, together with other
laboratory partners from the
CNRS and the CEA, has been
actively involved since 2011 in the
scientific and practical organization of the summer school Rencontres de l’infiniment grand et de
l’infiniment petit. In 2011 and 2012, this summer
school welcomed two classes of third-year students earning a degree in physics: the Georges
Charpak and Ettore Majorana classes were able to
benefit from a complementary teaching to their university training thanks to an approach geared more
towards the world of research and a complete program combining laboratory visits and experiments,
discussions and debates, courses and seminars…
Several members of the laboratory are involved in
these schools: C. Gaulard for the scientific organization committee and R. Bodson, P. Duarte, M. Freret,
C. Hadrossek, S. Martineau, L. H. Nguyen, C. Valtat,
C. Zaoui for the practical organization committee.
Activities targeting other
scientists, teachers, industrialists
“Excellence girls” Classroom Visit
In 2011 and 2012, the laboratory hosted a class of
‘Excellence girls’ from the André Malraux high
school in Montereau Fault-Yonne (Figure 6). Led by
A. Gentils, the goal of these visits was to sensitize
young women in particular to the research profession showing both the specific course of a woman
researcher coming out of this same high school and
pointing out the various potential scientific career
Figure 6
Welcoming of the
« excellence girls » class.
© C. Zaoui/CSNSM
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CSNSM - Spreading scientific culture
Seminars and conferences, congresses
and other scientific events
As usual, several seminars, conferences and congresses were organized between 2010 and 2012
targeting a more informed public within the laboratory itself or on the outside. Also noteworthy is the
Organization of the EMIR platform first user days
which brought together about 100 participants
including thirty students and industrialists. The
inauguration of the JANNuS (Joint Accelerators for
Nanosciences and Nuclear Simulation) platform,
organized in partnership with the CEA, was also
visited by Valérie Pécresse, Minister of Higher
Education and Research, and Eric Besson,
Minister of Industry, Energy and Digital Economy.
The launch provided an opportunity to talk about
our respective activities in Orsay and Saclay and to
explain the use and operation of our equipment.
List of activities for spreading scientific culture and creating interest in science
Public Outreach
Organisation of cultural and scientific events
Fête de la science : annual opening of the laboratory to the general public,
to school children and to industry in the month of October - organization of the
event: C. Thibault
• Accueil et accompagnement du public 2010, 2011, 2012 (G. Briani, R. Bodson,
P. Duarte, A. Gentils, C. Hadrossek, K. Nguyen, S. Martineau, A. Lefebvre-Schuhl,
M. Tenconi, C. Thibault, C. Zaoui)
• Démonstration sur la radioactivité 2010, 2011 et 2012 (M. Chapellier)
• Expérience sur le vide 2010, 2011, 2012 (C. Gaulard, A. Gentils, J. Moeyaert,
S. Picard)
• Electrostatique, maquette van de Graaf 2010, 2011, 2012 (C. Bachelet)
• Microscope électronique à transmission 2010, 2011, 2012 (A. Gentils, O. Kaïtasov)
• Fib/MET (Focus Ion Beam/ Microscope Electronique à Transmission) 2010,
2011, 2012 (C. Baumier, L. Delbecq, F. Fortuna)
• Magnétisme à Sidonie 2010, 2011, 2012 (J. Bourçois, A. Gentils, J. Moeyaert,
E. Oliviero)
• Micrométéorites 2010, 2012 (G. Briani, L. Delauche, C. Engrand, J. Duprat)
• Expérience chimie 2012 (A. Debelle, T.H. Ngyuen…)
• Expérience Meringue à l’azote liquide 2012 (C. Kikuchi-Marrache)
• Expérience azote liquide/hélium 2012 (O. Plantevin)
• Poster “La science dans la vie quotidienne”
• Exposition “La découverte des rayons cosmiques”
• Présentation et discussion autour des accélérateurs pour les industriels
(C. Bachelet, F. Fortuna)
La nuit des deux infinis: organized October 9, 2012 at the Opéra de Massy
and Campus Universitaire de Grenoble - Participation in the event organization
C. Hadrossek, C. Thibault, S. Roccia
Other outreach activities
Children’s books
J. Duprat
• La lune, la terre et le soleil, Albin Michel Jeunesse, 2010
• Petit Malabar raconte l’air, les mers et les volcans, Albin Michel Jeunesse,
2011
Magazine articles
J. Aléon
•
Jeunesse du Système Solaire : l’horloge isotopique des météorites,
L’Astronomie n° 50, p. 14-20, mai 2012
• Jeunesse du Système Solaire 2 : les fossiles isotopiques des météorites,
L’Astronomie n° 51, p. 12-17, juin 2012
• Le plus tout à fait… et le pas encore !, dans Les Météorites, 1- des météorites
différenciées aux planètes, Les Cahiers du Règne Minéral 1-2012, p. 65-67,
juillet 2012
• Naissance du système solaire, une histoire des plus banales ? L’Astronomie
n° 55, p.10, novembre 2012
C. Engrand
• Exobiologie à la recherche d’une autre vie : Encadré du dossier paru dans
CNESMAG n° 50, p. 38-55, juillet 2011
• Interview pour le numéro hors série science de « Ça m’intéresse », Juillet-Août
2012.
A. Korichi, C. Thiesen
• Agata, plongée dans les états extrêmes de la matière nucléaire, Dossier
La Recherche n° 467, p.61-67, septembre 2012
V. Tatischeff
• Runaway star may have spawned the solar system, New Scientist, Volume
206, Issue 2754, p. 8, march 2010
• Le soleil, l’étoile qui n’aurait pas dû naître, Ciel et Espace, mai 2012
• Naissance du soleil : enfin un scénario convaincant... Science et Vie, n° 1116,
p. 82-87, septembre 2010
C. Thibault
• Matière-antimatière, symétries et dissymétries, Rayonnement du CNRS, bulletin
n° 58 - printemps 2012 - Femmes en Sciences
C. Petrache (en collaboration avec des théoriciens américains, japonais et des
experimentateurs italiens)
• Chiralité et wobbling dans le même noyau : un élément majeur pour la triaxialité,
science info n° 35, octobre-novembre 2012
J. Ljungvall, G. Georgiev, S. Cabaret, G. Sedes (en collaboration avec le groupe
NESTER de l’IPN d’Orsay)
• L e plunger d’Orsay, science info n° 33, novembre-décembre 2011
A. Santander-Syro
• Microélectronique : un gaz d’électrons à la surface d’un isolant ouvre la voie
du transistor multifonctions, science info n° 31, mars-avril 2011
V. Tatischeff, J. Duprat, N. de Séréville
• Il était une fois une étoile fugueuse…, Le journal du CNRS n° 246-247,
juillet-août 2010
• Formation du système solaire : un caprice de Star ?, Plein Sud n° 77,
2e trimestre 2010
Solid state astrophysics Group
• In Antarctica, Drilling for the Past’s Particles by Sindya N. Bahanoo, New-York
Times & International Herald Tribune, may 2010
•M
eteorites suggest seeds of life within our solar system by Amina Khan,
Los Angeles Times, may 2010
• E xtraterrestrial Specks in Antarctic Snow Yield New Clues to Solar System’s
Past by John Matson, Scientific American, may 2010
• C osmic ‘dandruff’ may have brought carbon to Earth by David Shiga,
New Scientist, may 2010
•C
arbon-rich comet fragments found in Antarctic snow by Lindsey Doermann,
Cosmos Magazine, may 2010
•A
ncient Meteorites Found to Pack Secrets of the Solar System by Clara
Moskowitz, Space.com, may 2010
•R
are Meteorites Challenge Theories on Origins of Life by G. Mone, AoL News,
may 2010
• L’antarctique livre le secret de poussières extraterrestres par S. Foucart,
Le Monde, mai 2010
•C
ollecte de poussières extraterrestres par MM. Verdier, La Croix, mai 2010
• L es collectes polaires de poussières interplanétaires, Astronomie Magazine,
vol.124, septembre 2010
Exhibition, Bar des sciences, Conferences, Presentations
J. Aléon
• Conférence grand public - Carnet de naissance du système solaire : les météorites,
Fête de Lutte Ouvrière, Presles, 11 juin 2011
• E xposition - La beauté du monde minéral, contribution à la réalisation de
la vitrine et du poster sur les météorites, Université Paris-Sud, 12 novembre 15 décembre 2012
M. Chapellier
• Conférence – Radioactivité : de la découverte aux temps modernes, Fête
de la Sciences au Carré de Sciences, Modane, 14-20 octobre 2010
• E xposé et expérience - Radioactivité, Conférence privée à Tours, 1er juin 2011
•B
ar des Sciences - Radioactivité : de la découverte aux temps modernes,
Velizy, 6 octobre 2011
• Bar des Sciences - Regards sur les deux infinis, Modane avec F. Piquemal et
P. Salati, 12 octobre 2011
• Le Carré des Sciences, Fête de la Sciences à Modane, Thème : Chimie,
12-13 octobre 2011
• F orum sur la radioactivité - Evry, 10 Novembre 2011
• E xposé et expérience - Radioactivité, Fête de la Sciences à Modane,
11-12 octobre 2012
J. Duprat
• Conférence - Des poussières extraterrestres en Antarctique, une fenêtre sur
notre système solaire, Société Astronomie Française, FIAP Paris, 17 février 2010
• Conférence - Météorites et micrométéorites, Société Astronomie de la côte
basque, Château d’Abbadia, Hendaye, 25 août 2011
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