Clustered Institutions are typically intended for institutes in nations where the High-Energy Physics community is still developing and where it may be difficult to form individual university groups large enough to stand alone in ATLAS. Therefore, it is expected that members of a Cluster work closely together and build up a coherent effort in ATLAS. Each Cluster will have one vote in the ATLAS Collaboration Board.
Each of the three universities is represented by one or two researchers:
- University of Sharjah (UoS): Dr. Rachik Soualah and Prof. Amine Ahriche
- New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD): Prof. Marta Losada
- United Arab Emirates University (UAEU): Prof. Salah Nasri
ATLAS is a general-purpose particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. It is designed to exploit the full discovery potential of the LHC, pushing the frontiers of scientific knowledge. ATLAS' exploration uses precision measurement to push the frontiers of knowledge by seeking answers to fundamental questions such as: What are the basic building blocks of matter? What are the fundamental forces of nature? What is dark matter made of?
The process of being a full member of the ATLAS program has been long and tedious. Negotiations under the close supervision and follow-up of His Excellency Prof. Hamid Al Naimiy, Chancellor of the University, who put it as one of the top priorities to invest in the basic research. In 2017, a delegation from the University of Sharjah led by Prof. Hamid AL Naimiy, Prof. Maamar Bettayeb (Vice-Chancellor for Research Affairs), and Dr. Rachik Soualah (Assistant Professor at the Department of Applied Physics and Astronomy) visited CERN and carried out several discussions to join CERN through the ATLAS collaboration.
Prof. Nouar Thabit, the Dean of the College of Sciences at the University of Sharjah, said that the full membership of the UoSNYUAD-UAEU Cluster is a significant achievement for the three main universities of the country joining efforts to initiate a collaboration with the prestigious CERN. He continued that the University of Sharjah students will benefit tremendously from this collaboration along with the concerned faculty will do what it takes to make it a success.
Dr. Rachik Soualah emphasized that the membership will allow the University of Sharjah to work on cutting-edge science frontiers and contribute eventually to increasing our understanding of the universe. The Research Office at the University of Sharjah has set up a clear plan to move in this direction by making the availability of High-Performance Computing (HPC) facilities. This step will enable researchers and students with opportunities to exchange and showcase new ideas. It will also promote and establish collaborative projects with well-known research universities.
It is worth noting that the institutional representative for this CERN membership is Dr. Rachik Soualah, a member of the ATLAS program since 2010. The Deputy institutional representative is Prof. Marta Losada, a member of ATLAS during 2006-2018.