At solemn awarding ceremony of JINR diplomas on conferring academic degrees
News, 21 January 2021
On 20 January 2021, a solemn awarding ceremony of diplomas on conferring academic degrees took place in the big hall of the JINR Scientists’ Club. Four applicants received diplomas: Sergey Vasilievich Kozhevnikov, an FLNP staff member, Huben Ganev, a BLTP employee, Dmitry Nikolaevich Nikiforov, a VBLHEP staff member, and Ekaterina Gennadievna Yashina, an employee of PNPI ( St. Petersburg). The awarding ceremony had a solemn atmosphere. JINR Scientific Leader, Chairman of the Qualification Committee of the Institute Victor Anatolievich Matveev, JINR Chief Scientific Secretary, Deputy Chairman of the Qualification Committee Alexander Savelievich Sorin, Scientific Secretary of the Qualification Committee Oleg Valerievich Belov, as well as scientific secretaries of the dissertation councils Tatiana Ivanovna Ivankina, Yuri Mikhailovich Bystritskiy, Olga Evgenievna Lepkina, and their assistants took part in the ceremony.
21.01.2021. At solemn ceremony of diploma awarding. From left to right in the photo: Yu. M. Bystritskiy, O. V. Belov, A. S. Sorin, T. I. Ivankina, S. V. Kozhevnikov, V. A. Matveev, O. E. Lepkina, H. Ganev, D. N. Nikiforov
Sergey Vasilievich Kozhevnikov, a citizen of the Russian Federation, was awarded the degree of Doctor of Physics and Mathematics based on the results of the defence of his dissertation “Neutron-optical methods of characterization of planar magnet nanostructures” in the speciality 01.04.01 “Instrumentation and methods of experimental physics”. The defence was held at the FLNP Dissertation Council for Condensed Matter Physics.
Huben Ganev, a citizen of Bulgaria, was conferred an academic degree of Doctor of Physics and Mathematics based on the results of the defence of the dissertation “Development of the algebraic theory of the collective movement of atomic nuclei” in the framework of speciality 01.04.16 “Nuclear and particle physics”. The defence took place at a one-time BLTP dissertation council on theoretical physics.
Dmitry Nikolaevich Nikiforov, a citizen of the Russian Federation, obtained an academic degree of Candidate of Technical Sciences subsequent to the results of the defence of the dissertation “Development and optimization of cryoprovision systems for the testing of superconducting magnets of the NICA project”, speciality 01.04.01 “Instrumentation and methods of experimental physics”. The defence was held at the DLNP Dissertation Council for Nuclear Physics.
Ekaterina Gennadievna Yashina, a citizen of the Russian Federation, got an academic degree of Candidate of Physics and Mathematics following the results of the defence of the dissertation “Study of structural organization of chromatin in the nucleus of a biological cell by the small-angle neutron scattering method”, speciality 01.04.07 “Condensed matter physics”. The defence was held at the FLNP Dissertation Council for Condensed Matter Physics.
Congratulating diploma recipients, the Institute’s Scientific Leader paid special attention to the presentation of the first two diplomas on conferring the degrees of JINR Doctors of Sciences, wished the applicants new scientific achievements, and proposed to work out measures for broader informing JINR partner organizations about the system of awarding academic degrees in JINR. Participants of the event exchanged views on the general issues of the Institute’s implementation of the right to independently award academic degrees. In particular, they noted the importance of a bilingual JINR diploma, a considerable reduction of terms of diploma issue compared to those when obtaining diplomas via the VAC, convenience of the existing electronic system for filing documents in the Dissertation Councils. Participants also expressed wishes for the resumption of operation of the JINR postgraduate training programme.
Exchange of opinions on the results of defences
At the end of the solemn awarding ceremony, Scientific Secretary of the Institute’s Qualification Committee O. V. Belov spoke in the format of an online interview about the latest news in the field of awarding academic degrees at JINR,
“Special procedure was introduced for holding meetings of the Dissertation Councils at JINR with an opportunity for remote participation of members of the Dissertation Councils. So, the practice of applying this procedure has been expanding since then. Almost all the Dissertation Councils of the Institute use an opportunity of remote interactive participation of their members in meetings. We managed to quickly develop necessary regulatory framework to control the operation of the Dissertation Councils in the context of the pandemic, as well as to establish work mode in a new format maintaining the high-level quality of dissertation review at the same time.
Today, the presentation of the first two diplomas on conferring the academic degrees of Doctors of Sciences of JINR became a significant event. A citizen of Bulgaria, a member state of the European Union, got one of them. Geography of Russian scientific organizations from which applicants come is expanding. For example, we have awarded today a diploma to an applicant from the St. Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute named after B. P. Konstantinov, which has long been cooperating with JINR.
There have been already 14 defences since the introduction of the JINR Dissertation Councils in September 2019 operating on the basis of the right to award academic degrees independently. Applicants defended 3 doctoral and 11 candidate dissertations. Nowadays, we prepare to issue the next batch of diplomas.
At the end of January, we should send an annual report on the operation of the new Dissertation Councils. It should be noted that in the frames of constant monitoring by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, our Institute also regularly provides information throughout the year on the operation of the Dissertation Councils and defences held. We hope that JINR expertise, as of the only international intergovernmental organization in the territory of the Russian Federation conferred with the right to independently award academic degrees, will be useful to other institutes and universities granted the same right.
Work is underway on maintaining the own electronic document management system created by JINR for the dissertation councils. It played a significant role in maintaining activities of the Councils during the most severe restrictions at the Institute caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the fact that some defences were postponed, the system of electronic submission and review of documents allowed avoiding the suspension of accepting new documents for defence. Almost all the defences postponed because of the pandemic have been held.
Unfortunately, the recent difficult times have not passed without losses. Prominent scientists Brudanin Victor Borisovich and Gerdt Vladimir Petrovich passed away because of the consequences of the coronavirus infection. They held the positions of Deputy Chairmen of the Dissertation Councils for Nuclear Physics and Information Technologies respectively. They greatly contributed to the establishment of these Councils at the most responsible initial stage of their operation.
At the same time, we focused on gradual resumption of activities of the Dissertation Councils in the traditional format to the extent permitted by the current epidemiological situation. The continuing positive dynamics of receiving newly submitted dissertations to the JINR Councils indicates the high interest of applicants for academic degrees in the defence on the basis of JINR. At the same time, the interest of scientists from other Russian and from the Member States of the Institute in the defence in our Councils is remarkable. The latter is of particular importance as far as diplomas on awarding academic degrees are recognized with a view to the reputation of an organization that issues them rather than by the procedures of formal recognition of the equivalence of scientific and educational programmes taken by an applicant before the dissertation.
We will shortly organize another meeting on awarding diplomas that are currently being prepared. We sincerely hope that we will manage to maintain the positive dynamics of our defences in a new year and even increase the portfolio of highly qualified theses defended at JINR by scientists from partner organizations of our Institute in numerous countries.”
Information by JINR Directorate
Photos by Elena Puzynina