On 14th and 15th January 2014, the course entitled ‘The SOLEIL synchrotron: science and innovation’ will host teachers from the Paris Academy (education authority), following its tremendous success for many consecutive years with their colleagues from the Versailles Academy.
The new focus of the high school syllabus is leading science teachers to incorporate activities with a direct connection to the latest developments in science, as well as the history of science, into their teaching. This year the course, which has been run within the Versailles Academy for many years, is open to science teachers from Paris.
A historical approach to synchrotron radiation will allow its discovery and use to be situated in the context of large particle accelerators. Through an alternation of lectures, tours, and discussions with some of the leading research scientists and engineers in the field, the teachers will be able to grasp the basics of how a synchrotron operates and its many applications in fields as varied as physics, chemistry, biology, medicine, geophysics, new materials, the study of heritage artefacts, etc...