by Steven Goldfarb, IPPOG Chair, 21 March 2022

This week was meant to mark the first time for Ukraine to participate in the IPPOG International Particle Physics Masterclasses. They were to be held in Kharkiv National University, where local researchers would host high school students from the nearby classrooms. One of the professors helping with the organisation of the Masterclasses contacted us this past week to tell us that the classes could not take place. The photos attached to his email of the institution where they were meant to be held make clear the reason why.

The news these days coming from Ukraine is horrible. Russia’s leader, Vladimir Putin, has launched an unprovoked attack on neighbouring Ukraine. The bombing and shelling has been ruthless, targeting well-marked civilian locations, including schools, hospitals, shelters and the university. Such news shocks and angers us all. Yet the images sent by the organisers of the facilities that were meant to host young students, eager to learn about science and international collaboration, truly hit home.

The International Masterclasses is a program held each year by the International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG) in partnership with QuarkNet in the U.S. and hosted by laboratories and educational institutions around the world. Every year tens of thousands of students participate in the classes, in which they receive brief lessons on particle physics, then use realistic tools to analyse real data from a variety of high-energy and nuclear physics experiments. At the end of the day, the students connect via videoconference with other students from different countries to discuss their results.

In this manner, the students learn much more than the physics behind the latest research. They receive valuable life lessons, including how to objectively differentiate signal from background, and the importance of international collaboration. These lessons are exactly what students need today, especially given the continual bombardment of irrational propaganda being thrown at them via social media, unscrupulous news channels and, unfortunately, some world leaders.

As if the devastation of the bombings, the destruction of homes and schools, and the mass exodus of the population from their country were not enough, it is maddening to see these students will miss the scheduled lessons. The collaboration has agreed to postpone all Masterclass videoconferences in both Ukraine and Russia until the invasion is halted, forces have withdrawn, and all students can participate under safe, peaceful and positive conditions. Until then, we are committed to helping the Ukrainian people, anyway we can. In a world in which scientists, educators and students can work together to try to understand the most complex questions of our universe, there is no room for war.