June 25, 2005
Support Committee for Armenia’s Cosmic Ray Division
PO Box 655
Menlo Park, CA 94026
Contact Anahid Yeremian
(650)926-4444
anahid@slac.stanford.edu

Cosmic Ray Division – New Accomplishments, New
International Impact
By Anahid Yeremian

The Cosmic Ray Division (CRD) of the Alikhanian
Physics Institute won the All Armenia e-Content
Contest in 2005 in the e-science category. The
competition, dedicated to the 1600th anniversary of
the creation of the Armenian Alphabet, was
appropriately named the
Mashtots-1600 contest. Winners of this contest will
represent Armenia at the World Summit on Information
Society’s (WSIS) competition in Tunis in November,
2005. Because the CRD won the 2003 world competition
held in Geneva, the second place winner of the All
Armenia contest in the e-science category in 2005 will
represent Armenia in Tunis this year. As the winner
from the previous WSIS contest, CRD’s head, Prof.
Ashot Chilingarian, will likely serve as a judge at
the Tunis competition. We wish success to all the
Armenian entries to the world contest in Tunis this
year.

CRD has made a number of internationally significant
contributions in the recent months. In May the Science
Education for New Civic Engagements and
responsibilities (SENCER) conference, organized by the
National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United
States, was held at CRD’s Nor Amberd research station
on Mt. Aragats. SENCER, a flagship program of the NSF,
aims to advance important national educational goals
by helping
students understand the scientific process and the
importance of civic responsibility. Prof.
Chilingarian, one of four key speakers, spoke about
“Space Weather and Solar Physics – Basic Science
Influencing Everyday Life”. Prof. Karen Kashmanian
Oates, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology,
was the conference chair. About 30 participants from
the Georgian State University, Georgian Medical
University, Alikhanyan Physics Institute, Yerevan
State University, Yerevan
Technical University, as well as the chairman of
Armenia’s National Foundation for Science and Advanced
Technologies (NFSAT), Dr. Harut Karapetyan, were
attendees. The next meeting will be in San Jose,
California, in August. Four Armenian scientists will
join an international group of colleagues involved in
science education reform in order to continue the work
started at Nor Amberd. Armenia’s participation is
funded through a SENCER-Armenia grant sponsored by the
International Center for Science and Technology at the
National Science Foundation.

In June, Prof. Chilingarian represented Armenia in two
key regional forums, propelling Armenia’s visibility
for its contribution to the Information and
Communication Technologies (ICT) and Space Weather
Forecasting in the world. At the World Summit
Contributory Conference on ICT & Creativity in Vienna,
Prof. Chilingarian pressed the importance of the ICT
on forecasting and alerting on natural disasters and
the need for a focused effort in this direction, in
particular citing his efforts in the field of Space
Weather forecasting and alerts. This question will be
discussed in more detail at the Solar Extreme Events
-05 workshop at CRD’s Nor Amberd research station in
September. Participants from the US (Naval Research
Laboratory, Stanford U., U. of Delaware), Europe,
Japan, and Russia will discuss and draw a conclusion
which could be presented to the World Summit on
Information Society 05 in Tunis as the Armenian
Declaration. The Vienna Declaration focused on
e-learning and multimedia.

In Bulgaria, At the Balkan and Black Sea regional
planning meeting for the International Heliophysical
Year in 2007, Prof. Chilingarian represented Armenia
as a leading actor in the region for Space Weather
forecasting. With its two high altitude research
stations, Nor Amberd at 6,500 ft. and Aragats at
10,500 ft., CRD is a world Leader for ground based
space weather research. Space weather is the effect
of the Solar activity on terrestrial systems, and thus
is a very hot topic of consideration for the year
dedicated to Heliophysical research. The workshop in
Bulgaria included representatives from Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece,
Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and others countries of the
region. Armenia is clearly the leader on ground based
space weather monitoring in the region. Relying on the
expertise of the CRD, setting up a regional network of
solar monitoring stations in other countries for 24
hours of alert service, was highlighted in the
workshop. The new monitors under development at the
CRD can be installed in new locations in Croatia and
Bulgaria, and initial
discussion along these lines show great promise.

The Diaspora’s support of the CRD continues to play a
key role in this success story. It is truly amazing
how CRD, on a funding level of less than 2 US
professors’ salaries, can accomplishes such great
feats on the internationally arena. Its staff of 80
scientists, technicians, and support personnel, and
its 18 young University students and graduates are
truly a treasure for Armenia. The support of the
Diaspora, together with the talent and dedication of
CRD’s staff, has been crucial in allowing the CRD to
continue making important scientific advances and
making Armenia an international leader in the
competitive science of Space Weather Forecasting. For
more information about the CRD please visit