In December 2018, LIT Deputy Director, Doctor of physics and mathematics, leader of the national group of Mongolia in JINR Ochbadrah Chuluunbaatar was elected as an active member of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences. New Year holidays, the meeting of the JINR Scientific Council, scientific work: the interview for the JINR Weekly Newspaper was postponed due to these and other activities of Ochbadrah until April.

You have been living in Dubna for a long time. Did it happen accidentally or you planned it?

I came to Dubna in November 1999. My supervisor Academician Tugal Zhanlav worked here, he defended his doctoral thesis under the guidance of Prof. Igor V. Puzynin. Following his recommendation, I came here. Of course, I had not planned to stay here at the beginning: it was a foreign country with a foreign language, it was difficult to get used to it. I wanted to defend my candidate’s dissertation and come back. I succeeded with my defence and was offered to stay and continue work, prepare the doctoral thesis. So, I stayed, defended my doctoral degree, and now work here.

Igor Victorovich was your supervisor as well?

Yes, he was. Moreover, he was a scientific consultant of my doctoral thesis. Furthermore, Sergei I. Vinitsky from BLTP also was my scientific supervisor. I work on development of numerical methods and programmes for solving physical tasks. All in all, I have always been lucky with teachers.

Did your life change after your election to the Mongolian Academy of Sciences? Do you have to, for example, read lectures at universities?

I have not yet felt additional job although I know that an academician must read lectures. I have missed one meeting of the Academy because of being much occupied here.

You have recently become LIT Deputy Director.

Yes, I perform these duties since October 2018, and, in February 2019, the JINR Scientific Council confirmed my appointment as Deputy Director for scientific work.

Did you become the youngest academician in Mongolia?

No, I did not. This year, seven new active members of the Academy were elected, and one of them is younger than me for three years. Actually, this appointment was unexpected for me. It was the second attempt. I applied for the first time in 2014.

Do you spread information about JINR in Mongolian universities to attract the scientific youth of your country here?

I do not go on business trips specially for such purposes, but when I come to my alma-mater I share information about JINR and prospects of work here. Jointly with Academician T. Zhanlav, I trained a Mongolian Candidate of Sciences, and jointly with Prof. S. I. Vinitsky we prepared a Russian Candidate of Sciences. Recently, I have been participating in work on development of the computation centre of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences and its integration with LIT.

Yes, I have read on the website of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences the following: there is a strategic task to develop the net infrastructure to use modern information technologies in scientific research.

It is exactly the issue I am engaged in now. It is one of the advanced directions of our Academy of Sciences. This year, we hope to get the support of Plenipotentiary Representative in JINR and use his grant to buy a modern powerful computation server for this centre.

Will it be useful to Mongolian students to participate in scientific training programmes held by the UC JINR in the JINR laboratories?

Yes, last year, Mongolia started to participate in them; two students came here. We hope to continue it this year.

Can you formulate a certain algorithm for students and young scientists: how to achieve success, become a young Doctor of Sciences, young academician?

I do not know this secret; many things depend on the person himself. If a young scientist really wants to be engaged in science, then he should find the scientific field he is interested in and work hard.

Is your wife also a mathematician?

No, she is a linguist; she studied Russian and English. Now, she works in VBLHEP.

Do you have time for hobby?

Our national team gathers on Saturday to play basketball; we regularly win prizes in JINR competitions. However, there is virtually no time for anything else.

Thank you. Wish you every success!

Olga Tarantina, JINR Weekly Newspaper
Photo by Elena Puzynina