He works as a researcher at the prestigious CERN, the world's largest physics laboratory, is President of the Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (ANNT), and is very happy to share his knowledge with younger colleagues through the projects of the BH Futures Foundation.
He is Admir Greljo, a native of Gacko now living in Switzerland, and he spoke to our portal about his beginnings – how he made his way from the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo to a laboratory where there is room only for the best, mostly those from prestigious universities – about the research he is currently working on, why it is important for Bosnia and Herzegovina to invest more in science, and also about how he manages his roles as a father and husband alongside all the obligations of a scientist whose working day never ends.
Your family is from Gacko, you were born in Trebinje, you finished primary school in Mostar and studied at the Faculty of Science in Sarajevo... How tiring and stressful was it to keep moving and changing environments from such an early age? What has all of this taught you?
– In the last seven years we have moved between four cities and three countries. Advancing in this profession requires mobility; in this respect science is similar to top-level sport. Many postdocs find moving hard, which is completely understandable. It is a strange feeling when you move from one place to another and what happened a month ago seems like the distant past. My first memories are of being a refugee in Mostar, and of my father's and grandfather's stories about our house in Gacko. When we finally settled in Bijelo Polje, north of Mostar, I went to Sarajevo for my education. Temporary residence is a status that has followed me since early youth. It is a lesson in the transience of life.
Today you live and work in Switzerland. You are a researcher at the prestigious CERN. How did you end up at this great laboratory, given that we Bosnians like to say that "there is no place for us among the best, despite all our diplomas and knowledge", because "foreigners see us only as manual labourers"? You have proven the opposite.
– My colleagues were educated at the world's most prestigious universities, and I proudly point to my University of Sarajevo, where I qualified as a theoretical physicist. After graduating, I did a three-year PhD at the University of Ljubljana, followed by four years of postdoctoral research in Zürich and Mainz. That year, the Theoretical Physics Department at CERN offered two positions for a hundred applicants from non-member states, which include our country – an additional aggravating circumstance. I think the developed countries of Europe do recognise the highly qualified workforce from BiH, as shown by the many positions held by our professionals in those countries.
When was your love of physics born? What drew you to this science, whose main goal is to understand the behaviour of the universe? How far has it succeeded, and will it ever succeed completely? How well do you understand the universe after all your experiences?
– Physics and I "clicked", it seems to me, at the very first lesson in the seventh grade of primary school. (If only physics had been introduced even earlier.) We have been inseparable ever since. Through physics I learned that natural phenomena, however complex and diverse, arise from a few simple mathematical laws. The world is built from a handful of elementary particles that interact through fundamental forces. Every proton in every atom in the universe is identical, just like Lego bricks in art installations. The diversity of the world that emerges from such simplicity and regularity is the ultimate art.
What does a typical working day look like for you? What are your tasks, what research are you currently working on and why is it significant for humanity?
– The ordinary matter around us is built from the so-called first generation of elementary particles. In particle colliders we have discovered the existence of two additional generations which, once produced, decay quickly. Why do these additional generations exist and where is their place in theoretical physics? What role did they play in the early universe and what happened immediately after the Big Bang? My research is driven by these questions.
As a rule, fundamental science leads to humanity's technological progress. Think of quantum mechanics at the beginning of the last century, which made possible the development of electronics and information technology. Particle research at CERN has already found applications in medicine through hadron therapy.
My routine looks like this: discussions with colleagues, work on numerical and analytical calculations, writing papers, taking part in conferences and so on.
Which research carried out by the laboratory you work for would you particularly highlight?
– The discovery of the Higgs boson is considered one of the greatest achievements of modern science, if not the greatest. It represents not only the crowning achievement of humanity's technological development, but also the triumph of theoretical physics, which predicted its existence as much as fifty years earlier.
You are one of the co-founders of the Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology (ANNT). How much can you help younger colleagues through this Association, and also change the ignorant attitude towards science in our country? Why do we need science? What must Bosnia and Herzegovina do to improve the ecosystem for the advancement of science and technology?
– Funding for scientific research is two orders of magnitude (or a hundred times) lower than the European average. The country's scientific "output" is, in line with this investment, marginal compared with the developed countries of Europe. Our Association brings together dozens of excellent young researchers in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering who grew up in BiH and are now doing PhDs (or similar research) at prestigious global centres of science such as CERN, Google and others. ANNT's vision is of BiH as a respectable and accessible country for doing science and technology, and its mission is to connect scientists with the aim of improving the conditions and infrastructure for scientific research. Investing in science is not spending but "investment" in the true sense of the word, which pays back into the country's economy many times over.
How many young people in BiH are interested in physics? Do we have talent in science in general?
– In our Association we currently have around ten physics PhD students studying in Ljubljana, Vienna, Munich, Zürich, London, California and elsewhere. The Society of Physicists in BiH does great work organising competitions in secondary schools, which most of them went through. The Department of Physics at the Faculty of Science, University of Sarajevo, "launches" in every generation a student capable of doing physics at the highest level. Of course, the question of young people leaving arises. I can attest that these PhD students, through their personal engagement, are already contributing to the education system in Bosnia and Herzegovina by teaching younger generations. Just imagine if they had an institute in their own country, so that they did not have to go elsewhere…
You have also found fulfilment as a husband and father. Can a scientist carry out research and be with his family at the same time? At the end of the day, do you have time for yourself?
– Only if he has the support of his family! My wife Alma carries an enormous burden, and I sometimes think it would only be fair to list her as a co-author on my publications. Family is joy, and everything else is a bonus. If only the pandemic would end, so that Amer could visit both his grandfathers and both his grandmothers.
Given that you work at the world's largest laboratory, we could say you have reached the top, but you are young and I doubt you will stop there – nor, in the logical course of events, should you. Alongside CERN or after CERN, where do you see yourself?
– I have received a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation to set up a research group at the University of Bern over the next five years and to start a new line of research, "Particle Generations at High Energies". I am looking forward to the new challenge. In the long term, I want to contribute to the development of physics and to perfect my knowledge of this fundamental science. I also care about strengthening the scientific research scene in BiH, through my work in ANNT and cooperation with UNSA.
Which of your fellow scientists who have made history inspires you?
– The Pakistani Nobel laureate Abdus Salam, one of the founders of the Standard Model of elementary particle physics.
Source: faktor.ba.
