First ASEAN/Oceania Countries Meeting for High Energy Physics

Dr. Izyan Hazwani Hashim

23 July 2024: A meeting of the Asian Committee of the Future Accelerator under the High Energy Physics subgroup (ACFA-HEP) took place at the Prague Congress Centre on July 23, 2024. Around 30 representatives of high-energy physicists from ASEAN and Oceania attended the meeting. The HEP subgroup was proposed in April 2024 by ACFA Chairperson Geoffrey Taylor and Yasuhiro Okada from the High Energy Accelerator Research Organisation (KEK). Dr. Izyan Hazwani Hashim of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Dr. Imran Yusuff of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) were appointed Malaysia’s representatives at the meeting. They are the only experimentalists in the fields of nuclear and particle physics working in academia in Malaysia. The objective of the meeting was to plan a consortium and research activities related to HEP at the ASEAN/Oceania level, including nuclear and particle physics, accelerator physics, neutron and photon spallation, and dark matter/cosmology. The meeting aimed to promote collaboration and highlight regional activities and potential major HEP experiments in the ASEAN/Oceania region. The meeting also identified key factors such as the role of HEP in education, collaboration opportunities, knowledge sharing, and resource utilization, especially because the field of HEP is still developing in the ASEAN region.

The program included sharing sessions and discussions led by Prof. Dr. Geoffrey Taylor and Prof. Dr. Yasuhiro Okada. Dr. Okada provided insights and ideas regarding the potential capabilities of the HEP in ASEAN/Oceania. Dr. Geoffrey shared about leadership in the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) sector of ASEAN, the ASEAN committee in STI, and ASEAN’s strategic planning in STI. Dr. Geoffrey also bolstered the efforts of the ASEAN HEP community to explore collaboration opportunities and activities within the region. All attending representatives were automatically appointed as the first ACFA-HEP subgroup members.

After the program, a working committee representing ASEAN countries was appointed to establish a regional consortium. Four section leaders were appointed in nuclear and particle physics, accelerator physics, neutron and photon spallation, and dark matter/cosmology. The role of KEK and the Institute of High Energy Physics (中国科学院高能物理研究所 – IHEP) as mentors in ASEAN’s HEP field is emphasized to promote more HEP activities among young researchers.