President of Armenia: The whole country is proud of scientific merits  and achievements of Yuri Oganesyan

ArmInfo. On July 12, Armenian  President Armen Sarkissian received the scientific leader of the  Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at the Joint Institute for  Nuclear Research in Dubna (Russian Federation), Academician of the  Russian Academy of Sciences, foreign member of the National Academy  of Sciences of Armenia Yuri Oganesyan.

According to presidential press office, Armen Sarkissian recalled  that on July 11 he signed a decree on conferring citizenship of the  Republic of Armenia to Yuri Oganesyan. Congratulating the well-known  scientist, Sarkissian highly appreciated his contribution to the  development of nuclear physics, noting that the country and the whole  nation are proud of the scientific merits and achievements of Yuri  Hovhannisyan.

The interlocutors discussed the implementation of the program for the  production of radioisotopes and the creation of a diagnostic center.

Sarkissian welcomed the readiness of the famous scientist to promote  the development of science in Armenia, as well as to contribute to  the cause of education and progress of young scientists.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on the prospects for the  development of science in Armenia.

Yuri Oganesyan is a famous Soviet and Russian scientist, an expert in  experimental nuclear physics, an academician of the Russian Academy  of Sciences, a scientific leader of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear  Reactions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna  near Moscow. In honor of Oganesyan, the chemical element "Oganeson"  is named in the periodic table.

Back in 1998, in response to the government's offer, the Dubna  scientists Alexei Sissakian (now the late former JINR Director,  Academician of the RAS - Ed.) And Yuri Hovhannisyan agreed to conduct  a work to assess the potential of the Yerevan Physical Institute.   Then the leaders of the world's largest scientific laboratories from  Germany, France, the United States, Great Britain, Russia and other  countries responded to Yuri Oganesyan's appeal. A commission of 9  leading scientists of the world was established, who after the  evaluation proposed to the Armenian government, along with the direct  appointment of a physical institute, to use its capabilities and  infrastructure for other purposes. Thus, the idea of creating an  excellence in the field of oncology was created on the basis of the  Center founded in 1944, the part of funds from the work of which was  to be directed to the continuation of fundamental research. "Not many  people know that the Institute of Dubna has initiated the creation of  the Center of Excellence, which is a concrete example of the  transformation of fundamental science into applied science,"  Hovhannes Torosyan, senior scientific associate at JINR, said earlier  in a conversation with ArmInfo correspondent. The scientist,  expressing surprise at the fact that the creation of the center  turned into an object of unfinished construction. "But on the basis  of this cooperation it would be possible to form a powerful  scientific cluster uniting the Metsamor nuclear power plant, JINR,  the Armat Institute, the Institute of Physics, and other interested  organizations," Hrach Torosyan stated.

The Prime Minister of Armenia recently expressed his extreme surprise  at the "unfinished" center of excellence, who asked to find an  opportunity to complete such an important project for Armenia, which  has already been realized by 80% due to sponsorship and which the  previous government deemed ineffective.  Apparently, the arrival of  Yuri Hovhannisyan in Armenia and set a goal to find ways to  resuscitate and restart the program, from which the former  authorities began to disband.

The Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna is implementing a  number of programs in Armenia aimed at further developing the  scientific potential in nuclear physics. The Institute, one of the  founders of which together with other 18 states (Belarus, Bulgaria,  Czech Republic, Vietnam, etc.) is the Republic of Armenia, intends to  implement a number of so-called collaborative programs. It is a  question of creating a pool of scientific groups and laboratories  that by joint efforts, exchanging knowledge and experience, while  teaching young scientists, will set themselves specific goals in the  field of fundamental nuclear research.  This includes, among other  things, the active use by scientists from different countries of the  world of a new, modern electronic accelerator at the Kendl Institute  for Synchrotron Research, which is indispensable in its parameters  for some kind of research.