Youth and Science

The AYSS constellation in the world scientific firmament

From 28 October to 1 November, the Laboratory of Information Technologies hosted AYSS-2024, the 28th International Scientific Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists, organized by AYSS JINR. The event took place in person and gathered a record number of participants: more than 260 young people under 36 from 17 countries. During the five days, they listened to lectures from leading researchers of the Joint Institute and discussed their scientific presentations at sections.

As always, the AYSS Conference offers young researchers and students a rich scientific programme covering a wide range of areas. This year, the participants had an opportunity to get acquainted with the Joint Institute through 11 plenary lectures by leading JINR scientists and present results of their work in the form of poster presentations or talks in one of nine sections:

• Mathematical Modelling and Computational Physics;
• Particle Accelerators and Nuclear Reactors;
• Experimental Nuclear Physics;
• Condensed Matter Physics;
• Information Technologies;
• High Energy Physics;
• Theoretical Physics;
• Applied Research;
• Life Sciences.

More than 260 physicists representing 53 scientific organizations from 17 countries
took part in the 28th International Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists AYSS-2024.

The Scientific Advisory Board and the Organizing Committee carried out extensive preparatory work selecting works presented at the sections, with special attention paid to their scientific aspect. A total of 194 talks and 42 poster presentations were made at the conference. This year’s new feature were talks by invited sectional speakers. Each of the nine AYSS-2024 sections was opened by a young scientist who has already proven to be a promising specialist and an example for the younger generation of researchers.

"At the Conference, the organizers had no much time to visit the sections and to communicate with the participants, yet, those members of the Organizing Committee that did have such an opportunity, stated that the oral reports often gave rise to lively discussions, both among the participants and with the jury. I have not once noticed what heated conversations were held at coffee breaks, sometimes, it was even a pity to interrupt them in order to remind about the need to continue the work of the section", Co-chair of the Conference junior researcher of LRB Regina Kozhina said.

Not only about science: evening programme

Intensive scientific discussions were complemented by four cultural and entertaining events, where the participants could relax after the working day and get to know each other in an informal atmosphere. On the second day of the Conference, some young scientists joined the JINR Chess Club tournament: the event aroused great interest and attracted not only the participants, but also many JINR staff members. Those preferring rest in a more relaxed atmosphere had an opportunity to attend a meeting of the JINR Film Union to watch the movie "Good Will Hunting". On the third day, the evening programme included a lecture and a master class "Secrets of public speaking" by public speaking teacher Ekaterina Ovchinnikova, as well as a scientific quiz, where 40 people competed in an intellectual battle.

Evening networking, a traditional practice at all AYSS conferences, helped the participants to find new contacts not only in the professional sphere, but also in life outside the workplace.

Participants' impressions and results

Tahany Abdelhameid, Helwan University (Egypt):
“I had already heard that JINR had the most interesting laboratories and collaborations. When I came here, I actually found more than I expected. The organization was fantastic, and everyone was very helpful; we could communicate with each other easily. It was also great to participate in social activities. When you meet people from different countries, they give you a great background on what is going on around you. I also really liked that the scientific programme covered new experiments that are being built in Dubna.”

Silvia Fortune, Laboratory of Neutron Physics at JINR:
“This was my first time at this conference. I decided to attend it because I see this as a great opportunity to network, to engage in this young scientific community, and present my work. What surprised me most here was the amount of young enthusiastic and energetic people eager to collaborate. This was very inspiring. We have scientific events in Cuba, but there are no conferences of this magnitude for young people.”

Phan Long, Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR:
“I had heard that AYSS is the biggest event of the JINR young scientists’ association, and this conference was very useful to me. I was in the Nuclear Physics section, but I also learned a lot of information about applied research and even information technology. For me, the most interesting part was the director’s overview of the research conducted in all Institute’s laboratories.”

Although the 28th International Conference of Young Scientists and Specialists has ended, work is still underway to process the proceedings and summarise the results. “Next year’s conference will see some qualitative changes, but it is too early to talk about them. We have some ideas, and we will try to make every effort to implement them,” an LRB JINR junior researcher, AYSS-2024 co-chair Regina Kozhina emphasises. She added that the organizers themselves were impressed by such a large number of participants and by the amazing transformation - at first complete strangers literally in a few days dance together and hug each other before leaving. The Conference and the scientific achievements of JINR became for them a source not only of new knowledge, but also of inspiration, motivation, and new ideas.

The AYSS-2024 Organizing Committee would like to thank the members of the Programme Committee for all-round support that allowed ensuring a high scientific level of the Conference. The success of the event would not have been possible without the active participation of young scientists, their openness to new knowledge, enthusiasm and diligence.

We hope that participation in the AYSS-2024 Conference will become a pleasant memory for young scientists and wish that their professional path will be full of inspiration and outstanding scientific achievements. We look forward to seeing you next year!

Organizing Committee,
photo by Elena PUZYNINA, Alexander BAYDATSKY, Olesya CHEPURCHENKO