In order to contribute to the needed mid-term development of Fundamental Physics knowledge in Africa, the second edition of the biennial School of fundamental Physics and its Applications is being hosted by KNUST from 15 July to 8^th August 2012. All lectures and computing exercises will be held within the College of science complex.

Subatomic physics stands on the verge of new discoveries that may challenge our understanding of the natural world. On one hand, we know that the current theories of the fundamental particles and their roles in the evolution of the Universe are incomplete. On the other, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which was constructed to reach energies an order of magnitude beyond those of any previous accelerator, has started operating with a promise of new discoveries.

An enormous progress has led up to this point; pioneering experimental efforts have enabled a highly precise theoretical consolidation of what is known as the Standard Model of particle physics, summarising our current understanding of matter and forces, and novel accelerator and detector designs have spurred cutting-edge developments in a number of related fields such as computing, medical physics, cryogenics, and materials science.

To increase the capacity in Africa to undertake this journey, and to profit from the applications and technologies developed alongside of it, a new school of physics in Africa, on fundamental physics and its applications has been established and will be held every two years. The contents are aimed primarily at doctoral students and on students finishing their last year of university studies, but young researchers are also encouraged to apply.

The first edition of the school took place in August 2010 in South Africa: it utilised the existing strong scientific foundation in South Africa as a base from which students and scientists from neighbouring sub-Saharan countries and beyond were reached.  This year’s edition of the school will comprise of about 100 lectures extended by four days of grid computing school.
For further reading, please visit the school's website at http://africanschoolofphysics.web.cern.ch