On 28–30 November, the leadership and young scientists of the Joint Institute participated in the events of the III Young Scientists Congress in the Sirius Science and Art Park (Krasnodar Krai, Russia). JINR Director, Academician Grigory Trubnikov took part in four sessions of the congress devoted to the megascience infrastructure in the Russian Federation, the development of Russian science cities, the role of fundamental research in the country’s scientific and technological advancement, and the role of women in science. Scientific Leader of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, Academician Yuri Oganessian answered the questions of young scientists during an online broadcast. Alongside the congress, JINR and Kurchatov Institute National Research Centre (KI NRC) signed a declaration of intent aimed at joint and full participation in the creation and use of the megascience research infrastructure, namely the megaprojects of JINR and International Centre for Neutron Research at the PIK Reactor. Another point of the document was an expression of readiness to develop a joint research programme.

The article features photos from RIA Novosti media bank and Roscongress photo bank

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Megascience infrastructure

The session titled “Megascience infrastructure as the basis for the formation of a unified scientific and technological environment” discussed the development of a unique network of megascience facilities in Russia as part of the Federal Scientific and Technical Programme for the Development of Synchrotron and Neutron Research.

Grigory Trubnikov noted that several major megafacilities are under construction and development on the territory of the Russian Federation at the same time, such as the PIK Reactor in Gatchina, NICA and the Superheavy Element Factory in Dubna, Baikal-GVD, the National Heliogeophysical Complex of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), the SKIF Circular Photon Source near Novosibirsk, and the RIF Synchrotron in Vladivostok.

JINR Director spoke about the fundamental and applied tasks of the NICA Accelerator Complex and research in radiobiology, radiation materials science, and radiation medicine, in which, according to Grigory Trubnikov, JINR works together with the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia and the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Federal Medical-Biological Agency (FMBA) of Russia, Rosatom, KI NRC, and numerous centres in other countries.

“We are already using the high-temperature superconductor technologies, which were developed for the NICA Collider, for energy storage. And they could also be used in the future research facilities, synchrotrons of a new generation and spectrometers of high-current reactors,” Grigory Trubnikov added.

“We wouldn’t have built an accelerator complex if it wasn’t for many institutes such as Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, KI NRC, and Rosatom. Now we need to use and improve it together as well. It is necessary to unite the intellectual resource and create joint user committees for fundamental and applied research, involving, among other things, the industry, which also needs megascience facilities,” Grigory Trubnikov stated. He noted that the largest megafacilities on the territory of the Russian Federation are a magnet for partner countries, which makes it necessary to develop joint computer research networks to store, process, and analyse experimental data. “We need to work together and complement each other in this aspect as well,” JINR Director said.

At the session, President of the Kurchatov Institute Mikhail Kovalchuk announced that JINR and KI NRC had signed a declaration. An important point of the document will be the accession of JINR as a special partner to the International Association of PIK, a megascience reactor under construction at KI NRC Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute. JINR’s participation in this megaproject should be approved at the next session of the JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries. Mikhail Kovalchuk explained that PIK Association members, which include representatives not only of Russia but also of other CIS countries, acquire access not only to the reactor, but also to all facilities of the Kurchatov Institute: the synchrotron complex, neutron and laser research. “Thus, we are forming a single research space throughout Russia with the inclusion of the CIS and other friendly countries,” KI NRC President explained.

Development of knowledge-intensive territories

The topic of another session was “New approaches to the development of science cities of the Russian Federation and other territories with high scientific and technological potential”.

Grigory Trubnikov stressed the need to introduce “scientific and technological potential” as a legislative term and update the term of “a science city”. In particular, science cities need a mixed administrative and scientific leadership. Residents of these territories should also participate in shaping the development policy. “Dubna has a board of directors of city–forming enterprises including 70% of the electorate and 90% of the population. Their opinion is valued, both in matters of infrastructure development and in the formation of the management team of local governments,” said the director of JINR. In his opinion, a comprehensive approach to developing science cities and knowledge-intensive territories throughout the country is needed, along with a national programme (including a master plan) for the development of comfortable urban areas and service infrastructure.

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“The network of science cities strengthens the territorial integrity of the state and ensures its intellectual connectivity,” Grigory Trubnikov expressed confidence. A science city is a magnet not only for talents, but also for business, and what is important for entrepreneurs is transparency and predictability of ongoing processes.

Grigory Trubnikov proposed to include technological megaprojects in the strategy of scientific and technological development in science cities and to seek increased government funding to create a comfortable urban environment.

Role of fundamental research

Speaking at the thematic session “On the role of fundamental scientific research in the scientific and technological development of the country”, Grigory Trubnikov noted that the issue put forward in the title of the meeting naturally becomes an item on the agenda of all scientific forums held in Russia. JINR Director named three conditions for the development of big science in Russia.

“The scientific community should determine the direction of research, fundamental research should have the right to take risks, and this should be prescribed by law. The share of fundamental research in the total expenditure on science should increase threefold: from 0.11% to 0.4%. And third, it is necessary to think over new formats of consortia and collaborations of institutes in fundamental research, which would become a point of attraction for organizations implementing applied research,” he formulated.

Women in science

At the event titled “Women in science: trends and prospects”, Grigory Trubnikov said that for the second year now the JINR has been operating a Women’s Committee, which includes representatives of all laboratories and management of the Institute and which very effectively solves many social issues. And together with the FMBA of Russia, a Women’s Health Centre will be created at the Medical Unit No. 9 in Dubna.

JINR Director noted that it would be good if women were actively involved in creating a programme for the development of comfortable urban areas andin the popularisation of science. Most of the creators of Russian TV shows and blogs about science are men.

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Open mic with Yuri Oganessian

The Open Mic event with the participation of Yuri T. Oganessian included a dialogue with the audience, answers to questions from young scientists.

The audience was interested in whether the famous scientist has weaknesses (no, only interests), how he chose his life’s work, how he maintains a balance between work and rest, and how he sees JINR’s scientific tasks in a hundred years. The audience learned that being famous is “more distracting than helpful”, how to motivate students to do science, and received a recipe for those who are questioning scientific ideals and thinking whether or not to continue their path in science. Yuri Oganessian shared interesting facts from the biography of the Periodic Table creator Dmitry Mendeleev. Academician Oganessian wished the younger generation to be free and brave. “Freedom comes from the society in which we live, and courage comes from knowledge. I would advise every student to value the time while they study, because this is a unique period when all they are asked from is to learn, which will never happen again,” Yuri Oganessian stressed.

When asked what a real scientist should be like, Yuri Oganessian expressed the idea: “A scientist should not be a superman. They must be a curious person, interested in more than just formulas.”

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Megagrants

FLNR JINR Scientific Secretary Alexander Karpov became the speaker of the session “100 million for a major scientific project: reality or dream?”. He spoke about the choice of the Superheavy Element Factory project for a megagrant within the Institute, about the work on the project, in which, in Saint Petersburg State University and the Institute for Analytical Instrumentation participated alongside with JINR.

As part of the megagrant by the Ministry of Education and Science for 2021-2023, JINR put two separators into operation and performed a series of first experiments. “We have seen a multiple advantage in the speed of statistics collection compared to the total research results of all laboratories in the world for many years. This is extremely important, because although sometimes one event is enough to open a new element, but to study the properties you need to collect tens to thousands of events. Now we are setting a goal to reach hundreds of atoms,” Alexander Karpov said.

History of science

JINR Press Secretary Natalia Zaikina spoke at the session “Developing the country’s research centres” about how the Institute remembers and preserves its history. JINR offers an open photo archive, an archive of documents, and memoirs of employees and scientists.

“We have scientific and technological heritage, such as the synchrophasotron, and big names, from Bogoliubov and Nobel Laureate Frank to Oganessian. There are other things that are attractive for tourists that we could open to the public and also study,” Natalia Zaikina suggested. Thus, cultural historians are interested in Dubna’s Soviet modernism, including architecture and furniture of the bygone era. She expressed willingness to provide support in sharing JINR’s experience and taking part in events to develop a common methodology for the development of science research centres in Russia.

GRAIN BRICS

International Cooperation Advisor to the Director of the Institute Irek Suleymanov spoke at the session entitled “BRICS: Russia as the 2024 Chair Country”. He spoke about the activities of the BRICS Working Group on Research Infrastructures and Megascience Projects and the GRAIN BRICS global network of advanced research infrastructures, an Internet portal with information on more than 20 megafacilities. He noted that cooperation within BRICS is based on common interests, and the bureaucratisation of processes is minimal. “It is necessary to remove information boundaries between representatives of scientific communities. We have common interests and similar values, but the “cement” for integration is trust. It takes time to form it, and this is the task for the new generation of researchers,” Irek Suleymanov summed up.

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A FLNP JINR researcher Alexander Nezvanov took part in the “Scientific brunch” with young scientist council leaders and representatives of youth scientific communities. AYSS JINR held meetings with representatives of the young scientist councils of the International Association of Academies of Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus, and national associations of scientific youth of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The JINR delegation at the III Congress of Young Scientists also included Head of the JINR Social Infrastructure Management Office Andrey Tamonov, AYSS JINR Chair Vladislav Rozhkov, and young researchers from JINR’s Laboratories.