The first Mainz Particle Physics Academy has been taking place at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) since August 1, 2016. High school students from all over Germany were invited to apply to take part in this challenging two-week vacation program.

The selected 24 students aged between 15 and 18 will have the unique opportunity to build a state-of-the-art particle detector together and test it at the Mainz electron accelerator MAMI. The necessary background knowledge for building a detector will be provided through lectures and workshops, lectures on Elementary Particle Physics and the underlying Mathematics concepts will accompany the program.

“Only the European research center CERN near Geneva in Switzerland offers a comparable program,” explains Professor Matthias Schott, organizer of the Mainz Particle Physics Academy. In contrast to the Mainz concept, which involves an elaborate application process followed by a strict selection procedure, CERN invites an entire school class at a time.

The Mainz Particle Physics Academy is funded by the PRISMA (Precision Physics, Fundamental Interactions and Structure of Matter) cluster of excellence, in which mainly particle and hadron physicists work together. The scientists involved in PRISMA are keen to inspire talented young people to pursue a program of study in physics at JGU. The Mainz Particle Physics Academy offers a comprehensive insight into the excellent conditions of studying and opportunities in the subject of physics at JGU.