MERIDIANS of cooperation

Using the full range of opportunities

On 10-14 October, the 33rd General Assembly of the International Union of Fundamental and Applied Physics was held in Haikou, Hainan Island, China.

The event is held every three years with re-election of the participants. The delegation of the Joint Institute, consisting of JINR Director Academician Grigory Trubnikov and Academician Boris Sharkov, took part in the General Assembly sessions and held several meetings with the leaders of major scientific organizations, in particular, regarding joint participation in international research projects.

As an international intergovernmental organization, JINR is an independent corporate associate member of the IUPAP union, along with CERN. "Our representation in IUPAP, active engagement in the work of this organization ensures the international public significance of the Joint Institute, its recognition, openness in the international scientific field," Boris Sharkov highlighted. He explained that the presence of JINR representatives at the IUPAP General Assembly was very important from the point of view of representing JINR in the world physics arena. On the sidelines of such global events, there is a good opportunity to establish and to maintain a network of personal working contacts with the chairmen of 20 IUPAP thematic commissions in various areas of physics - prominent scientists with a worldwide reputation, heads of major scientific centres.

In particular, Grigory Trubnikov held talks with the members of the CERN Council, at which they discussed JINR's further engagement in CERN projects. "The community greatly welcomes the role of JINR as a channel for preserving and involving Russian scientists from the Academy of Sciences, specialized institutes, universities, as well as Belarusian scientists in large experiments at CERN," Boris Sharkov said. In addition, meetings and contacts were held with the heads of large global and national infrastructure projects, with outstanding scientists, including Nobel Prize winners in physics Barry Barish (gravitational waves), Takaaki Kajita (neutrino oscillations) and Samuel Ting (discovery of the J/ψ meson).

It is of great importance for IUPAP, as Boris Sharkov emphasized, that JINR supports the Member States and associate members of the Joint Institute, such as Vietnam, Uzbekistan, South Africa and others, in involving their scientists in successful international projects, in supporting their national projects by the international community of physicists. "In this sense, the role of JINR as a leader, organizer for all our Member States is noble and very successful," he noted.

Three years ago, Boris Sharkov was invited by IUPAP President Michel Spiro to become a member of the IUPAP Executive Committee and was elected in this capacity. At the 33rd General Assembly, Academician Sharkov was re-elected for a second term as Vice-President with the function of Treasurer and three candidates from JINR were elected to participate in IUPAP commissions. VBLHEP chief researcher Richard Lednicky will represent the Institute in the Commission on Elementary Particle Physics. "It was stated that JINR is an international organization and it will be represented by a citizen of the Czech Republic," Boris Sharkov commented on this appointment. On the recommendation of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, FLNR senior researcher Galina Knyazheva was nominated and elected to the Commission on Nuclear Physics and LRB Director Alexander Bugay was included in the Commission on Biophysics and Radiobiology. "The participants of the General Assembly recognized that the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research is an authoritative scientific centre that carries out its international mission very highly and efficiently and therefore, in the next elections, representation in the commissions should be increased," Boris Sharkov emphasized.

In addition to thematic commissions, IUPAP has working groups, which JINR will also propose its representatives to in the future, in particular, to the commission on accelerator technologies. Boris Sharkov mentioned that IUPAP has working groups on all main areas of the Institute's activities that allows securing IUPAP support in terms of holding scientific conferences and meetings, employee trips to major international conferences and nomination of scientific personnel, especially, young scientists, for the Union's awards and medals. "Our task is to act proactively, to use the entire range of opportunities," Boris Sharkov emphasized.

The General Assembly was held in parallel with the annual meeting of the Chinese Physical Society (CPS). The public lectures by three Nobel winners Barry Barish, Takaaki Kajita and Samuel Ting were delivered at the joint sessions of IUPAP and CPS.

Based on the information from the JINR Press Office