Professor Gai completed in May 2025, a five-month Fulbright stint in Bucharest Romania. During this visit he collaborated on research at the new EU world highest power (10 PW) laser lab, the Extreme Light Infrastructure Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), in Magurele near Bucharest. He taught a graduate class at the ELI-NP on “Physical Concepts of Stellar Evolution”, with 40 students registered, and a university wide general class intended for undergraduate students at the University Polytechnica of Bucharest (UPB) on “Layman Introduction to Astrophysics”, with 120 students registered. Gai was very impressed by the high quality of students at the UPB, that is known as one of the best science universities in eastern Europe. Professor Gai intend to teach the class he developed for the graduate course at the ELI-NP as a graduate special topic course on “Nuclear Physics of Stars” in the Physics department.

Perhaps among the most inspiring experience was meeting a UPB student, Valeria Cirlan, who traveled from Suceva to Bucharest to listen to his lectures. When inquiring, he found out that Suceva is up north by Moldova close to the Ukraine Border. In fact, Valeria took seven hours train ride, each way to and from Bucharest, to join Gai’s class. The enthusiasm for learning of the UPB students was indeed an inspiring experience.

Professor Gai, center, posing with his class at the University Politechnica di Bucharest. The last class slide, on the discovery of the accelerated expansion of the universe, is on display.

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