On 25 September 2026, the second meeting of the International Scientific Avisory Board (ISAB) of the Natural Science Review journal published by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, took place at the JINR International Conference Centre in a hybrid format. The event was organized alongside the autumn session of the JINR Scientific Council.
The JINR Scientific Council Co-chair, JINR Director, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Grigory Trubnikov opened the meeting. He spoke about the principles of the journal’s structure and outlined its key development goals. The issue of popularising the publication was raised as well in anticipation of the international conference on the fundamental properties of matter, which will take place at the Institute in May 2027.
NSR Editor-in-Chief, JINR Scientific Leader, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Victor Matveev presented general information about the publication to the Board members. Natural Science Review is an online peer–reviewed Diamond Open Access journal. Issues are published quarterly, while articles are posted on the journal’s website immediately after acceptance and technical editing. The journal covers a wide range of multidisciplinary scientific topics, in particular, physics, mathematical and computer sciences, chemistry, ecology, and life and Earth sciences. Victor Matveev emphasised the philosophy of Natural Science Review: “The journal is not a commercial enterprise that publishes research articles. This is a project created by scientists for scientists. Since the journal’s launch in 2024, 59 articles have been published across eight issues. In addition, special issues are being prepared, one of which is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Joint Institute.
NSR Deputy Editor-in-Chief, JINR Vice-Director Elena Kolganova presented detailed statistics on the subject areas of articles as well as information on citation, manuscript quality control, and author affiliations during the entire existence of Natural Science Review. It was noted that one of the main tasks for the journal is to expand the list of authors, reviewers, and the editorial board beyond the Institute. This is a crucial factor for the indexing of NSR in international databases and for increasing its recognition within the global academic community. Elena Kolganova emphasised that the journal’s inclusion in the Scopus and Web of Science databases is a priority for the near future.
At the meeting, various proposals for improving the journal were discussed, including the addition of a “Letters” section for the rapid publication of preliminary results. During the discussion of the Natural Science Review popularisation strategy, it was proposed to invite renowned scientists to collaborate, create special thematic issues, and publish more materials from the JINR laboratories to expand the editorial portfolio. In addition, ideas were discussed regarding the creation of a separate section dedicated to science education and the integration of enhanced visual content into articles.
Members of the International Scientific Advisory Board, the editorial board, the technical group as well as Institute’s laboratory directors and participants of the autumn session of the JINR Scientific Council, held on 25–26 September, took part in the event.
