I. General considerations

1. The Scientific Council notes the information presented by JINR Director V. Kadyshevsky concerning the decisions taken by the JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries (CP) at its March 2002 meeting, in particular:

- the approval of the JINR Directorate's activity on the preparation of the Programme of JINR's Scientific Research and Development for the next 7 years;

- the approval of the JINR Topical Plan of Research and International Cooperation for 2002 based on the recommendations of the Scientific Council and the PACs;

- the appointment of A. Antonov (INRNE, Bulgaria), M. Kovalchuk (IC, Russia), D. Nagy (KFKI, Hungary), G. Stratan (NIPNE, Romania), and A. Wagner (DESY, Germany) as members of the JINR Scientific Council, continuing the rotation of the Scientific Council members (the general election of the new membership of the Scientific Council is to take place at the CP March 2003 meeting);

- the naming of the Laboratory of High Energies after Academicians V. Veksler and A. Baldin.

2. The Scientific Council highly appreciates the new steps taken by the JINR Directorate to develop international collaboration with research centres and universities in the Member States and other countries. It is pleased to note the recent signing of the Agreement between JINR and INFN (Italy), the Joint Statement of Intent between the U.S. Department of Energy and JINR to promote cooperation in science and technology, and the intention of JINR and BMBF (Germany) to prolong the existing Cooperation Agreement.

3. The Scientific Council notes with satisfaction that the latest negotiations with the Government of the Russian Federation have resulted in a regular inflow of the Russian contribution to the JINR budget. This has stabilized the payments of salaries and covers energy consumption at the Institute.

The Scientific Council appeals again to all Member States to fulfill their financial obligations to JINR. The scientific mission of the Institute necessitates their timely and complete payments.

The Scientific Council takes note of the report "Status of JINR's basic facilities and activities in accelerator physics and engineering" presented by JINR Chief Engineer I. Meshkov.

The Scientific Council notes that stable operation of the JINR basic facilities has been made according to schedule.

Nuclotron.  The Scientific Council is satisfied to learn about the very significant progress achieved in the Nuclotron development - the increase of the run duration up to planned 2000 h/year and improvement of the machine characteristics. However, the Scientific Council considers as an important goal of VBLHE the achievement of the design parameters of the Nuclotron, in particular the design goals for the extracted ion energy, and delivery of polarized deuterons.

IBR-2.  The refurbishment of the IBR-2 reactor carried out according to schedule is an important future task of JINR. The construction of the modernized cold source is also very important. The Scientific Council notes with satisfaction the support of the Russian Ministry for Atomic Energy provided to help carry out this project.

U400 and U400M.  Stable, quality operation of the FLNR cyclotrons affords the possibility to perform pioneering experiments on the production and study of superheavy elements and exotic nuclei. The significant progress in the implementation of the DRIBs project also allows for the possibility of a wide experimental programme in nuclear physics in the near future.

Phasotron.  The operation and upgrades of the Phasotron provides DLNP with a proton beam which can be used for different studies in intermediate-energy physics and applied research.

IREN.  The implementation of the IREN project, delayed due to lack of funding, is nevertheless progressing. The plan to put the linac into operation next year is a necessary step in the project completion.

The Scientific Council notes that to continue progress in the field of accelerator physics and engineering it will be necessary to integrate efforts between the JINR Laboratories on various projects. It recommends strengthening the project teams and dedicated units.

In line with the Scientific Council's recommendations, the JINR Directorate is developing the Programme of JINR's Scientific Research and Development for the next 7 years (2003-2009).

The Scientific Council takes note of the concept and objectives of this Programme presented by JINR Vice-Director A. Sissakian and of the proposals for the Programme by the fields of research presented by the Directors or Deputy Directors of the JINR Laboratories.

The Scientific Council endorses the main lines of the proposed Programme and looks forward to a more complete presentation following discussions at meetings of the PACs. The Scientific Council calls the JINR Directorate to set up a Committee, consisting of a small panel of members of the Scientific Council and the three PAC Chairpersons to discuss the first Draft of the 7-year Programme prepared by the Directorate. This Committee should provide comments and input for the preparation of the second Draft, which will be discussed at the 93rd session of the Scientific Council.

The Scientific Council sees the 7-year plan as offering a strong opportunity for the JINR Directorate to define its future strategy and to spell out its scientific priorities for developing the international reputation of the Institute. This document should focus, in particular, on the financial and human resources available to complete large-scale projects, attractive to young scientists, on a realistic time scale.

The Scientific Council takes note of and concurs with the recommendations made by the PACs at their April 2002 meetings and presented by their Chairpersons.

The Scientific Council supports the recommendation of the PAC for Particle Physics concerning the long-term plan of physics research at the Nuclotron. The PAC continues to be concerned that the main physics drivers for the Nuclotron need to be identified along with a corresponding plan for a limited number of first-line experimental facilities to achieve this programme.

The Scientific Council recommends that the JINR Directorate provide adequate support for scientists working at the Nuclotron to encourage active scientific participation by young scientists in this programme.

The Scientific Council shares the PAC's concern that further advances are necessary in the development of JINR's networking and computing infrastructure to help ensure the success of the JINR scientific programme, in particular for large international collaborative efforts such as those at the LHC. It strongly recommends that the JINR Directorate provide the necessary support to allow for continued improvement of this infrastructure, since adequate capability in this area is essential for the future success of the scientific programme in particle physics and for supporting scientific work at JINR on major international projects by users from the Institute's Member States. The approach to achieve the necessary capability should be based on modern technology and should be developed in close contact with leaders of JINR's major experiments.

The Scientific Council notes the extensive and high-quality research programmes in accelerator physics and engineering under way at JINR. The recognized expertise of the Institute's accelerator specialists allows for the JINR research groups to be successfully involved in international collaborations and projects. The Scientific Council concurs with the PAC that the manpower and resources for realization of these programmes seem to be thinly spread between the Laboratories and their research activities, and recommends that project teams be established as a means to concentrate effort on the main goals of the development of the JINR basic facilities.

The Scientific Council endorses the recommendations of the PAC for Particle Physics on the execution of the new scientific projects (NN-Scattering, PIKASO, PHe3, HYPERON-M, TUS), as detailed in the PAC Minutes. The Scientific Council also concurs with the recommendations of the PAC regarding the continuation of ongoing experiments previously approved up to 2002.

The Scientific Council endorses regular financing of the IREN project and continuous support of the JINR technical services to complete this project as close as possible to the announced date.

The Scientific Council approves the experimental programme presented for stable and light radioactive beams  (DRIBs Phase I).  It recommends high-priority support of all aspects of the DRIBs project, including its Phase II, modernization of the U400M cyclotron and the development of necessary experimental equipment.

The Scientific Council recommends strong support of the MASHA project which will allow direct mass determinations,
(m/m 0.1%)  and more detailed studies of chemical and physical properties of superheavy elements.

The Scientific Council awaits the results of a study on the external Phasotron injection and strongly recommends that the impact of significantly greater beam intensities, the resulting activations and induced radiation damage of beam-channel components be investigated. The potential benefits for the existing Phasotron experiments should also be elaborated in order to make an informed judgement on this upgrade.

The Scientific Council recommends the creation of an appropriate organization of the proton therapy infrastructure in order to respond to the demands from hospitals.

The Scientific Council considers the refurbishment of the IBR-2 reactor to be of basic interest for JINR. Several facts and events, which might lead to a delay in the schedule and which are enumerated in the recommendations of the PAC for Condensed Matter Physics, should be regarded and adequate measures should be taken.

The cold source should be considered to be part of the IBR-2 reactor refurbishment:

- the refrigerator belonging to the cold source complex has to be installed in 2004, so that it can be of use for the actual cryogenic moderator and the future cryogenic moderator.

- in view of its life-time, the actual cryogenic moderator (BBS-Broad-Band Source) can work 3 cycles/year from 2004 to 2007, which represents a reasonable compromise as it will serve only two spectrometers. However the benefit of the actual BBS can already be fully demonstrated.

- the new BBS should already be included in the refurbishment programme and its planning together with the instrument development programme should be started in 2002.

It should be recognized that only the complex including the IBR-2 reactor, BBS and upgraded instrumentation will lead to the goal of a world-wide leading facility.

The Scientific Council notes that research and development should be concentrated on the most advanced and unique projects and installations, backed by strong scientific demands from the JINR Laboratories. Similar considerations must apply to new proposals such as DELSY and LEPTA which require comprehensive presentation of their research potential and of the resources to be committed.

At the PAC meetings it was reported that the situation with the JINR local area networking and external communication links has notably improved. The Scientific Council appreciates the efforts of the LIT and JINR Directorates to support these issues. It stresses again the basic importance of the networking and computing infrastructure meeting the demands and needs of the JINR Laboratories. The remote analysis of external experiments is of vital importance. This requires to improve drastically the performance of JINR's networking infrastructure and to support it with adequate financing.

The work of the JINR University Centre is also noted to be very important in supporting scientists, and this activity should be continued.

1. The Scientific Council thanks Professors T. Hallman, H. Lauter, and N. Rowley for their highly successful work as Chairpersons of the PAC for Particle Physics, PAC for Condensed Matter Physics, and PAC for Nuclear Physics, respectively.

2. Upon proposal by the JINR Directorate, the Scientific Council re-appoints the PAC  Chairpersons:

- T. Hallman - for a term of three years,
- H. Lauter - for a term of one year,
- N. Rowley - for a term of two years.

VI. Nominations

1. The Scientific Council elected by ballot:

- N. Agapov and S. Vokal as Deputy Directors of the Veksler-Baldin Laboratory of High Energies,
- S. Dmitriev and J. Kliman as Deputy Directors of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions,
- M. Sapozhnikov as Deputy Director of the Laboratory of Particle Physics,
- N. Popa as Deputy Director of the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics

until the completion of the terms of office of their respective Laboratory Directors.

2. According to the Regulation in force, the Scientific Council announces the vacancies of Director and Deputy Directors at the Laboratory of Information Technologies.

The election for these positions will be held at the 93rd session of the Scientific Council.

3. The Scientific Council takes note of the information by Director V. Kadyshevsky that no candidate for the post of Director of the Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics has been identified yet. After due discussion, the Scientific Council concurs with the proposal by V. Kadyshevsky to appoint Vice-Director A. Sissakian also as Acting Director of BLTP after the completion of the term of duties of the present Director of this Laboratory, i.e. after 16 January 2003, it being understood that every effort will be made to identify as soon as possible a suitable candidate for this very important position.

The Scientific Council congratulates Professors W. Greiner, M. Likhachev, B. Paton, V. Penev, and A. Smirnov on being awarded the title "Honorary Doctor of JINR", in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and the education of young scientists.

• The Scientific Council notes with interest the scientific reports presented at this session:

• "Study of nuclear interactions in the NA49 experiment",

• "First results of exploration of the Martian surface with the HEND detector on the U.S. spacecraft "2001 Mars Odyssey".

The Council thanks the speakers G. Melkumov and I. Mitrofanov for their informative presentations.

The 93rd session of the Scientific Council will be held on 16-17 January 2003.