The one and only University in Nicaragua with a physics department, UNAN-Managua is not exactly the ideal place to study for a talented and curious science student. There are some positives, foundations and motivated people, however.
The lack of opportunity, not just to research, but to even learn about, the broad spectrum of fields that physics encompasses, is striking. The incoming classes from the past two years have essentially one option; medical physics. There used to be geophysics and even a general physics bachelors program, but due to lack of interest (apparently no students at all entered for the general physics program three years ago so it was abandoned), the administration decided it would be a good idea to eliminate all other possibilities within physics and only offer the sexy title of "fisica de medicina."
This unfortunate decision worked if merely considering numbers (some 40 students have entered the medical physics program over the past year), but at least the vast majority are extremely uninformed as to what physics is, and the vast possibilities that reside within the field.
The fifth (final) year class is a different story. The seven students left in this class have varying interests (though predominantly geophysics, as a relic of the previous program), and have the common ambition of pursuing post-grads in foreign countries.
One of these fifth year students, Aitor, wants to study astrophysics, and spends his available time at the recently (2007) formed observatory, and studying on his own.
The observatory was built with the support of the Space Science School at UNAH-Tegucigalpa, and especially Marie Carias, the director of that program whom I'd lauded for her ongoing efforts in a previous post. One of her students, a Nicaraguan named Ligia Zavala, has been with the observatory since 2008, but at present there are only three professors working to further build the program, which has no official courses at present. They are attempting to educate high-schoolers to the possibility of studying astronomy, and hope that future entering classes at UNAN will help further solidify the program, which for now is part of the physics department.
A talk was set-up by the enthusiastic and well-intentioned director of the physics department, Karla Ubieta Huete. Between professors and students, 30-40 people were in attendance. A tough crowd, as it was difficult to get much of a discussion going, but nonetheless a productive exercise.
While the lack of interaction was likely mostly due to timidity, the limited specializations of medical physics and geophysics appears to have stifled the curiosity and awareness of most of the students as to what physics represents, and what scientific investigation is all about.
Also, what exactly is medical physics in the minds of these students, and why is it so popular in comparison to all other areas of physics? Two students mentioned forensics and their interest due to TV shows like CSI. Really, that's why you're studying physics? Needless to say, many first year medical physics students end up dropping out of the program after being introduced to general physics courses and calculus.
After the talk, Aitor led me to the newly-built Institute for Geology and Geophysics, well-isolated from the rest of campus. A modern facility devoted to research, and funded primarily through foreign investment, this place was a strange contrast to what I'd encountered exploring the main campus. There's a multi-national masters program in geology and all professors have post-grad degrees and the majority are Nicaraguan.
This institute is essentially the standard being aimed for in developing countries, and the positive is that its presence shows that high level research institutes can exist in places like Nicaragua. The negative is its isolation and unwillingness to include the pre-grad physics students at UNAN in research opportunities and higher-level instruction.
Politics between the physics department and the institute appear to be the primary problem, and Director Huete has hopes for mending the problems between certain people and establishing a sharing of resources. In addition to making this connection, her primary goals at the moment are to re-implement a general physics degree (2013 is the projected re-commencement), and establish a masters program. She's in contact with members of physics departments in several Latin countries to achieve this final end.
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