On 28 October 2022, a jubilee seminar dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics was held in the JINR International Conference Centre.

The Laboratory of Neutron Physics was established as part of JINR to conduct nuclear research in the fields of neutron physics and reactor physics. Over the years, the staff of the Laboratory has witnessed realisation of many challenging projects, the creation of unique experimental infrastructure, and important scientific discoveries. The laboratory has maintained an strong position in the fields of nuclear physics and condensed matter research thanks to its team of highly qualified professionals and truly dedicated people, as well as the development of advanced instruments and technologies.

Opening the festive event, FLNP Director Valery Shvetsov remarked that the date of the celebration was tentative and had been chosen to coincide with the birthday of Ilya Mikhailovich Frank. “Today we decided to gather and consider the things we have done over these 65 years both in the development of neutron sources and in the science that is done on them,” he said.

“The entire Institute, all the Laboratories wish the employees of the Laboratory of Neutron Physics, first and foremost, not to become complacent, to keep themselves and all of us up. We wish to keep impressing not only Dubna, but also the whole world with really beautiful science,” JINR Director RAS Academician Grigory Trubnikov congratulated the FLNP personnel. He expressed gratitude to Director of the FLNP Valery Shvetsov for unlocking the potential of the Laboratory’s basic facilities and multiplying the set of unique instruments. “FLNP has always been lucky with the leaders. Valery Nikolaevich has developed a modern Laboratory, international, interesting, and rich in science,” Grigory Trubnikov said. “The IBR-2 Reactor is not just a source of neutrons for experiments. It is a source of energy, pieces of which are in each of you. It is a source of inspiration for great, glorious things,” the JINR Director added.

Mayor of Dubna Sergey Kulikov, a recent FLNP employee, stressed that one of the founder fathers of the Laboratory, a Nobel laureate Ilya Frank was an honorary citizen of Dubna. The city has two monuments to the founders of the FLNP, Dmitry Blokhintsev and Ilya Frank.

“The Laboratory has always had ambitious plans, FLNP has taken on projects that others were afraid to carry out,” the Head of the city of the JINR location said. “We believe in people who work at the Laboratory and know that they are capable of achieving results. I would like to wish all staff members that the ambition that your predecessors had never wane, that you move only forward, achieve real scientific results, and create new basic facilities that are prominent not only at the Institute, but also in the world!”

It was noted repeatedly at the anniversary event that FLNP maintains the tradition and spirit of the founding fathers, both in terms of research and in creating a working environment in the team. As a tribute to this special working environment, many of the speakers at the seminar spoke of the Laboratory using the epithets, like beloved, near, and dear. This idea was reinforced by the accompanying video of the seminar. Photos of employees over the years were shown in the screen as a sign that each person is valuable and each contributes to the common goal.

At the scientific part of the seminar, veterans of the Laboratory spoke about the history of the Laboratory’s basic facilities and the discoveries, as well as the achievements of the outstanding scientists who worked there.

FLNP chief researcher Evgeny Shabalin presented the report “Pulsed reactors – the FLNP road to the top”. Leading researcher Walter Furman reminded the participants of the results of the basic research at IBR-30. Chief researcher Anatoly Balagurov spoke about neutron scattering in condensed matter research at FLNP from 1957 to 2022. Consultant at the FLNP Department of Neutron Investigations of Condensed Matter Valentin Gordeliy presented a report entitled “Biology in FLNP: from model to biological systems”.

In the concluding part of the event, FLNP employees received congratulation and wishes of successful implementation of all the projects from Chairman of the JINR Programme Advisory Committee on Condensed Matter Physics Dénes Lajos Nagy, MLIT Director Vladimir Korenkov, LRB Deputy Scientific Director Alexey Chizhov, VBLHEP Deputy Scientific Director Alexander Sorin, VBLHEP Scientific Secretary Aleksandr Cheplakov, FLNP Chief Scientific Adviser, Corresponding Member of RAS Victor Aksenov, Advisor to the FLNP Directorate Marina Frontasyeva, and Leading Researcher of FLNP Maria Balasoiu.