an informalswot analysis on behalfof the tr-epp community...there is no national laboratory and...

AnInformal SWOTAnalysisonbehalf ofthe

TR-EPPCommunity06.03.2020

Serkant AliÇetinTurkish EPPRepresentative BoardChair(2016-2019)

AnInformal SWOTAnalysis…

Why?

ASWOTanalysis isusefulto monitor the status ofexperimental particlephysics within thecountry inrelation butnotlimited to the CERNAssociate Member StatusofTurkey.

How?

Anindico surveywaspreparedandannouncedtothe“TR-EPPGeneralBoard”and“TurkishCERNForum”e-groupsatCERN.AlsobenefittedfromtheRECFAcountryreport.

STRENGTHS

STRENGTHS

Turkeyhasaneducationalnetworkcomprising~200universities,20%ofwhichadmitstudentsinphysics.ThisnetworkissupportedbyalargebodyofacademicswitharelativelyhighlevelofparticipationbywomencomparedtoothercountriesparticipatinginCERN’sactivities,inparticularinphysics.ThehighqualityoftheeducationalsystemiswellillustratedbytheimpactofTurkishscientistsinvolvedinresearchatCERN.Theincreaseinthenumberofhighenergyphysicistsinthelast15years,thehighqualitystudentsinthefieldandthewellestablishedrelationsandachievementsofTurkishteamswithinalargespectrumofCERNcollaborationsthatincludenotonlyrunningprogramsbutalsofuturecolliders,setveryfavourableconditionsforTurkeytobenefitfromitsobtainedstatusasanAssociateMemberStateatCERN.

Highqualityoftheeducationalsystem.Largebodyofacademics.~40physicsdepartments.ParticipationinawidespectrumofCERNprograms.

STRENGTHS

In2017,theCouncilofHigherEducationidentified10stateuniversitiesas"ResearchUniversities".HalfoftheseuniversitiesareofficiallycollaboratinginatleastoneCERNexperimentalprogramme.Thisdemonstrateswelltheprioritygiventoparticlephysicsamonguniversitiesthatareresearchoriented.ThereisalargenumberofuniversitygroupsandwidespectrumofdetectorandacceleratorR&DactivitiescarriedoutbyTurkishscientistsbothwithinthecountryandabroad.Theclosecollaborationatanumberofuniversitiesaroundthecountrybetweentheexperimentalistsworkingondetectorsandacceleratorsisfruitful,whichalsorepresentsabroadpushtoeducatethenextgenerationofdetectorandacceleratordevelopersandstimulatesveryefficientinteractionbetweentheindustryanduniversityresearchgroups.StrongresearchenthusiasmamongTurkishscientistsandstudentsenablehighqualityperformanceevenwithlimitedresources.

50%of“ResearchUniversities”collaborateinCERNprogrammes.WidespectrumofDetectorandAcceleratorR&D.Efficientinteractionbetweenindustryanduniversityresearchgroups.Highqualityperformanceevenwithlimitedresources.

STRENGTHS

Despitethechallengeofbeingspreadoverawidegeographicalarea,theTurkishparticlephysicscommunitymanagestocollaboratesuccessfullyonexperimentsbyformingthematicclustersbetweeninstitutes.TheTurkishtheoreticalphysicscommunityproducessubstantialoutputintermsofpublications,againwithclosecollaborationbetweeninstitutes.Thereisastrongcomponentofmathematicalphysics,butalsosomeconnectiontoexperimentsthroughphenomenology.ThechallengesofCERN’stechnologicalandindustrialneedsarestronglyhighlightednationwidebytheCERNIndustrialLiasonOfficeofTurkeyinthelastfiveyears.Hence,theTurkishindustrialreturncoefficienthasgrownatahighrateandislikelytoincreaseevenatahigherratewithincreasedinvolvementandthesustainedsupportofscientistsandengineersinCERNprojects.

Thematicclustersbetweeninstitutes.Productivetheorycommunity.StrongCERN-TRILO.

STRENGTHS

• Highqualityoftheeducationalsystem.• Largebodyofacademics.• ~40physicsdepartments.• Participation inawide spectrum ofCERNprograms.• 50%of“ResearchUniversities”collaborateinCERNprogrammes.• WidespectrumofDetectorandAcceleratorR&D.• Highperformanceevenwithlimitedresources.• Efficientinteractionbetweenindustryanduniversityresearchgroups.

• Thematicclustersbetweeninstitutes.• Productivetheorycommunity.• StrongCERN-TRILO.

WEAKNESSES

WEAKNESSES

Aroadmapforinvestmentsinthefieldofhighenergyphysicsandrelatedtechnologiesinalignmentwithanationalstrategyhasnotbeeninactoverthelast10years.Hence,theinvestmentsmadeintheexperimentalprogrammeiscurrentlynotatalevelappropriateforbenefittingthebestfromCERNassociatemembershipdespitethepotentialresourcesandaspirationsofTurkey.

Thereisnonationallaboratoryandfacilityforexperimentalparticlephysics.Anationalstructureforgoverningresearchinhighenergyphysics(likeINFN,IFAE,etc.)isnotyetimplemented.

Throughtheself-organizationoftheexperimentalparticlephysicscommunity,arepresentativeboardconsistingofexpertsinacceleratorphysics,detectorphysics,colliderexperimentsandnon-colliderexperimentswaselected,howeverthisrepresentativeboardwasnotrecognizedbythefundingagencyinanycorrespondence.Lateron,theannouncementofaboardappointedbythefundingagencydidnotfunctionefficiently.Hence,thereisthelackofarecognizedcommunityrepresentation.Closer,effectiveandsustainableinteractionbetweenthefundingagenciesandtheparticlephysicsresearchcommunityisneededtooptimisethescientificandtechnologicalreturnofTurkey’sassociatememberstatestatusatCERN.

Noactivenationalroadmap.Lackofnationalstructureforgoverningresearchinhighenergyphysics.UnrecognizedselforganizationoftheEPPresearchcommunity.

WEAKNESSES

Thereisprogressinthefieldofcomputinginfrastructureinthecountry,howevertheresourceschannelledtowardsGRIDcomputingandsimilartechnologiesusedbybigsciencearelimitedwhichrestrictsfurtherreturnbyinvestinginthesetechnologies.ThecurrentrestrictionssetbystatebodiesonthenumberofTurkishauthorsonpublicationsproducedbytheLHCexperimentsconstraintheresearchopportunitiesthatwouldotherwisebeavailable.Thelackoffundingforgraduatestudentpositions,postdoctoralpositions,engineeringandothersupportstaffpositionsaswellasanyinfrastructureneedswithinthecurrentlyrunningprojectsupportstructureisagamestopper.Thesupportmechanismsdonotincludetheseitemsandthenotionofrollinggrantfundingstructure,whichiscrucialforlongtermcommitments,isnotyetinplace.ThefinaldeclarationofthefirstNationalCongressonParticleAcceleratorsandApplicationsorganizedin2001atTAEKemphasizedthedeficitinthenumberofexpertsinthefieldcomparedtoEuropeanstandards.Overthetwodecadessincethisdeclaration,thedeficitstillcontinueswithabout10timeslessexpertsevenwithrespecttotheprojectionmadefor2010.

Limitted resourcesforGRIDcomputingandsimilartechnologies.Lackofprojectgrantswithpersonnelpositionsandinfrastructurebudgets;onlytravelmoney.UndiscussedlimitationsonnumberofphysicistswithPhDbystatebodies.

WEAKNESSES

TheparticlephysicscommunityisratherconstrainedbyfundingbeingorientedonlytowardsparticipationatCERN,whereas,participatinginexperimentalprogrammesorscientificactivitiesworldwidearecomplementaryandnecessary.

Unforeseenmanagerialchangesatstatebodiesdelaysfurthertheestablishmentofacorporateandsustainablesupportstructure.

Although,inrecentyears,averyactiveprogrammeforschoolteachershasbeeninitiatedanddevelopedbyTurkishphysicistsbasedatCERNthroughnon-Turkishinstitutes,thereisalackofcentralsupportfromfundingagenciestosuchactivities.Theseactivitiesareimportanttoensurethefutureofthecountryinthefieldofscienceandtechnology.Thecommunityalsoseekscentralisedfinancialsupportforitsoutreachactivities,whichwouldbringscienceandtechnologyclosertosociety.Furthermore,CERNactivities,suchasOpenDay topublic,Schoolstostudents,andotherinformationactivitiesarenotusedandparticipatedatadesiredrateduetothelackofspecialnationalfinancialsupportforthistypeofactivities.

Centralizedfinancialsupportmechanisms,necessarytoenabletheindustrytobecomemoreactiveinproductionofadvancedtechnologiesrelatedtothefieldisnotinplace.SuchfinancialmeasureswouldincreasebothquantityandqualityoffirmstobeengagedinprocurementsofCERN.

NosupportforparticipatinginEPPprogramsotherthanCERN.Corporateandsustainablesupportstructuremissing.Lackofcentralizedsupportforteachingandoutreachactivities.Missingfinancialmeasurestoensuretheindustrytobecomemoreactive.

WEAKNESSES• Noactivenationalroadmap.• Lackofnationalstructureforgoverningresearchinhighenergyphysics.• UnrecognizedselforganizationoftheEPPresearchcommunity• Limitted resourcesforGRIDcomputingandsimilartechnologies.• Lackofprojectgrantswithpersonnelpositionsandinfrastructurebudgets;onlytravelmoney.

• UndiscussedlimitationsonnumberofphysicistswithPhDbystatebodies.

• NosupportforparticipatinginEPPprogramsotherthanCERN.• Corporateandsustainablesupportstructuremissing.• Lackofcentralizedsupportforteachingandoutreachactivities.• Missingfinancialmeasurestoensuretheindustrytobecomemoreactive.

OPPORTUNITIES

OPPORTUNITIES

WhileTurkishscientistshavebeenparticipatingforoverhalfacenturyintheCERNprogramme(ObserverStatesince1961),Turkey’sAssociateMemberStatestatussinceMay2015openedupnewopportunities.TurkeymaynowbenefitfromallofCERN’sprogrammesandmaymakeuseofthefullstrengthoftheOrganizationwhichprovidesakeyopportunityforthedevelopmentofhigh-techskills,viatheparticipationofTurkishphysicistsintheCERNexperimentalprogramme.

TheTurkishparticlephysicsandacceleratorcommunityarenowinapositiontofocusonoptionsthatwillstrengthenTurkey’spotentialleadingroleintheregion.CERNoffersseveralpossibilitiesforuniversitiesintechnicalfields,whichmayalsoleadtoclosercollaborationwiththeparticlephysicsgroups.StrengtheningandincreasingtheacceleratoranddetectorR&DinTurkeyrequiresteachingofacceleratoranddetectorscienceattheuniversities,whichwouldbeanaturalapproachtoimprovetheindustrialreturnfromCERNandotheradvancedtechnologyinfrastructures.IncreasedinvolvementinCERNclearlyrequiresadditionalinvestmentswithinTurkey,inparticularinexperimentalpersonnel.

Turkeyhasalsotheopportunitytoconstructafacilitythatwillbecapableofworld-classphysics,andTurkishcommunityisinapositiontoachievethis,givensufficientandtimelysupport.

Developinghigh-techskills.Potentialleadingroleintheregion.InvestingmoreonAcc.&Det.R&DhenceimprovingindustrialreturnfromCERN.Potentialtoconstructafacilityforworld-classphysics.

OPPORTUNITIES

TheconstructionofthenuclearplantinTurkeyisanopportunitytoimplementparticlephysics(suchasneutrinophysics)experimentsanddetectorphysicsifnecessarymeasuresareimplemented.ExperimentalParticlePhysicsisauniquefieldthatrequirescuttingedgetechnologiesandscience.Hence,engineersandphysicistscollaboratecloselytodesignandconstructstateoftheartdetectorandacceleratorsystems.Suchaninterdisciplinaryecosystemisaperfectopportunitytoincreasebothquantityandqualityofgraduatestudentsandpostdocsaswellasseniorengineersandphysicists.SuchanecosystemwillnaturallypushtheTurkishindustrytouseandproduceadvancedtechnologieswhichwillresultinastrongereconomiccompetitivepower.

ThenuclearplantgivesanoptiontoimplementPPexperiments.Theinterdisciplinaryecosystemrequiringcutting-edgetechnologiesisaperfectopportunitytoincreasequantityandqualityofexperts.ApushtoTurkishindustrytouseandproduceadvancedtechnologieswhichwillresultinastrongereconomiccompetitivepower.

OPPORTUNITIES

UniversitiesparticipatingtoCERNprogrammeshavealreadystartedtobuildtheirownhigh-performancecomputinginfrastructuresaswellaslaboratoriesfordetectorandacceleratorR&D.KnowhowtransferfromCERNisaperfectopportunityatthisstagetoflourishsuchinfrastructuresandlaboratorieswithincreasedcentralisednationalsupportmechanisms.TurkeyhasaTier-2gridsystem,whichisnotusedonlyamongtheparticlephysicscommunitybutotherdisciplinesaswell.Hence,animprovedgridinfrastructurewouldenablemoredisciplinestobenefitfromdistributedcomputingtechnologies.ThroughtheactivitiesofferedbyCERN,Turkeyhastheopportunitytoenhancetheawarenessandimpactoffundamentalresearchandthespin-offsinthesociety.

KnowhowtransferfromCERNtoflourishinfrastructuresandlaboratories.Moredisciplinestobenefitfromdistributedcomputingtechnologies.Enhancetheawarenessandimpactoffundamentalresearchandthespin-offsinthesociety.

OPPORTUNITIES• Developinghigh-techskills.• Potentialleadingroleintheregion.• InvestingmoreonAcc.&Det.R&DhenceimprovingindustrialreturnfromCERN.

• Potentialtoconstructafacilityforworldclass physics.• ThenuclearplantgivesanoptiontoimplementPPexperiments.• Theinterdisciplinaryecosystemrequiringcutting-edgetechnologiesisaperfectopportunitytoincreasequantityandqualityofexperts.

• ApushtoTurkishindustrytouseandproduceadvancedtechnologieswhichwillresultinastrongereconomiccompetitivepower.

• KnowhowtransferfromCERNtoflourishinfrastructuresandlaboratories.• Moredisciplinestobenefitfromdistributedcomputingtechnologies.• Enhancetheawarenessandimpactoffundamentalresearchandthespin-offsinthesociety

THREATS

THREATS

Insufficientandunstructurednationalsupportmechanismsoverthelast10yearshavenegativeeffectontherateofbenefitingthemostfromCERNassociatemembership.Suchaninternaldeficit,creatinganinefficientgainpicture,mayevencausethegovernmenttoquestionadvantagesofCERNmembership.ThelimitationsonthenumberofqualifiedphysiciststhatsignscientificpaperswithinCERNcollaborations,unavailabilityoftherollinggrants,missingfundingforinfrastructureandresearcher,engineerandstudentpositionsmakeithardforTurkishteamstoenlarge.Thismayevenresultingroupsgettingsmaller,lessdiverseand/orinefficient.Thisisparticularlythecaseforthefutureprogrammes,whichcouldinvolveasignificantTurkishcontributiontotheplannedupgradesoftheLHCexperiments,butforwhichcommitmentscannotbemadeuntiltheparticipationofseniorscientistshasbeenclarified.Suchaprogrammewouldalsoneedadditionalfundingforpostdoctoralpositionsandengineeringsupportstaff,andcouldactasafocusfordetectorR&D.

InsufficientandunstructuredsupportmechanismsresultinginlowgainfromCERNcouldbereadbyauthorities“CERNassociatemembershipdoesnothelp”.Hardconditionstoenlargeteams;eventheriskofgettingsmallerandlessdiverseand/orinefficient.Withoutthefundingforpostdocs,engineersandsupportstaff,commitmentscannotbemadeforupgrades.

THREATS

Theevaluationprocedureofprojectproposalsaswellasthebureaucracyinrunningtheprojectsisnotoptimizedfortheneedsofjointworkthatcollaborationsrequire.Gapsbetweensequentialprojectsaredestructivesincecommitmentscannotbemet;thiscreatesproblemsinsustainability,reliabilityandvisibilityoftheTurkishteamswithintheexperimentalcollaborations.Thevaluabletechnicalandscientificskillsneedtobemaintainedandshouldbeextended.Inordertoattractnewpersonnel,andinparticularyoungpeople,intoscience,themodernisationoflaboratoryequipmentandtheprovisionofadditionalinfrastructureisveryimportant,otherwise,thereistheriskofretentionofhighqualityresearchers.Thefundingscheme,beingonlyorientedtowardsCERN,potentiallypreventsglobalcollaborationsandscientificactivitiesresultinginlessdiverseandlimitedcontributions.Aslongasparticlephysicsandrelatedtechnologiesarenotapriorityinthenationalstrategy,imbalanceddistributionofnationalresourcesamongbasicscienceswillnotbehelpingtoadvanceincuttingedgetechnologiesandsciencesthatcouldresultfromresearchinparticlephysics.

Sustainability,reliabilityandvisibilityoftheTurkishteamswithintheexperimentalcollaborationsatrisk.Riskofretentionofhighqualityresearchers.Lessinvolvementinglobalcollaborationsandscientificactivities;lessdiverseandlimitedcontributions.Imbalanceddistributionofnationalresourcesamongbasicsciences,hencenoteasytoadvanceincuttingedgetechnologiesandsciences.

THREATS• InsufficientandunstructuredsupportmechanismsresultinginlowgainfromCERNcouldbereadbyauthorities“CERNassociatemembershipdoesnothelp”.

• Hardconditionstoenlargeteams;eventheriskofgettingsmallerandlessdiverseand/orinefficient.

• Withoutthefundingforpostdocs,engineersandsupportstaff,commitmentscannotbemadeforupgrades.

• Sustainability,reliabilityandvisibilityoftheTurkishteamswithintheexperimentalcollaborationsatrisk.

• Riskofretentionofhighqualityresearchers.• Lessinvolvementinglobalcollaborationsandscientificactivities;lessdiverseandlimitedcontributions.

• Imbalanceddistributionofnationalresourcesamongbasicsciences,hencenoteasytoadvanceincuttingedgetechnologiesandsciences.