Turkish-Syriac student makes it to finals at CERN with team

ISTANBUL

A Syriac-Turkish high school student in the southeastern province of Mardin has made it to the finals in a competition organized by the European Nuclear Research Center (CERN) in Switzerland.

Markus Acar, who has made it to the top 20 in the competition with an e-detector project he prepared with five students from China and Chile, wants to go to CERN as the first team to win on behalf of Turkey.

Acar lives in the Eskikale village of Mardin and has had a deep interest in science and technology since his childhood. He had to walk from home to his school every day, as he grew up in a low-income household.

Outside of school, Acar worked on a farm. He participated in the CERN Beamline competition for high school students with five international students.

“We are in the top 20 with the e-detector project we prepared. I believe that we will be the first in the finals,” he said, recalling that he participated in the same competition last year, but they are confident they will win this year.

Noting that he met his teammates on social media, Acar explained that the project was based on producing a low-cost electronic detector.

He pointed out that the detector they prepared was much more advantageous than the detectors currently used in CERN in terms of size and cost.

Acar speaks Syriac, Arabic, Kurdish and English well, and has recently learned German and Chinese. He also plays instruments, paints and plays tennis.

The young student says he owes his success to studying regularly and setting a goal in life.