ESRF signs agreement in Russia

The ceremony took place at the Russian Ministry of Science, in the presence of Minister Andrei Fursenko who emphasized that in recent years, Russia's participation in large international research projects has been largely led by the NRC Kurchatov Institute.

The officials signing the memorandum were Mikhail Kovalchuk, Director of the NRC-KI, Jean Moulin, ESRF Council Chairman, and Francesco Sette, ESRF Director General.

Thanks to the agreement, a legal basis is now laid down for the participation of Russian scientists in experiments at the ESRF. A steady increase of scientific use by Russian scientists is seen as an important step prior to a possible full membership of Russia in the ESRF.

“For a full incorporation of Russian scientists into the research at the ESRF, considerable preparatory work needs to be accomplished. With the signing of this agreement, the first step to full membership of Russia in the ESRF has been made”, said Kovalchuk before signing the document. He emphasised that the NRC-KI also operates a synchrotron radiation source and is currently developing a long-term programme of development and exploitation of synchrotron radiation.

In turn, Sette pointed out that “Russia and Russian scientists have for more than 20 years made important contributions to the development of the ESRF. Already today, numerous Russian citizens are among our scientists and engineers. In recent years, we have established close contacts with scientists from the NRC Kurchatov Institute.”

Arrangements will be put into place by the end of 2011 which will allow Russian scientists to conduct experiments at the ESRF under the same conditions as scientists from the 19 Member and Associate countries in the interim period until full accession of Russia as a Member of the ESRF. These arrangements will also make it possible for graduates of Russian universities to participate in the ESRF Ph.D. programme during this period with the same rights as graduates of the Member and Associate countries.

Further information
National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" (pages in English)
News item about the signing of the memorandum of understanding on the NRC-KI website (article in Russian).

Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science.		Mikhail Kovalchuk, Director of the NRC-KI.
Left to right: Harald Reichert, ESRF Director of Research, Jean Moulin, ESRF Council Chairman, Francesco Sette, ESRF Director General.		Signing the Memorandum of Understanding. Seated from left to right are Mikhail Kovalchuk, Director of the NRC-KI, Jean Moulin, ESRF Council Chairman, and Francesco Sette, ESRF Director General.
Congratulations following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding. Left to right: Mikhail Kovalchuk, Director of the NRC-KI, Jean Moulin, ESRF Council Chairman, and Francesco Sette, ESRF Director General.		Images courtesy of NRC-KI.