Workshop on the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2024 on Physics: 02 October 2024

The Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting is an annual event where some 400 young scientists from around the world have the opportunity to interact with Nobel Prize winners and fellow young researchers in Lindau, Germany. The Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, as an Academic Partner of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, co-sponsors one Mauritian scientist to attend this prestigious event each year.

In this context, a workshop on the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2024, which was dedicated to Physics, was jointly organized by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology and the University of Mauritius (UoM) on 02 October 2024 at the seat of the UoM.  The objective of the workshop was to allow Mr Herwins Gangaram, a former third-year undergraduate student in the BSc (Hons) Physics with Computing programme at the University of Mauritius, who participated in the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2024, to share with students from various higher education institutions in Mauritius, the experiences he gained at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting 2024.  The aim of the presentation was to raise awareness about the annual Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings and to explain the benefits of participating in such a prestigious scientific event to the students in attendance.

Recognition of Research undertaken by UoM Academics 

Congratulations to Dr Yusra Bibi Ruhomally and Professor Muhammad Zaid Dauhoo, both from the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of Mauritius, and Laurent Dumas (Professeur des Universités au Laboratoire de Mathématiques de Versailles, UVSQ, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay,78035 Versailles, France) for their article entitled 'Stochastic modelling of marijuana use in Washington: pre-and post-Initiative-502 (I-502)’, which has been recognised as the most read and most cited in the IMA Journal of Applied Mathematics, highlighting its impact within the past two years.

Brief of the research:

In 2012, the I-502 law was passed in Washington State which legalised the recreational use, sale, and possession of marijuana for adults aged 21 and over. The NERA model (N: Nonuser, E: Experimental user, R: Recreational user, A: Addict) depicts the dynamics of marijuana use before and after the legalisation of recreational marijuana in Washington. One of the key objectives of the article is to gauge the effectiveness of targeted campaigns of prevention through scenario analysis using the NERA model. Through numerical simulations and data validation, the study demonstrates how early targeted prevention campaigns could have significantly reduced marijuana use if enacted before I-502. The NERA model furnishes valuable insights into how drug consumption patterns evolve within a population and it can additionally forecast future trends in drug use. The research presented in this article is vital for policymakers, showcasing how targeted prevention efforts can impact public health outcomes in countries considering legalising marijuana or addressing its widespread usage.

Read more about the article: https://academic.oup.com/imamat/pages/highly_cited_articles