On 14 October, representatives of the IRC MBIR Consortium discussed the international component of the MBIR Project, JINR experience in organizing scientific collaborations, and areas of mutual scientific interests at a meeting with the Directorate of the Joint Institute in Dubna.

“The MBIR Project is being prepared, and our Institute is interested in the opportunities that the future reactor opens up for them and ready to contribute to its development,” JINR Director RAS Academician Grigory Trubnikov said. He also highlighted that JINR aims at expanding the existing cooperation.

Chairman of the IRC MBIR Advisory Board RAS Academician Stepan Kalmykov noted that the project was interested in cooperation with the CIS countries, in particular, with Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, which are the JINR Member States, as well as with India, China. “MBIR is developing at a fast pace. JINR experience in the international cooperation is of particular interest,” he said. In this regard, participants expressed the idea of expanding the collaboration through the BRICS project.

“We invite the Institute to participate in the Consortium. It will be an honour for us. It will enrich our agenda and expand the user base,” Director for International Scientific and Technical Projects at the Rosatom State Corporation Vasily Konstantinov said.

Сreate a scientific programme and establish a user policy are awaiting participants of the project in Dimitrovgrad. Here, according to MBIR representatives, the expertise of the Laboratory of Neutron Physics JINR and its relevant experience with the IBR-2 Research Reactor can be a solid support.

Participants proposed to draw up a single neutron programme, which will involve different types of reactors: the future PIK reactor, the FLNP JINR IBR-2 Pulsed Reactor, and the MBIR Reactor. The parties identified research using ultracold neutrons and neutron capture therapy as areas of mutual scientific interest.

It should be reminded that JINR joined the creation of the novel research reactor MBIR in October last year. In July of this year, JINR representatives took part in the first meeting of the Advisory Board of the International Research Centre based on the MBIR Reactor.