JINR celebrates 50 golden years
On 26 March, 50 years to the day since the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) was established in Dubna, a celebratory joint meeting of the JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries and the Scientific Council took place in the Mir cultural centre. It was attended by delegations from various countries, numerous honourable guests, and veterans of the institute.
In his opening address to the audience, Andrey Fursenko, plenipotentiary of Russia at JINR and the Russian Federation Minister of Science and Education, referred to the anniversary as "the golden wedding of Dubna and Big Science". He pointed out that science is shaped by centres of excellence and superiority, and that the international research centre in Dubna possesses both qualities. It allows scientists from different countries to follow their challenging studies and be proud of their work. Fursenko said that the decision of JINR member states to increase their contributions as of 2007 indicates their unanimous commitment "to invest in the future of mankind".
In his presentation, "JINR: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow", the current director Alexei Sissakian focused on the establishment of JINR as a successful international project in Dubna. He gave a brief review of 50 years of activities at JINR and recalled the institute's outstanding scientist founders, citing one of them, Polish academician Henryk Niewodniczanski: "Dubna is our home and we have every reason to look forward with optimism."
The president of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, as well as leaders of other states, addressed the JINR community with messages of congratulation. The governor of the Moscow region, Boris Gromov, also conveyed his appreciation through the deputy-chairman of the Moscow region government, Peter Katsyv. The jubilee day speeches all showed how the activities of JINR are valued highly, not only in science but in strengthening peace and co-operation among nations.
Michel Spiro, director of the Institut national de physique nucléaire et de physique des particules (IN2P3) and of the Department of Nuclear and Particle Physics at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique also congratulated JINR, as did CERN's director-general Robert Aymar on behalf of CERN's scientific community. Aymar noted the landmarks of the long-standing fruitful co-operation between the two centres.
During the celebrations, JINR received the Order of Friendship of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The current director, Sissakian, and former director, now JINR scientific leader, Vladimir Kadyshevsky, were both awarded the Polar Star Order of the Republic of Mongolia. Andrzej Hrynkiewicz, the plenipotentiary of the government of the Republic of Poland at JINR, presented a number of JINR staff with a medal commemorating "50 years of Poland's membership at JINR". In addition, leading JINR scientists from various countries received honorary awards from the Russian Federation Ministry of Science and Education and the governor of the Moscow region.
For the 50th anniversary the Committee of Plenipotentiaries decided to name several avenues in the institute's sites after outstanding scientists who have influenced scientific activities at JINR: N Amaglobeli (Georgia), A Petrosyants (USSR, Russia), Wang Ganchang (the People's Republic of China) and J Theillaque (France). The committee also named an avenue after CERN to honour 50 years of co-operation with JINR.
Artistic teams from the Mir cultural centre performed between the speeches and awards. The day ended with a performance of the folk-dance group of Igor Moisseev and a firework display beside the Volga river in the evening.