Youth and Science

"Alushta-2024": colleagues turn into friends

As already reported in our newspaper, the traditional XIII International Youth Conference, organized by the Association of Young Scientists and Specialists of JINR, this year was dedicated to current achievements in the field of nuclear medicine and medical physics.

The Co-chairs of the Programme Committee were JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov and JINR Director Assistant for the Development of Medical and Biological Projects Grigory Shirkov. They spoke about the concept of developing and establishing a scientific and clinical centre for proton therapy based on the superconducting proton cyclotron MSC-230. Head of the Group of FLNR JINR Alexander Madumarov gave a lecture on the development of promising isotopes for nuclear diagnostics.

Along with young scientists and specialists from JINR, representatives of the Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics, the Institute of High Energy Physics of the National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" (Protvino) also spoke at the Conference.

In addition to the plenary lectures, two invited speakers delivered a report at the Conference. Alexander Baidatsky, a video editing specialist at the Social Communications Group of the JINR University Centre, shared with the audience the nuances of using video content as an effective tool for popularizing scientific research. During the Conference, he dedicated time to filming the participants' reports, the cultural and sports programme and demonstrated an example of a popularization video about the event at the closing of the Conference. The second invited speaker was Vladislav Rozhkov, Chairman of the Association of Young Scientists and Specialists, a researcher at the Laboratory of Nuclear Problems. He spoke about the participation of the Association's representatives in the work of the Coordination Council for Youth Affairs in Science and Education of the Presidential Council for Science and Education of the Russian Federation, the Council of Young Scientists of the Moscow Region and the Youth Branch of the Russian Pugwash Committee under the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

For young people that are just starting their scientific careers, a certain challenge was the need to tell about their research in just seven minutes and to interest both the jury and other participants. However, the success of Alushta-2024 emphasizes the benefits of holding such events not only for the participants, but also for the organizers themselves. Co-chairman of the Organizing Committee Alexander Nezvanov spoke about the difficulties the organizers had to face: "This conference is very different from other AYSS scientific events that are held near Dubna. When organizing and holding the Lipnya Summer Scientific School and the AYSS Conference, you can always find optimal solutions that cannot be repeated in the case of Alushta. Therefore, it is very important to have a close-knit organizing committee that, if necessary, is able to quickly respond to emerging difficulties and to find the most suitable solutions far from home."

According to Alexander Nezvanov, another striking feature of the Alushta Conference was the special atmosphere created by the staff of the Resort Hotel "Dubna" and the youth themselves - both JINR employees and participants from other organizations: "Unlike the AYSS Conference that I would call "drier", the Conference in Alushta was permeated with a warmer and more family-like atmosphere. All participants without exception noted this feature and said that it is difficult to implement it at conferences of a different type at scientific organizations."

Traditionally, in Alushta the participants had the opportunity not only to exchange scientific experience and knowledge, but also to get to know each other better at cultural and sports events. The day of visiting the peninsula's attractions by the young scientists was truly active and educational: part of the tourist group climbed the Ai-Petri Mountain peak, while the rest preferred an excursion to the Vorontsov Palace. The most resilient participants conquered the Demerdzhi mountain range that they had to reach 12 km under the scorching sun. But the reward after the grueling journey was the stunning views of the Alushta coast, the mysterious sculptures of the "Valley of Ghosts" and recognizable places from Soviet films.

On other days of the Conference, the participants had the opportunity to compete in erudition at a quiz, to take part in the first meeting of the JINR Film Union, a new community of film and creative activity lovers founded with the support of AYSS. "The Film Union is a place for watching and discussing films, uniting people for the joint implementation of interesting and bold creative initiatives," the founder of the community Alexander Madumarov described.

The Conference ended with a ceremonial awarding of the participants whose reports were chosen as the best by the Programme Committee. The winners will be able to take part in the second round of the competition for JINR awards for young scientists and specialists.

The authors of the best reports according to the jury were:
Anna Kasatova (BINP SB RAS);
Veronika Smirnova (FLNP);
Alexander Bychkov (VBLHEP);
Vladislav Shalaev (VBLHEP);
Andrey Gridin (DLNP);
Nikita Tsegelnik (BLTP);
Dinara Bulatova (Department of Communications and Information Support);
Tatiana Khramko (LRB);
Ahn Mai Quin (LRB);
Tatiana Zaikina (MLIT).

The conference organizing and program committees congratulate the young scientists and specialists and wish them further victories in their professional activities!

Co-chair of the Conference, junior researcher of LRB Regina Kozhina notes: "This is not the first year that I have been a participant and co-organizer of the conference and I never stop to be amazed at how special each "Alushta" turns out to be: always very warm, friendly, a little hectic, but at the same time intimate in its own way. It is worth noting that every year, the participants increasingly strive to make their reports understandable to colleagues, they talk about their research in a slightly freer form than at other conferences. The opportunity to present a report in a popular way is a kind of luxury at the beginning of a scientific career. In addition, there is closer cooperation between lecturers and participants that is facilitated by the conference venue, schedule and evening social events. I would also like to add that in my opinion, the warm feelings that most participants have for their colleagues, the time of the conference, the lecturers and the Institute as a whole are important. I believe that love and moral satisfaction of young people play an important role in the development of our common cause. Seeing the happy faces of old and new acquaintances on the site, when going to work, makes you want to gather again, charge and exchange those warm emotions that everyone who has ever attended the conference has experienced."

Largely due to the assistance of the Institute's Directorate and the accumulated organizational experience, the participants learned more about interdisciplinary research in various fields and shared the results of their research in their scientific areas. And by attracting colleagues from other institutes, ideas for joint cooperation were born. The Organizing Committee succeeded in gaining new experience that will certainly be passed on. Thus, thanks to comprehensive support and traditional continuity, the Conference constantly develops and attracts participants from JINR, other organizations and countries to Alushta.

As Vladislav Rozhkov mentioned at the opening of the event, at the beginning of the Conference, there are colleagues in the hall, employees of the Institute that represent their departments, laboratories and divisions; however, by the end of the event, the hall will be full of friends and comrades that can always be asked for help in meeting current scientific issues and discussing future joint projects. Judging by the atmosphere of the Conference and the communication of the participants, this is what happened. The Conference ended, having achieved its goals. The authors are grateful to the JINR Press Office for providing information.

R.KOZHINA, A.NEZVANOV,
members of the Organizing Committee