I. General considerations
1. The Scientific Council takes note of the information presented by the Director of JINR about the decisions taken by the JINR Committee of Plenipotentiaries at its March 1999 meeting, in particular:
2. The Scientific Council appreciates the steps taken so far by the JINR Directorate within the reform programme in the areas of basic facilities, infrastructure, and personnel policy. It looks forward to being informed at the next sessions about the progress of these reforms and about the Directorate’s new scientific research proposals.
3. The Scientific Council applauds the actions of the Directorate in securing substantial salary increases for the staff.
4. The Scientific Council appeals to all Member States to fulfil their financial obligations to the Institute. Timely payments would benefit the scientific mission of the Institute, including its ambitious reform programme.
II. Recommendations concerning basic facilities
1. The Scientific Council takes note of the report “Nuclotron: status, new possibilities and perspectives” presented by LHE Director A. Malakhov.
The Scientific Council appreciates the progress achieved in the construction and testing of the Nuclotron slow beam extraction system and looks forward to the successful commissioning of this system within a few months and the start of data taking of associated experiments.
2. The Scientific Council heard with interest the report “Status of activities on a Synchrotron Radiation Source” presented by JINR Chief Engineer I. Meshkov, in particular what concerns potential users.
The Scientific Council endorses the spirit of the joint recommendations taken on 26 April 1999 by the PACs for Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics on a synchrotron light source in Dubna (Appendix 1).
The Scientific Council recommends that a decision on DELSY be taken only after the scientific, technical, and resource aspects of the project have been fully studied and documented. The decision should take into consideration the impact of DELSY on the existing facilities and on-going projects of JINR. Ample consideration should also be given to its impact on the long-term scientific direction of the Institute.
These considerations must be based on realistic assumptions about the future availability of resources.
III. Recommendations in connection with the PACs
The Scientific Council takes note of and concurs with the recommendations made by the PACs at their April 1999 meetings and presented by their Chairpersons.
Particle Physics Issues
The Scientific Council endorses the recommendations of the PAC for optimizing the JINR research programme in particle and relativistic nuclear physics, and invites the JINR Directorate to propose a list of core projects that should be supported with high priority.
The Scientific Council joins the PAC in congratulating the directorates of JINR, LPP and LHE on the establishment of the first JINR PC Farm. The Scientific Council agrees with the PAC that in view of the rich data soon to be available at RHIC, at the Fermilab Tevatron, and later at the LHC the potential of this Farm needs to be complemented by adequate bandwidth of international network connections. The Scientific Council reiterates its recommendation that the JINR Directorate take urgent measures to improve the external connectivity of the Institute.
Nuclear Physics Issues
The Scientific Council congratulates the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions on the results of experiments on the synthesis of two isotopes of the new element with Z=114. The Scientific Council strongly recommends the continuation of this programme with high priority.
The Scientific Council recognizes the high scientific and technical interest of the Dubna Radioactive Ion Beams (DRIBS) project dedicated to the production of intense beams of unstable nuclei. The Scientific Council strongly recommends that the DRIBS project be approved and be given the status of a JINR all-Institute project, and that its necessary funding in the next three-year period be secured.
The Scientific Council asks the JINR Directorate to make a clear decision on whether the IREN project shall be completed on a reasonable schedule or shall be cancelled. The Scientific Council gave strong support to this project in the past, and has no basis to reverse its earlier recommendations.
The Scientific Council wishes to emphasize that nuclear physics with neutrons at the JINR site would come to an end if the IREN project were terminated.
The Scientific Council concurs with a beam allocation of up to 1,000 hrs/year for the next two years, financed by the JINR budget, for experiments at the Phasotron.
Condensed Matter Physics Issues
The Scientific Council recommends adequate funding, including refurbishment, of the IBR-2 reactor to ensure its continuing operation.
The reduced power of the reactor from 2 to 1.5 MW and the reduced number of cycles from 10 to 8 should be reversed as soon as the budget situation allows it.
IV. Memberships of the PACs
1. Upon proposal by the JINR Directorate and on recommendations of the PACs, the Scientific Council re-appoints the following Chairpersons of the PACs for a term of one year:
Ch. Briançon - PAC for Nuclear Physics,
H. Lauter - PAC for Condensed Matter Physics,
and appoints S. Dubnicka as Chairperson of the PAC for Particle Physics for a term of one year.
2. The Scientific Council thanks Professor P. Spillantini for his most valuable work as Chairperson of the PAC for Particle Physics.
3. Upon proposal by the JINR Directorate, the Scientific Council appoints the following new members of the PAC for Particle Physics:
J. Nassalski (INS, Warsaw, Poland),
H.-D. Trines (DESY, Hamburg, Germany),
T. Virdee (CERN, Geneva, Switzerland).
4. The Scientific Council extends the current mandates of the PACs until January 2001 and looks forward to a rotation of the PAC membership as stipulated by the Regulation for the JINR PACs.
V. Scientific report
The Scientific Council followed with interest the scientific report “Fundamental and Applied Aspects of Relativistic Nuclear Physics” presented by Professor A. Baldin.
VI. Awarding of the title “Honorary Doctor of JINR”
The Scientific Council congratulates Professors A. Baldin, A. Hrynkiewicz, A. Logunov and H. Schopper on their being awarded the title “Honorary Doctor of JINR”, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the advancement of science and education of young scientists.
VII. Nominations
1. After due consideration, the Scientific Council agrees to postpone the election of the Director of the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics (FLNP) until June 2000.
Upon proposal by the JINR Directorate and with the endorsement of the Scientific Council, V.Aksenov has been appointed Acting Director of FLNP for a term of one year.
2. In view of the absence of nominations for candidates, the Scientific Council agrees to postpone the election of the Director of the Laboratory of Computing Techniques and Automation (LCTA) until June 2000.
Upon proposal by the JINR Directorate and with the endorsement of the Scientific Council, R. Pose has been appointed Acting Director of LCTA for a term of one year.
VIII. Anniversary of LPP
The Scientific Council followed with interest the reports presented at the seminar on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Laboratory of Particle Physics.
The Scientific Council notes with satisfaction that, since its foundation, this Laboratory has acquired a leading position in particle physics research. Involvement of JINR member-state institutions in the scientific activity of LPP permits concentration of intellectual and material resources resulting in a significant contribution to international research projects.
The Scientific Council congratulates the staff of the Laboratory of Particle Physics on the 10th anniversary of its establishment and wishes it further successful activity.
IX. Next session of the Scientific Council
The 87th session of the Scientific Council will be held on 13-14 January 2000.
V. Kadyshevsky
Chairman of the JINR Scientific Council
Appendix 1
JOINT RECOMMENDATIONS
by the PACs for Condensed Matter Physics,
Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics
on a synchrotron light source in Dubna
The PACs for Condensed Matter Physics, Nuclear Physics and Particle Physics at their meetings in April 1999 heard with interest a status report by JINR Chief Engineer I. Meshkov on the preparations for setting up in Dubna a synchrotron radiation source. This facility would be based on the AmPS accelerator at NIKHEF (Amsterdam) that was shut down in 1998.
The three PACs unanimously agree on the following observations and recommendations:
1. Such a facility would profit from the recognized expertise of JINR in accelerator physics and technology.
2. The scientific case needs to be established and a possible user community to be identified.
3. The technical details of the proposed facility, such as accelerator layout, beam lines and instrumentation, need to be elaborated.
4. The proposed facility must not have adverse effects on the exploitation of the JINR basic facilities and on the approved research programme in basic science. Therefore, its implementation and exploitation, as well as the future research programme, must be funded from new sources to be found outside the JINR budget.
5. Until outside funding has been secured, no further steps should be taken to transfer parts of the AmPS accelerator to Dubna, and no further resources committed except for preparing a detailed scientific and technical proposal.
In order to assist the JINR Directorate, Committee of Plenipotentiaries and Scientific Council in their decision making, the PACs recommend to hold an international workshop to bring together experts in synchrotron radiation physics and technology, and scientists representing the prospective user community. This workshop should document all scientific, technical and financial aspects of the project in a detailed report that should serve as a basis for further decisions. The report should be refereed by a panel of outside experts to be appointed by the Scientific Council in consultation with the PACs.
The PACs reiterate their concern that, under the present economic difficulties, this project could dilute the human and financial resources of the Institute, and endanger the worldwide scientific reputation of JINR. They support the Directorate in their efforts to ensure the success of the approved projects and scientific programmes.
Ch. Briançon
Chairperson of the PAC for Nuclear Physics
H. Lauter
Chairperson of the PAC for Condensed Matter Physics
P. Spillantini
Chairperson of the PAC for Particle Physics
26 April 1999
© Joint Institute for Nuclear Research. Dubna, 1999