The camp, which featured presentations and guided sessions by ten colleagues, targeted year 9 to 12 students with an interest in physics, with the explicit aim of making this field of science an attractive career option for school-leavers. The event, organized with the support of the Ministry of Interior, attracted 26 boys and 16 girls. As many as 26 of the participants were from Szeged, 13 from other parts of the country and three from Transylvania. Four of them have left secondary school this year, while the others still have time to find fitting university programmes.
The camp started on Monday with a refresher course on light, while in the afternoon the students fabricated pinhole cameras using cardboard and lenses. On Tuesday, they heard a lecture on lasers and attosecond pulses, and in the second half of the day they took part in a problem-solving activity. On Wednesday, the students could get acquainted with the wonders of the nanoworld, after which our Science Director, Katalin Varjú, gave them an insight into our institute. In the afternoon, the youngsters were shown around three laboratories: they could peek into the chemistry, the biomedical engineering and the nanofabrication labs. On Thursday morning, they heard what we can learn from Schrödinger’s cat, and the camp organizer and head of the Focus Interactive Visitor Space, Vera Horváth, talked to them about our research equipment and the main research directions of our institute. In the afternoon, the students travelled to Mártély to canoe on the oxbow of the River Tisza. On the last day of the camp, the participants were led into the world of black magic with quantum oscillators and were then asked to do a test. The programme ended with an experimental demonstration at the Institute of Physics of the University of Szeged (SZTE).
“I think scientific dissemination is very important. People have an innate curiosity, but young people today are in a difficult situation. I used to take apart flat batteries and alarm clocks when I was a child. Seeing the small gears on the latter, I learned how the clocks worked. But what should present-day children take apart? Their mobile phones? The internet? The world has become so complicated that it’s hard to grow up believing it can be eventually understood. This phenomenon certainly adds to the recent decline in the popularity of sciences and poses serious dangers to society,” said Zsuzsanna Márton, a researcher from our Ultrafast Nanoscience Research Group, when asked about her motivation behind her Wednesday morning lecture on the wonders of the nanoworld.
Bende Glavosits, a year 11 student at Kerék Primary and Secondary School in Budapest, is connected to Szeged through at least two points. His sister is an MSc student in applied mathematics at the University of Szeged, and his physics teacher also graduated from this university. A maths and physics enthusiast, Bende first heard about the camp from his sister and then saw our invitation in several places. Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) would be closer for him, but he finds the university atmosphere in Szeged much more appealing.
Ottó Hinsenkamp, a year 11 student at King Atilla Secondary Grammar School in Aba, is also interested in physics. He has recently realized that to gain admission to the university, he must study. So far, the results have come for him without extra effort. But one does need to revise for the advanced level matriculation exam in physics. This camp provided him with a lot of new knowledge. “I eagerly listened to everything that was shared with us, and it’s easy to remember what interests you,” said Otto, who wants to study astrophysics, preferably in Szeged.
In the week of camp, the two young people found great company. They met secondary school students with different mindsets, and in the evenings, in the dormitory that accommodated students from further afield, they discussed what they had heard during the day. According to Bende, they got to know each other better during these conversations. It turned out that they were bound together not only by their love of physics, but of science in general. “After the presentations, we asked the speakers questions to get a better understanding of the material. Several times in the afternoons I felt my hard drive was getting full, but I always found room for more information. The lecturers explained everything in a clear and, more importantly, exciting way,” added Ottó.
Zsuzsa Zsebe, who is a resident of Gyulafehérvár (Alba Iulia, Romania) and a year 11 student at Bethlen Gábor College in Nagyenyed (Aiud, Romania), recently took part in an online physics competition named after Ágoston Budó, and then started to follow the Instagram page of the Institute of Physics at the University of Szeged. This is where she noticed our invitation to the camp. She thought it was a good idea to apply. An outsider might think that physics is Zsuzsa’s greatest passion, as it takes a huge dedication to spend the first week of the school holiday in Szeged, 300 km from home, instead of going on a proper holiday at the end of the school year. “I was curious about people and wanted to be part of this event. I was also interested in the institute itself, because it does make a difference to read about it or experience it in person. I was in good company and gained a wealth of experience. The infrastructure is also very interesting. You can feel that it is a world-class institution. But I’m not planning to become a physicist,” admitted Zsuzsa, who will continue her studies at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) after leaving secondary school. She feels so assured because she has already gained admittance based on her results in an academic competition organized by this Transylvanian university. Therefore, although she will graduate from secondary school only next year, she can already feel like a university student. We told Zsuzsa that our research institute also employs excellent engineers who are looking for solutions to new challenges every day. In other words, this is a place where engineers too may have a perspective.
Similar to our other speakers, Zsuzsanna Márton wanted to convey to the campers the message that science is beautiful and interesting. Even if it takes a lot of work to find out. The second thought she shared was that we can only understand the world if we have scientific knowledge. You need such knowledge even to decide whether it’s worth buying a pricey sport jacket made of super-hydrophobic, self-cleaning, nanomaterial. “Researchers and people in general, look around in nature and encounter wonders, which they interpret and learn to use. This is what civilization has evolved from and is still evolving from,” said our research fellow, adding that our campers were open-minded young people. They asked lots of questions and it was good to see that they were genuinely interested in the topics presented, trying to relate them to their existing knowledge.
The test, written on the final day of the camp, had a high stake, as those who scored at least 80% in the test would receive 25 points for admission to the physics, physics teacher, bioengineering, environmental engineering, chemical engineering and physics engineering degree programmes of the University of Szeged. This score can be used even if the student does not apply for admission this year. Nine of the 42 campers met this requirement.
Next year, we will again organize our summer camp, where students will be able to enjoy similar exciting topics, presentations and gain extra points for their university admission.
Photos: Gábor Balázs