From war-torn Damascus to success as an aviation engineer and pilot, a refugee’s journey

03/23/23 • 35 min

This episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast features an in-depth interview with the engineer and pilot Maya Ghazal, who fled from the war in Syria and arrived in the UK in 2016. Despite facing prejudice when she first tried to resume her education, Ghazal gained a degree in aviation engineering and pilot studies and is now a graduate research engineer at the UK’s Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry. There, she works on aeronautics for space in support of the UK’s national space strategy.

Ghazal is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency). She speaks to science journalist Anna Demming about her journey from war-torn Damascus to the UK, how she overcame barriers faced by refugees and how she found an unexpected passion for all things aeronautical.

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Nonlinear optics: we explore the science and its many applications

The burgeoning field of nonlinear optics is explored in this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast. It features Nathalie Vermeulen of Brussels Photonics at the Free University of Brussels and Eric Van Stryland of the College of Optics and Photonics at the University of Central Florida. They talk about the science of nonlinear optics and the wide range of applications – from astronomy to quantum computing – that have emerged.

The duo also looks to the future of nonlinear optics and chat about a recent paper in that they have co-authored with 20 other experts in the field. That paper is called “Post-2000 nonlinear optical materials and measurements: Data tables and best practices” and it can be read free of charge in the Journal of Physics: Photonics, where it has been accepted for publication.

Next Episode

Quantum memories in space: experiments in Earth orbit push the limits of physics

Quantum science and technology have been developing by leaps and bounds over the past few decades, so it is not surprising that quantum experiments are now being done in space. In this episode of the Physics World Weekly podcast Lisa Wörner and Jan-Michael Mol of the Institute of Quantum Technologies of the German Aerospace Center in Ulm explain why physicists are launching quantum memories and other devices into space and talk about the challenges of doing experiments in Earth orbit.

If this podcast has piqued your interest in quantum technologies in space there is much more in an open-access paper by Mol, Wörner and colleagues. It is called “Quantum memories for fundamental science in space” and is published in Quantum Science and Technology.

This episode is sponsored by Pfeiffer Vacuum. The company provides all types of vacuum equipment, including hybrid and magnetically-levitated turbopumps, leak detectors and analysis equipment, as well as vacuum chambers and systems. You can find about Pfeiffer Vacuum’s impact in space research in this video, and explore all its products on the Pfeiffer Vacuum website.

Physics World Weekly Podcast - From war-torn Damascus to success as an aviation engineer and pilot, a refugee’s journey

Transcript

00:00:05.153

Physics world. Hello, and welcome to the physics world weekly podcast, which is sponsored by the electro chemical society or Ec.

00:00:16.181

I'm Hamish Johnston, and in this podcast we meet Maya Ga who arrived in the Uk as a Syrian refugee and is now pursuing a career in Britain's burg aerospace industry. But first, a word from our sponsor.

00:00:40.469

Join the leaders in en energy sensor, electro and solid state science researc