During a working trip to Dubna, Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin visited the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and put the first cascade of the NICA complex into operation.

During the visit to Dubna, the Prime Minister was accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation Valery Falkov, and Governor of the Moscow region Andrey Vorobyev. JINR Director Victor Matveev, JINR First Vice-Director Grigory Trubnikov, and VBLHEP Director, Leader of the NICA project Vladimir Kekelidze welcomed Mikhail Mishustin on behalf of the Joint Institute.

In the building of the legendary Synchrophasotron, Academician Grigory Trubnikov acquainted Mikhail Mishustin with the NICA accelerating complex under construction, the Institute’s flagship project being implemented in the territory of the Russian Federation in the framework of the national project “Nauka”. Having visited the intermediate and linear accelerators, as well as the Nuclotron and the Booster superconducting accelerators, Mikhail Mishustin took part in a festive ceremony of the Booster launch. The Head of the Russian Government gave start to the operation of the superconducting accelerator by pressing a symbolic button. “Today, we have become participants of a significant event in the world of science. We have launched the first cascade of the NICA complex, namely the Booster, i.e. the superconducting accelerator. Brand new energy-efficient technologies, which are currently unavailable to any scientific centre in the world, ensure its capabilities,” Mikhail Mishustin noted.

PrimeMinister of Russia Mikhail Mishustin (center) © Dmitry Astakhov /POOL/TASS

The Booster synchrotron, or the Booster, is a unique superconducting accelerator that has no analogues in the world, which is created in the frames of the NICA mega-science project. The Booster is placed in the yoke of the Synchrophasotron and will accelerate heavy-ion beams and then transmit them to the Nuclotron, which will direct the beams into the NICA ring. They will collide in it at near-light speeds. The launch of the Booster of the NICA complex provides scientists with access to the most modern technologies. Supermodern opportunities of using the beams of this facility will allow high-tech curing of complicated cancer tumours (beam therapy of cancer diseases), solving the issues of medical physiology during long space expeditions. Such technologies will help process nuclear waste from nuclear power plants, test microelectronics for space satellites, and will be helpful in the fields of ecology and many other realms.

Young scientists participating in the project’s implementation also took part in the ceremony. When congratulating the youth team of the NICA project, Mikhail Mishustin asked, in particular, where young people were from and what universities they studied at. “We witness a unique event today, and it would not be possible without strong fundamental science,” the Head of the Government said. He added that scientific mentoring of young scientists is necessary, and it will be taken into account when finalizing the national project on science development.

Later on, Mikhail Mishustin had a meeting with representatives of the Board of Directors of City-Forming Enterprises of Dubna. JINR Director Victor Matveev, JINR First Vice-Director Grigory Trubnikov and Scientific Leader of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Yuri Oganessian took part in the meeting on behalf of the Joint Institute. The meeting was also attended by Head of the Dubna City District Sergey Kulikov, Director General of the Special Economic Zone “Dubna” Anton Afanasiev, President of the University “Dubna” Oleg Kuznetsov, Director General of the “Raduga” State Engineering Design Bureau JSC Vladimir Trusov, Rector of the State University “Dubna” Dmitry Fursaev, Director General of the experimental design bureau “Aerocosmisheskie systemy”, Director General of PROMTECH Corporation Valery Shadrin.

Opening the meeting, Mikhail Mishustin noted, “Here, in the science city, a complex model has formed of the interaction between the authorities of all levels, advanced scientific and production complex, the special economic zone, and the international scientific organization. It is a unique situation. The Government not only supports such science city models but also forms new mechanisms stimulating their establishment and development.”

Moreover, during the visit to Dubna, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin took part in the launch of the new Data Processing Centre of the Federal Tax Service and visited a new surgical centre of the Dubna City Hospital.

News coverage of the visit of Mikhail Mishustin to Dubna by the Channel One

Materials by government.ru, nauka.tass.ru, ria.ru used for the article
Photo © government.ru