From 28 October to 1 November, the Laboratory of Information Technologies hosted AYSS-2024, the 28th International Scientific Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists, organized by AYSS JINR. The event took place in person and gathered a record number of participants: more than 260 young people under 36 from 17 countries. During the five days, they listened to lectures from leading researchers of the Joint Institute and discussed their scientific presentations at sections.

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As always, the AYSS Conference offers young researchers and students a rich scientific programme covering a wide range of areas. This year, the participants had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Joint Institute through 11 plenary lectures by leading JINR scientists and present results of their work in the form of poster presentations or talks in one of nine sections:

• Mathematical Modelling and Computational Physics;
• Particle Accelerators and Nuclear Reactors;
• Experimental Nuclear Physics;
• Condensed Matter Physics;
• Information Technologies;
• High Energy Physics;
• Theoretical Physics;
• Applied Research;
• Life Sciences.

The Scientific Advisory Board and the Organizing Committee carried out extensive preparatory work selecting works presented at the sections, with special attention paid to their scientific aspect. A total of 194 talks and 42 poster presentations were made at the conference. This year’s new feature were talks by invited sectional speakers. Each of the nine AYSS-2024 sections was opened by a young scientist who has already proven to be a promising specialist and an example for the younger generation of researchers.

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To complement the comprehensive scientific programme, the Organizing Committee of the conference prepared four cultural and leisure events for the participants to relax after a working day and get to know each other better in a less formal setting. Each AYSS Conference includes evening networking events, which help the young researchers find new contacts in not only the professional field, but also everyday life.

AYSS-2024 participants share their impressions:

Tahany Abdelhameid, Helwan University (Egypt): “I had already heard that JINR had the most interesting laboratories and collaborations. When I came here, I actually found more than I expected. The organization was fantastic, and everyone was very helpful; we could communicate with each other easily. It was also great to participate in social activities. When you meet people from different countries, they give you a great background on what is going on around you. I also really liked that the scientific programme covered new experiments that are being built in Dubna.”

Silvia Fortuné, Laboratory of Neutron Physics at JINR: “This was my first time at this conference. I decided to attend it because I see this as a great opportunity to network, to engage in this young scientific community, and present my work. What surprised me most here was the amount of young enthusiastic and energetic people eager to collaborate. This was very inspiring. We have scientific events in Cuba, but there are no conferences of this magnitude for young people.”

Phan Long, Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR: “I had heard that AYSS is the biggest event of the JINR young scientists’ association, and this conference was very useful to me. I was in the Nuclear Physics section, but I also learned a lot of information about applied research and even information technology. For me, the most interesting part was the director’s overview of the research conducted in all Institute’s laboratories.”

Although the 28th International Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists has ended, work is still underway to process the proceedings and summarise the results. “Next year’s conference will see some qualitative changes, but it is too early to talk about them. We have some ideas, and we will try to make every effort to implement them,” an LRB JINR junior researcher, AYSS-2024 co-chair Regina Kozhina emphasises.

The conference would not have been as successful without the active participation of students and young scientists. Thanks to their openness to new knowledge, enthusiasm and hard work, the event was successful and became a bright scientific event in the life of the entire Institute.