Education in Particle and Nuclear Physics Georgi Rainovski

Historical remarks Prof. Dr Elizaveta Karamihailova (1897 – 1968) 1917 – 1920 – studied physics in Vienna; 1920 – 1922 – PhD student at the Radium institute, Vienna; 1921 – 1934 – researcher at the Radium institute, Vienna; 1935 – 1938 – researcher at the Cavendish Laboratory; 1939 – Assoc. Prof. at the University of Sofia; first female professor in Sofia University 1946 – founder of the department of Atomic physics; 1955 – professor at the Institute of Physics, BAS; Founder of experimental nuclear physics research in Bulgaria Academic staff: 1946 – 2; 1963 – department of Atomic physics is founded at the University of Plovdiv; 1965 – 1970 – 20-25; 1976 – the department is split → department of Optics and spectroscopy; 1980 – 1984 – 50; 1984 – the department is split → department of Nuclear engineering;  1988 – 40; 2017 – 15;

NPP in Bulgarian universities Population 7.15 million (2015) - 52 universities (38 state/14 private) BSc degree: Astronomy, Meteorology, Medical physics and radioecology, Physics, Physics (teachers); MSc degree: Astrophysics, Medical physics, Meteorology; Staff related to NPP: 3 Assoc. Professors Sofia Plovdiv BSc degree: Physics, Meteorology, Applied optics; MSc degree: Energy and environment, Energy management, Nuclear and Particle Physics; Staff related to NPP: 1 Assoc. Professors

University of Plovdiv "Paisii Hilendarski" Faculty of Physics BSc programs: Engineering physics; Telecommunications and information physics; Physics and mathematics; Telematics; Physics and astronomy; Industrial physics; Management in telecommunications; MSc programs: Medical physics; Subatomic physics; Condensed matter physics; Physics of foods; Electronics and laser techniques; Photonics and modern optic; Optophotonics; Telematics; Geophysics; Econophysics; Renewable energy and energy efficiency technology Information and communication systems; Investment management in telecommunications; Teachers in physics; Staff related to NPP: Department of Optics, Atomic and Theoretical physics 1 Professor, 2 Assoc. professors and 2 Assist. professors High-energy physics; photonuclear reactions and neutron-induced reactions; - and neutron-activation analysis; radioecology; JINR (Dubna, Russia), CERN

Sofia Two big centers Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski BSc, MSc, PhD Institute of Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy at BAS only PhD Technical University Sofia Thermal Engineering and Nuclear Power Engineering engineers (BSc, MSc, PhD)

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics Biggest and oldest university in Bulgaria founded 1888 Covers practically all scientific fields 16 faculties 2700 staff 22000-23000 students Faculty of Physics Academic staff  120 13 Departments 12 BSc programs 18 MSc programs Students  500

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics MSc programs: Nuclear and Particle Physics Theoretical and Mathematical Physics Astronomy and Astrophysics Astronomy and Popularization of Astronomy Geophysics Meteorology Medical Physics Nuclear Technique and Technologies Quantum Electronics and Lasers Technique Microelectronics and Information Technologies Communication and Computer Equipment Communications and Physical Electronics Wireless Network and Devices Aerospace engineering and communications Methodology of Physics and Astronomy Optics and Spectroscopy Cosmic Research Fusion Science and Technology Solid Nanotechnology Optometry BSc programs: Physics Engineering Physics Nuclear Technology and Nuclear Power Engineering Astrophysics, Meteorology and Geophysics Medical Physics Physics and Mathematics Physics and Informatics Communications and physical electronics Quantum, Space and Theoretical physics Optometry Photonics and laser physics Nuclear and Particle Physics (in English) Nuclear and particle physics Department of Atomic physics Nuclear Engineering and technologies Department of Nuclear Engineering

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics Courses on Nuclear and Particle physics for Bachelor students Atomic physics and interaction of the ionizing radiation with mater; Introductory Nuclear and Particle physics; Experimental nuclear physics; Theoretical nuclear physics; Dosimetry and radiation protection; Nuclear electronics; Nuclear reactions; Radiation biophysics and radiation protection; Introduction in particle physics; Introduction in particle physics theory; Quantum field theory; Group theory; Gauge theory; Optional offer early specialization (3rd & 4th year)

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics Courses on Nuclear and Particle physics for Master students Nuclear and particle physics Standard model Symmetries in particle physics Nuclear models Nuclear structure Modeling of physical processes Theory of nuclear reactions Natural radioactivity and radioecology Nuclear electronics – 2 Object oriented programming Theoretical astrophysics Radiochemistry Moessbauer effect and spectroscopy Radiation biophysics Modern problems in nuclear physics Introduction to high performance computing Weak interactions of elementary particles Supersymmetry, quantum deformations and models of interacting systems Introduction to string and superstring theory Automation of the physical experiment Physics beyond the Standard Model Medical physics Image reconstruction and analysis in medicine Physical basics of X-ray and radionuclide diagnostics Clinical dosimetry Dosimetry and radiation protection Radiation biophysics Metrology of ionizing radiation MRI tomography Physical methods in medicine Nuclear physics methods in medicine Monte-Carlo simulations of ionizing particle- mater interactions Natural radioactivity and radioecology Diploma thesis (one semester) Requirement – to contain a part of a real scientific investigation (in house research or projects from international schools including CERN summer school, JINR, GSI etc.)  to participate in scientific investigations from the very beginning of their master degree study;

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics Laboratories Atomic and Nuclear physics; Experimental Nuclear physics; Dosimetry and radiation protection; Natural and low radiation; Metrology of ionizing radiation; Nuclear electronics; Particle physics; Biophysics; Medical physics; Computational physics; Grid computing and particle physics; High performance computing; CMS center; Old and obsolete infrastructure and equipment!

Sofia University, Faculty of Physics Department of Atomic physics Academic staff and scientific specialization Nuclear physics 3 Professors 3 Assoc. Professors 2 Assist. Professors Particle physics 1 Professor 4 Assoc. Professors 2 Assist. Professors Atomic, Molecular and Computational physics 1 Professor emer. 1 Assist. Professor Average age 48 Teaching responsibilities Directly responsible for – BSc & MSc programs “Nuclear and Particle Physics” and “Medical physics”; – General education in the field of Atomic, Nuclear and Particle physics; Strongly involved in the programs related to nuclear engineering; 2010 – 2017: Bachelor students: - Nuclear and Particle physics: 5-7 graduates/year; - Medical physics 8-10 graduates/year; Master students: - Nuclear and particle physics: 2-3 graduates/year; - Medical physics: 4-6 graduates/year;

Funding for BSc\MSc education Subsidy/(year student) = 814 € Basic principle “Money follows the student”  in the period 2001 – 2014 the government subsidy depended solely on the number of students! BC - Basic cost / student: depends on the national budget – 0.3%-0.4% GDP  354 € Subsidy/year = BC  Ksa  NS Ksa - Subject area coefficients (before 2014): “1.0” – pedagogy, economics, business administration, tourism, …; “1.6” – humanities and social sciences (history, philosophy, law, …); “2.3” – physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, informatics, technical engineering…; “4.3” – agricultural science; “5.3” – fine and performing arts; “6.2” – sports; “7.8” – national security; “9.4” – human medicine and pharmacy; “10.57” – military science; Physics: Subsidy/(year student) = 814 € NS - number of students at the Physics Faculty, Sofia University 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 2016/17 BSc students (1st year) 135 140 122 92 101 80 BSc students (total) 423 410 377 329 294 278 MSc students (1st year) 64 23 42 31 36 MSc students (total) 105 52 65 59 Total 528 462 442 394 353 358 Annual deficit of 55% - 60%

Funding for BSc\MSc education Subsidy/year = Q  BC  Ksa  NS 2014: the Ksa increased to 2.8 + additional coefficients accounting for the performance; 2016: new Higher Education Act (law) Subsidy/year = Q  BC  Ksa  NS Q – quality coefficient: Demand-driven factors: Unemployment among graduates; Applicability of degree acquired and realization by vocation; Graduates' social security insurance income; Anticipated future shortages in the labor market; Performance-based factors: The accreditation of a university; Science and research – papers in journals with impact factors, citations, PhD programs; Position in Bulgarian University Ranking System; Physics (Faculty of Physics, Sofia University): Q = 1.49 (highest in the country is 1.51 for informatics and computing) A positive expectation: the relative weight of Q in the subsidy will increase 25% - 2016, 50% - 2018, 60% - 2020

Sofia University & INRNE PhD degree Sofia University & INRNE A study based on independent scientific investigation Duration – 3 years + prolongation of 1 year without stipendium; PhD thesis based on original scientific results - at least 1 publication in international journal with impact factor; - at least 1 publication in conference proceedings; PhD students in Nuclear physics, Particle Physics an related fields 2010 – 2017: Admitted Active Graduated SU Faculty of physics 22 8 10 INRNE 19 9 7 Our research activities at CERN, JINR, GSI and other laboratories abroad are of utmost importance for attracting PhD students and maintaining high standards for awarding PhD degree! Main problem: an extremely low, lesser than the minimum wage for Bulgaria ( 230 €), stipendium!  most of the prospective PhD students leave the country Additional sources (EU operational programs, NSF grants, support from the industry) for supporting PhD students are available but are severely limited and not sustainable.

But the overall tendency is clearly negative! Conclusions We are in a stage of “survival” … we are still able to produce well educated physicists in the field of Nuclear and Particle physics who successfully continue their careers at scientific institutions in Bulgaria or abroad and in the industry; our scientific production in the field of Nuclear and Particle physics is significant and internationally well recognized; But the overall tendency is clearly negative! The hope – the new policy for funding the university (in place since 2016) education …. how long it will take to see positive results?