Did you know that an average person weighs only 22 grams of electrons? Have you ever wondered what makes the stars shine? And have you ever dreamed of going back in time?

On September 1, Professor Yannis K. SEMERTZIDIS, Director of the Center for Axion and Precision Physics (CAPP) within IBS, spoke on the fascinating mysteries of our Universe to the students and teachers of the Taejon Christian International School (TCIS).

Prof. Semertzidis introduced some of the challenges that the physicists in Daejeon and around the world are facing. One of them is dark matter: an unknown substance that that makes up approximately 27% of our Universe, but whose nature we still do not understand. The professor pointed out that some models attempting to explain dark matter predict that the vacuum is not empty, but could possibly contain particles called Axions. High tech experiments with extremely sensitive receivers will be launched at IBS to detect these mysterious particles. The talk continued exploring several experiments that led to Nobel prizes in science and ended with the hypothesis of time reversibility.

Driven by the example of his past science teachers, Prof. Semertzidis believes in taking active steps to spread science to the community in Daejeon: "I believe it is our obligation to give back to society for the privilege of receiving public funding for basic science," enthuses the professor.

"I found the idea of reversing time very exciting," said an excited student at the end of the talk. "Professor Semertzidis encouraged students to ask questions and be curious," commented Dr. Thomas J. Penland, Head of TCIS. "This is essential for our inquiry-based education. We want to instill intellectual curiosity to our students and create thinkers for our society."

Dr Semertzidis also invited the students to apply to the Korean Undergraduate/Graduate/High School Science Program (KUSP), a research-based summer program where the selected students can work together with CAPP researchers.

Several researchers at IBS are dedicated to the study of dark matter. Beyond the quest for Axions, the Center for Underground Physics is looking for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), another possible candidate for dark matter. IBS is responsible for organizing outreach events for students and adults so that more and more people can enjoy the beauty of basic science.

▲ Director Semertzidis at Taejon Christian International School (TCIS).

▲ Students from Taejon Christian International School pose questions to Prof. Semertzidis