US embassy cable - 05AMMAN9562

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 009562 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PARIS PASS UNESCO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TPHY, XF, JO 
SUBJECT: SESAME Synchrotron: Middle East Sees the Light 
 
 
1.  Summary:  SESAME (Synchrotron Light for Experimental 
Science and Applications in the Middle East), an 
international project to operate the first synchrotron in 
the Arab world, met in Amman on December 5-7 to assess 
progress, plan a strategy, and attract potential users. 
SESAME will upgrade a retired German synchrotron and install 
it in Jordan.  (The synchrotron is a "light source," a next- 
generation x-ray machine that can peer down to the molecular 
level.)  The synchrotron's wide range of applications makes 
it a valuable tool for practical industrial and scientific 
research.  Many countries participate in SESAME, which needs 
to raise $20-25 million to become operational.  End summary. 
 
Background: Genesis in 1997 - UNESCO Support - Jordan Base 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
2.  SESAME is the brainchild of Stanford University 
physicist Herman Winick, German physicist Herwig Schopper, 
and Gustaf-Adolf Voss.  In 1997, Winick, Schopper, and Voss 
had the idea of donating Germany's retired BESSY I 
synchrotron to an Arab country.  Jordan's King Abdullah II 
was an early and enthusiastic supporter, so SESAME found a 
home in Jordan at Al-Balqa Applied University in Salt. 
SESAME was originally formed on an interim basis in 1999, 
and was formally reconstituted in 2003 as an independent 
international organization under the auspices of UNESCO. 
 
"Wheels of SESAME Are Turning Faster Every Day" 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
3.  Beyond  the German donation of the retired machine core 
and Jordan's contributions for the building, SESAME has 
gathered $4 million to date,  but still needs about $20-25 
million for the project be become fully operational.  While 
the heart of the machine was donated by Germany, the 
stations along the "ring" of the synchrotron remain to be 
purchased at $2.5 - $3 million apiece.  SESAME's Scientific 
Committee plans to have six stations or "beamlines" ready at 
start-up in 2009.  Other equipment needed to upgrade the 
machine to current standards also remains to be funded, but 
the result will be a world class machine according to 
Stanford professor Winick. 
 
4.  2006 will be a critical year, according to SESAME Center 
President and Jordanian Minister of Education and Higher 
Education Khaled Toukan.  At the December 5-7 conclave, 
Toukan noted that "the wheels of SESAME are turning faster 
every day," and that optimism about, and interest in  SESAME 
are growing as the project approaches reality.  Toukan, with 
a PhD in physics from MIT, is a key player in SESAME; in his 
former role as President of Al-Balqa University, he arranged 
for the SESAME site and lobbied for Jordanian funding. 
 
USG Supports; Jordan Chipping inSerious Funds 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  Through the Department of Energy (DOE) and State, the 
USG has been a consistent supporter of SESAME, including 
paying for several Iraqi students to attend the SESAME users 
meeting on December 6-7 in Amman.  Jordan has been the 
biggest supporter by far, though.  The GoJ has poured 
several million dollars into SESAME's building, which is 
being custom-built to world-class standards, including a 
single-slab, 9-foot thick foundation.  For its part, the EU 
has been slowly moving towards a 12 million Euro 
contribution.  SESAME President Schopper has obtained the 
signatures of 28 Nobel Prize winners on a letter supporting 
SESAME, and intends to use it as a marketing tool to solicit 
further funding.  Much support is in-kind; IAEA announced in 
Amman that it is prepared to provide 40 man-months of 
training annually for the next three years. 
 
Building Ready in 2006 
---------------------- 
 
6.  SESAME's building will be completed in summer 2006, and 
the machine itself is scheduled to start operating in 2009, 
but definitive timing depends on availability of funding. 
SESAME already has hired some staff, and will hire 
additional personnel in 2006, although much of the heavy 
scientific lifting is still done on a volunteer basis.  The 
machine itself is sitting disassembled in a warehouse in 
Amman until the building is ready. 
 
Strong Member Support, Large User Base 
-------------------------------------- 
 
7.  SESAME is "past the point of no return," said SESAME 
President Schopper, who said that SESAME enjoys both strong 
member support and a broad user base, both key to 
sustainable operations, which are likely to cost $3-4 
million per year.  SESAME will be run by a council of 
representatives whose governments have officially joined 
SESAME: Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, the 
Palestinian Authority, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates 
(UAE).  Observer countries include Germany, Greece, Italy, 
Kuwait, Russia, Sweden, the UK, and the United States. 
Cyprus will join soon, and Morocco is likely to join, said 
SESAME President Schopper. 
 
8.  Comment: The SESAME synchrotron appears to be on its way 
to gaining the support it needs to become operational, and 
to serving as a unique pillar of science and industrial 
research in a region where those fields are lagging. 
 
HALE