On 3 August 2018, Polish students reported on completion of research projects thus finishing the second stage of the International Student Practice in the JINR University Centre. During three weeks, they got acquainted with research carried out in the Institute, visited FLNR, LRB, DLNP, VBLHEP, the IBR-2 reactor. As a rule, coordinators of Polish students in the laboratories are JINR staff members from Poland that is why mutual understanding is provided to the full extent.

Coordinators’ comments

Marcin Piątek (BLTP): We were engaged in the theory of relativity and physics of black holes. We want to study such characteristics of black holes as oscillations that are observed when black holes interact with fields. My student was supposed to derive an equation that would characterise oscillations of black holes. We studied the Einstein theory of relativity, and then we got the Einstein equation and derived the necessary equation. Now, he will make a presentation. We are thinking of inviting him for a three-month practice. A corresponding programme should be worked out, it is needed to submit an application, and may be he will come here again.

Grzegorz Kaminski (FLNR): I have been participating in Summer Practices for fifteen years. If students and I did not like this activity, I would not have taken part in it. It is a good opportunity for me to show what I am capable of, to work out sophisticated tasks for participants, to teach them something, while students can acquire new knowledge. The Practice is short, I used to prepare one project, but now I have two parallel projects and want to do more. Students like them, there are always a lot of applications for my projects. Sometimes I have to decline some of them just because there is no vacant positions.

Topics of research projects change each year according to development of our current laboratory projects. Nowadays, one of the research projects is dedicated to ACCULINA-2. Students learn to conduct research of exotic nuclei, try to understand how the facility operates, how to get exotic nuclei beams and what to do with them. The first week of the Practice is a theoretical part, and then students acquire practical skills, study specters, get acquainted with the operating equipment. While some theoretical issues were familiar to students, the practical part was a new field for them. For several past years I worked with intelligent and well-disciplined students, I gave them a task and there was no need to control them.

Furthermore, I cooperate with the Warsaw University that has a very interesting detector, namely the optical time-projection chamber. A radioactive nucleus is put in it, then stopped and decayed. We register these decays with high-sensitive chambers and just make photo of them. It is very interesting for students, they learn how all this works, what phenomena we study. At summer practices of several previous years, we have been used test chambers as far as the experiment at the real chamber is conducted once a year, the equipment is moved from Warsaw to Dubna and vice versa. I have prototypes at which we can model everything happening in the chamber: we work with gas systems, analyse the constitution. In general, I have a lot of good equipment at which students can learn to work. For example, they can learn how to build a gas system, and they do everything by themselves, I just check their work at the end. Girls, who do not have enough physical power, often have problems such as to open a tightly closed gas bottle and then seal it up, to overhaul the equipment, to test it and etc. However, they should make sure by themselves that everything has been done well, correctly. I want to prepare experts at least of some of the lowest levels to the end of the Practice.

It is my principle to use both books and practical work with the equipment. This approach interests student as far as they see the results at once and understand what is happening. In addition to the scientific programme, I have a social programme as well: we have barbeque or go to the gym, and then these students occur to come for eight-week practices or participate in experiments or come as staff members of the ACCULINA group. This scheme was successful in work with several students. Nowadays, I am waiting for two new staff members, former students, in October who have come after the Practice for a two-month practice to participate in the experiment and written their graduation theses.

Students share their impressions

Viktoriia Drushliak (University of Białystok): I have participated in such a practice for the first time, I learned about it from the supervisor of my bachelor’s thesis. I chose the topic that correlates with the topic of my thesis that is why this trip was very useful for me. At my university, I was engaged in structural survey of magnetic nanoparticles, during the Practice I participated in the FLNP project “X-ray study of orthoferrites”. I want to do my master’s degree at other university and I will continue to study this topic there.

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Michał Górkiewicz (Academy of Science and Technologies, Krakow): I think that the Practice was very useful. I acquired both theoretical and practical knowledge. However, the most useful for me was to see a standard working day of an average scientist. I did a lot with my hands at the practice, for example, I soldered wires, made vacuum in the vacuum chamber, saw many pieces of equipment, heard numerous lectures, I was engaged in modelling with experimental data. There was not enough time for the full analyses of experimental data. I would like to come here again but I have already other plans.

Marta Klepacka (Polytechnic University of Wrocław) and Anna Abramuk (University of Warsaw): We liked the practical part the most, we enjoyed working with the equipment, instruments, sometimes it was difficult but we dealt with it. There was a lot that we did for the first time in life, so the results were different. It was impressive when our supervisor Grzegorz Kaminski set the task but did not say how to handle it. We worked with one of the best teachers at the Practice. It was very interesting! It was amusing to get acquainted with the “cuisine” of experimental physics, and though it is too early to make plans for the future, I would like to work here. We liked Dubna very much and Russia as well, we did not expect that it would be so beautiful and cool here.

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Member of the organizing committee Julia Rybachuk: These practices have an introductory character, they give students who come to JINR for the first time an opportunity to evaluate the level of research conducted here, to get the general idea of the Institute and then choose one of the options of cooperation. For example, they can apply for participation in the Summer Student Programme that gives deeper study of various issues, it has more advanced projects and such programmes last longer. Students have an opportunity to keep in touch with supervisors of their projects and then come here for working at their master’s or candidate’s theses. Well, the introduction was successful.

Olga Tarantina, JINR Weekly Newspaper
Translated by Grzegorz Kaminski and Elizabeth Tsukanova
Photos by Elena Puzynina, JINR Scientific-Information Department