The 125th session of the Scientific Council was concluded in the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. World-leading scientists summed up the milestones of 2018, discussed the implementation of projects (NICA, the Factory of superheavy elements and Baikal-GVD) as well as the creation of the Laboratory for Structural Research of Macromolecules and New Materials at the SOLARIS National Synchrotron Radiation Centre of the Jagiellonian University (Kraków, Poland).