Johor Bahru – On 5th Mar 2019, Prof Dr Kai Zuber from Technical University of Dresden,Germany visited the Faculty of Science (FS), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. He was the co-spokesperson for the solar neutrino experiment at Sudbury National Observatory (SNO) which won a Nobel Prize in 2015 for the neutrino oscillation experiment. This was Prof Dr Kai’s first visit to a Malaysian university for his world tour to introduce neutrino particle and nuclear particle physics experiment on behalf of the SNO collaboration.
His visit started with a welcoming meeting with the Dean of FS, Prof Dr Abdull Rahim bin Mohd Yusoff, Director of Physics, PM Dr Wan Muhammad Saridan bin Wan Hassan, Assistant Dean of External and Global Engagement, Dr Ezza Syuhada binti Sazali, Spokesperson of Neutrino Nuclear Response Experiment, Dr Izyan Hazwani binti Hashim and a representative from the Nuclear and Radiation Research Group, Dr Nor Ezzaty Binti Ahmad. He was excited to take part in the UTM initiatives for international visibility and hope to be one of UTM international partners through his collaboration in neutrino experiment with Dr Izyan Hazwani. Later in the meeting, he also visited science laboratories and toured around the UTM campus.
On 6th Mar 2019, he gave a talk on “The mystery of the missing neutrinos from the Sun – The Nobel Prize of Physics 2015” at 9.30 am. He shared his team’s inspiring stories on their struggle to prove that neutrinos can change in mass throughout their journey from the sun to the earth. It is hoped that his sharing session inspires students especially those in the Physics’ department and encourages them to be curious towards taking part in fundamental research areas.
Editor: Dr Izyan Hazwani binti Hashim (FS)