Joint Institute for Nuclear Research


The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, in Dubna, Moscow Oblast, Russia, is an international research center for nuclear sciences, with 5,500 staff members including 1,200 researchers holding over 1,000 Ph.D.s from eighteen countries. Most scientists are scientists of the Russian Federation.
The institute has seven laboratories, each with its own specialisation: theoretical physics, high energy physics, heavy ion physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear reactions, neutron physics, and information technology. The institute has a division to study radiation and radiobiological research and other ad hoc experimental physics experiments.
Principal research instruments include a nuclotron superconductive particle accelerator, three isochronous cyclotrons, a phasitron and a synchrophasotron. The site has a neutron fast-pulse reactor with nineteen associated instruments receiving neutron beams.

Founding

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was established on the basis of an agreement signed on 26 March 1956, in Moscow by representatives of the governments of the eleven founding countries, with a view to combining their scientific and material potential. The USSR contributed 50 percent, the People's Republic of China 20 percent. In February 1957, the JINR was registered by the United Nations. The institute is located in Dubna, 120 km north of Moscow.
At the time of the creation of JINR, the Institute of Nuclear Problems of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR already existed at the site of the future Dubna since the late 1940s, and it launched a program of fundamental and applied research at the synchrocyclotron. The Electrophysics Laboratory of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR was established, and under the guidance of Academician Vladimir Veksler, work began to create a new accelerator – a proton synchrophasotron – with a record energy of 10 GeV at that time.
By the mid-1950s, there was a worldwide consensus that nuclear science should be accessible and that only broad cooperation could ensure the progressive development of this research, as well as the peaceful use of atomic energy. Thus, in 1954, near Geneva, CERN was established. At about the same time, the countries that belonged to the socialist community decided to establish a Joint Institute for Nuclear Research on the basis of the INP and EFLAN.
The first director of the United Institute was Professor D. I. Blokhintsev, who just completed the creation of Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant the world's first nuclear power plant in Obninsk. The first vice-directors of JINR were professors Marian Danysz and V. Votruba.
The history of the formation of the JINR is associated with the names of prominent scientists and Professors. The following list provides some of the names of prominent scientists.
The JINR cooperates with many organizations. One of the main organizations with which JINR cooperates is UNESCO. Its collaboration with JINR started in 1997 in order to develop basic sciences and try to achieve sustainable development. Joint activities include training programmes and grant mechanisms for researchers in the basic science. This international scientific cooperation and knowledge sharing in key scientific fields is one of the main 2030 UNESCO goals, the achievement of Sustainable Development.
The United Nations General Assembly and UNESCO General Conference named 2019 as The International Year of the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements. This reinforced the cooperation between these two organizations. JINR was one of the observers of European Organization for Nuclear Research from 2014 till 25 March 2022.
As of 1 January 2023, 13 JINR state members are active and three suspended:
Associate members are:
  • Germany
  • Hungary
  • Italy
  • South Africa
  • Serbia
Scientific collaboration with organizations including:
  • CERN – since 2014, subject to restrictions detailed in the CERN Council resolutions 3671 and 3638 following the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation. Collaboration to be reviewed well in advance of January 2025, the expiration date of the International Cooperation Agreement.
  • UNESCO – since 1997
  • BMBF, since 1991.
  • INFN, since 1996.
  • University of Turin, since 1999.
  • EPS, since 1990.
Former members: In December 2022 the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine terminated their membership and Bulgaria and Slovakia suspended their participation in JINR. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea was one of the founding states in 1956. It has been suspended from participating in JINR since 2015.

Structure of research

The main fields of the institute's research are:
The JINR possess eight laboratories and University Centre.
NameRealm of PhysicsFacilitiesNotes
University Centre Academic Environment
Bogoliubov Laboratory of Theoretical Physics Theoretical physics
Veksler and Baldin Laboratory of High Energy Physics High Energy PhysicsNuclotron, Synchrophasotron, NICANuclotron is the first superconductive synchrotron in World with particle energy up to 7 GeV. Synchrophasotron has particle energy of 4 GeV. NICA is associated with Nuclotron experiment
Laboratory of Particle Physics Particle Physics
Dzhelepov Laboratory of Nuclear Problems Nuclear physicsSynchrocyclotronSynchrocyclotron with the energy 680 MeV and with the intensity of extracted beam 2.5mkA. In addition it is used for Radiation therapy
Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions Nuclear physicsU400, U400M, IC100 Cyclotron and MT-25 microtronThe laboratory producing new elements
Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics Nuclear physics, IREN high-flux pulsed Fast-neutron reactor and together with IREN Facility are main Neutron source
Laboratory of Information Technologies Theoretical physicsHybriLITProvision with the network, computing and information resources as well as mathematical support of experimental and theoretical studies
Laboratory of Radiation Biology Radiation therapy, Radiobiology

Superheavy Element Factory

The Superheavy Element Factory at the JINR, opened in 2019, is a new experimental complex dedicated to superheavy element research. Its facilities enable a tenfold increase in beam intensity; such an increase in sensitivity enables the study of reactions with lower cross sections that would otherwise be inaccessible. Sergey Dmitriev, director of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, believes that the SHE factory will enable closer examination of nuclei near the limits of stability, as well as experiments aimed at the synthesis of elements 119 and 120.

Scientific achievements

More than 40 major achievements in particle physics have been made through experiments at JINR, including:
  • 1957 – prediction of neutrino oscillation, published in JETP by Bruno Pontecorvo
  • 1976 – element 107
  • 1999 – element 114
  • 2000 – element 116
  • 2002 – element 118
  • 2003 – element 115 and element 113
  • 2010 – synthesis of element 117

    Prizes and awards

JINR has instituted awards to honour and encourage high-level research in the fields of physics and mathematics since 1961.
The first award was dedicated to Wang Ganchang, deputy director from 1958 to 1960 and the Soviet Professor Vladimir Veksler for the discovery of antisigma-minus hyperon.

Directors