Meet Some of the 2013 Diploma Graduates

In a ceremony held on 19 August 2013, ICTP celebrated the graduation of the 2012-2013 class of Postgraduate Diploma Programme students.

The Programme consists of a rigorous, one-year, pre-doctoral course of study, with a small part devoted to independent projects. Areas of instruction include high-energy physics, condensed matter physics, mathematics, and earth system physics.

Some of the Postgraduate Diploma graduates spoke about their experiences at ICTP, the challenges they faced, and their future aspirations.

Emtinan S. Elkhidir (Sudan, High Energy Physics)

For Emtinan Elkhidir, the Postgraduate Diploma Programme at ICTP was intense both in the science she learned and the environment she worked. Her classes at ICTP were the first she had taken from an active research scientist, and her fellow student colleagues introduced her to many new and different cultures.

The experiences were challenging, she says, but also moments that she will remember for the rest of her life. During her time at ICTP, Elkhidir studied charge quantization - the mathematical approach physicists use to describe subatomic particle behavior. Paolo Creminelli, one of the professors who taught her some of the High Energy courses, says he saw an impressive improvement in Elkhidir's confidence and understanding in physics.

In Sudan, students are hard-pressed when it comes to educational resources, which makes it difficult for anyone to study as complex a subject as physics. Despite her country's disadvantage, Elkhidir is one of this year's top graduating students. She will pursue her PhD in physics at SISSA. Eventually, she hopes to return to her home country and teach physics to students who have little opportunity to learn from a scientist with a PhD in physics. She also aspires to continue an active scientific research agenda.

Shohruh Holmatov (Uzbekistan, Mathematics)

Shohruh Holmatov studied the mathematical characteristics of conceptualized systems and how they change over time  under Professor Stefano Luzzatto and will be leaving ICTP to pursue his PhD in mathematics at SISSA. He says that ICTP is a wonderful place stocked with resources. Although it is possible to study mathematics in Uzbekistan, parts of the country lack the resources to do so effectively. Holmatov comes from one of those areas, so he was grateful for the ready access to scientific papers and tools that ICTP offers. Moreover, he mentioned that he is very grateful for how kind and accommodating everyone was at ICTP.

Of his many memorable moments from the Diploma programme, Holmatov says one of the best was when he defended his diploma thesis in front of distinguished professors for the first time. Also, he fondly recalls the times he spent playing football with his new-found friends at ICTP, with whom he plans to keep in touch after leaving ICTP.

Sarah Cepeda Humerez (Bolivia, Condensed Matter Physics)

Sarah Cepeda Humerez says that ICTP's Postgraduate Diploma Programme will forever be a life changing experience for her. Without it, she says, she would likely be married and attending to a family by now instead of following her dreams to pursue her PhD in biophysics.

Over the last year, Humerez studied with Professor Matteo Marsili on the spoligotype patterns in mycobacterium Tubercolosis, the bacteria that cause the deadly disease tuberculosis, which accounts for about 5 percent of deaths in Humerez's home country, Bolivia.

Humerez will soon start a PhD programme at the Institute of Science and Technology in Vienna, Austria. She eventually would like to return to her country, but realizes the hardships that will come with teaching and researching biophysics with few resources and little funding. She believes that if Bolivia could gain a stronger foothold in science that it could improve as a country economically, but that change is still far away, she says.

Essodjolo Kpatcha (Togo, High Energy Physics)

The Postgraduate Diploma Programme at ICTP was especially helpful for Essodjolo Kpatcha because he says that he could not have become a good scientist without the experiences he gained from his time at ICTP. His home country, Togo, does not offer programmes like those at ICTP, and so he learned a great deal more as an ICTP diploma student than if he had remained a student in Togo.

With Professor Alexei Smirnov, Kpatcha studied neutrino oscillations, and he aspires to continue studies in particle physics to obtain a PhD. He comes from a family of politicians and hopes someday to combine his interests in science and politics.

Kpatcha says that he hopes to go back to Togo and impart what he has learnt at ICTP and educate more professors and students about the Center and the opportunities it offers.

Sylvia Mueni Mutisya (Kenya, Condensed Matter Physics)

In Kenya, physics is a male-dominated field, which makes it difficult for women to enter and thrive. However, Sylvia Mueni Mutisya's confidence in her abilities and passion for physics motivated her to leap the gender gap and choose physics as her main area of study.

Mutisya has been studying at ICTP for the last two years. She began as a student in ICTP's former basic physics programme and upon graduating was accepted to the Postgraduate Diploma Programme. Over the last year, she worked with Professor Sandro Scandolo on the frequencies at which the atomic structures of diamonds vibrate when subjected to certain kinds of compression. She says her experience was a bit challenging at first, but with hard work both programmes have taught her how to organize her thoughts and think under pressure.

Mutisya has been admitted to doctoral studies at the Universidade Federal do ABC Brazil and is proud to be one of the first few women from her country to work toward a PhD in physics and pave the way for future generations of Kenyan women physicists. Although her parents did not have a background in physics, they had faith in her and encouraged her in her choice to pursue a field that many women in her country avoid because of the level of difficulty it involves and the sense of isolation it implies.

Sylvia S. Nyawira (Kenya, Earth System Physics)

Sylvia S. Nyawira is also from Kenya and will be returning to her country after graduation with a determination to earn her PhD. She says that the Postgraduate Diploma Programme was a very tough experience but one that transformed her. Before entering the programme, she knew she wanted to study science but was undecided as to what kind. ICTP opened her eyes to the variety of research within the scientific community, which she says was a great experience despite the challenging courses and late-night study sessions.

Nyawira hopes to conduct research in atmospheric physics as it pertains to climate. During her time at ICTP, she worked with Professor Adrian Tompkins and assessed the availability of temporary and permanent small-scale water bodies in Africa. Meeting different people from other countries in Africa and around the world is one of the aspects she says she appreciates most about the programme and also what she will miss the most.