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Photo by:=20 BGU

Physics phenomena in the Negev =

By=20 JERUSALEM POST STAFF
14/07/2010

For 3rd year in = a row,=20 high school students at BGU=E2=80=99s Ilan Ramon = Center take first=20 place in international First Step to Nobel Prize=20 competition.=20 =

=E2=80=9COnce you=E2=80=99re lucky, = twice you=E2=80=99re good, but=20 when it happen three years running, there=E2=80=99s got to be a = pretty good=20 reason,=E2=80=9D said Prof. Victor Melamed, the director of = Physics at the Ilan=20 Ramon Youth Physics Center at Ben- Gurion University of the Negev, = explaining the success of Beersheba high school students at the = annual=20 First Step to Nobel Prize competition held in Warsaw last=20 month.

This year Eli Godinsky, Evelyn Genis and Danny = Niemark,=20 members of the physics program at the Ramon Center, took first, = second and=20 fourth place, respectively, in the prestigious = competition.

The=20 event brings together teams from the US, China and Europe. High = school=20 students submit projects that are then judged by professors of = physics for=20 originality and academic excellence.

Eli Godinsky, who won = first=20 place for his project on the theoretical study of the generation = of=20 large-scale turbulence with homogeneous wind shear, will begin the = IDF=20 Academic Reserve Program at BGU next fall, studying physics and = computer=20 science.

=E2=80=9CThis win came as a total surprise and I = feel very=20 honored,=E2=80=9D said Godinsky. =E2=80=9CIt was a lot of work but = it was worth it. My=20 studies at the center helped me decide to study physics at a = university=20 level =E2=80=93 it opened a whole new world for me, showing me = things I never=20 would have been exposed to.=E2=80=9D

Evelyn Genis won = second place for her=20 project on phase transitions and incommensurate phase in the = layered=20 ferroelectric- semiconductor TlInS2 by means of nuclear magnetic=20 resonance.

Daniel Niemark, whose research study of magnetic = properties for nanocrystalline materials won fourth place, says = that the=20 center gives him a chance to see how research is conducted in the=20 field.

=E2=80=9CThe lecturers treat us like regular = university students,=E2=80=9D=20 Niemark said. =E2=80=9CThey=E2=80=99re always willing to explain, = and make us really want=20 to broaden our horizons.=E2=80=9D

Established in 2007 by = the Moshav Ben=20 Shemen-based Rashi Foundation of Israel, the Ilan Ramon Youth = Physics=20 Center =E2=80=93 in collaboration with the university=E2=80=99s = Department of Physics =E2=80=93=20 advances hands-on learning activities for high school students = from Kiryat=20 Gat to Eilat. The center, named in honor of Israel=E2=80=99s first = astronaut, who=20 grew up in Beersheba, is located in the Sacta- Rashi Building for = Physics=20 and includes sophisticated laboratories, a planetarium and a = rooftop=20 observatory.

Winning once is impressive.

Winning = twice is=20 great, but three times in a row? =E2=80=9CThe fact that students = from the Negev,=20 Israel=E2=80=99s most s o c i a l - e c o n o m i c a l l y = depressed region,=20 would achieve such fantastic success three years running,=E2=80=9D = continues Prof.=20 Melamed, =E2=80=9Cis more than just a fluke =E2=80=93 it=E2=80=99s = phenomenal!=E2=80=9D =E2=80=9CIn 2008 and 2009,=20 the Tzabag sisters =E2=80=93 first Mor and then Hadas =E2=80=93 of = Netivot, pupils at the=20 center, won first place in the competition, causing much = discussion about=20 their =E2=80=98fabulous physics genes,=E2=80=99 but succeeding = three years running shows=20 that we are onto a system that works.=E2=80=9D

Malamud = attributes much of=20 the success to the Rashi Foundation, with support from the = Ministry of=20 Education and the Beersheba Municipality.

=E2=80=9CRashi = sets a target and=20 then will do anything to reach it. I am in awe of them, because = they are=20 actively realizing the Zionist vision. They really believe in the = younger=20 generation and are willing to invest whatever it takes to help our = kids=20 reach their full potential. In the present economic reality, this = is not=20 something that should be taken for granted,=E2=80=9D he = exclaims.

Malamud,=20 who made aliya in 1990 after he was fired from his job in the = Soviet Union=20 for being Jewish, describes himself as =E2=80=9Cdetermined = =E2=80=93 like a tank!=E2=80=9D and=20 says that in Rashi, =E2=80=9CI found a true partner. Eli Elalouf, = the CEO of the=20 foundation, is an exceptional person. He is determined to succeed = and=20 tells me to =E2=80=98keep bringing more pupils and doing what you = doing, because=20 no price is too high to pay for the results you=E2=80=99re = getting. Just do it!=E2=80=99=E2=80=9D=20 The Ramon Center=E2=80=99s unique teaching methods also play a = part: =E2=80=9COur=20 dedicated team of instructors are crazy about teaching, and know = how=20 important it is to develop creative thinking. Israeli pupils are = creative=20 by definition, and you=E2=80=99ve got to cultivate that and get = them to believe in=20 themselves,=E2=80=9D says Malamud, who previously taught at the = Moscow Institute=20 of Physics and Technology.

The center implements PBL = =E2=80=93 Project=20 Based Learning, a system created by Intel = Israel.

=E2=80=9CWe don=E2=80=99t just=20 teach formulas and say, =E2=80=98Go learn this by heart.=E2=80=99 = =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s important to give=20 the students a full picture of how the world is built and only = then to=20 delve into the mathematical descriptions. Students need to get = passionate=20 about physics, to be interested in how this field can be applied = to any=20 area of science and especially to hi-tech industries, which is our = chance=20 to make a place for ourselves in the future,=E2=80=9D Malamud = says.

=E2=80=9CI try=20 to get pupils interested by appealing to their Israeli-born=20 competitiveness; they think, if my friends can do this, then maybe = I can=20 too.=E2=80=9D

And the center=E2=80=99s connection to BGU = makes the formula=20 complete: =E2=80=9CThe university president Prof. Rivka Carmi = gives us fantastic=20 support. She never says no, and provides us with all the services = we need=20 to run the program. She realizes that these pupils are the future = of BGU,=20 and will eventually become the top students in engineering and in = all=20 sciences,=E2=80=9D Malamud says.

So what does it take to be = fabulous in=20 physics? Malamud believes every child has potential, =E2=80=9Cbut = someone who will=20 go far in physics needs to be ambitious, willing to work hard, = interested=20 in science, and have to have good = English.=E2=80=9D

Although you don=E2=80=99t=20 necessarily need a scientific background, you do need a supportive = family=20 that will cheer you on, =E2=80=9Cbecause studying at the center, = in addition to=20 your high school studies, demands high motivation: You have to be = willing=20 to cut down on computer games and soccer.

=E2=80=9CLast = years winner, Hadas=20 Tzabag, would travel from her home town of Netivot to the center = at six in=20 the evening, after going to school all day, and do her research at = the=20 center till 10 almost every night.=E2=80=9D

In physics, as = in life, Malamud=20 says, =E2=80=9CYou=E2=80=99ve got to want it.=E2=80=9D =

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