Plasma Diagnostics Course in Lausanne 2012 - Conclusions

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Looking back on the Plasma Diagnostics course, I am able to fully absorb the significance of the material we were taught. The other day, while reading a paper related to my own research, I came across a particular passage which triggered an immediate reaction in my mind: "Aha!", I thought, "What they are describing is nothing more than conditional sampling. We learned about that at Lausanne!". Despite the relatively limited scope of the diagnostics covered during the course, the take-home lessons provide a firm foundation on which to build an understanding of one's own research area.

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For those looking to obtain some understanding of what the world of plasma diagnostics is all about, chat to other students in both related and unrelated fields, and eat delicious fondue, I can highly recommmend the EPFL course. There was some debate about whether five days was long enough to provide a decent overview, but it was determined that in view of the cost of remaining in Switzerland for any length of time when coming from elsewhere in Europe, and the fact that the research interests of the participants are so divergent, a one-week course was probably optimal.

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I would like to congratulate the organizers, on behalf of all the participants, for arranging an enjoyable, stimulating and informative course. May it continue to develop in future years to the benefit of all those involved.

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