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The XIII-th International Seminar “Fundamental Properties of Plutonium”
The XIII-th International Seminar “Fundamental Properties of Plutonium” The XIII-th International Seminar “Fundamental Properties of Plutonium” was held on 9 – 13 September, 2013, in the House of Scientists, Sarov, Russia.The Seminar stands in the line of traditional working meetings arranged for the Russian and the foreign scientists, for whom plutonium and the associated actinides is the basic focus of study and who work to get the deeper and more profound understanding of the properties, these unique materials possess. Similar meetings were held previously in Sarov (2001, 2002, 2004, 2007), Los-Alamos (2003), Snezhynsk (2005, 2008, 2011), Livermore (2006), Pleasanton (2009), Moscow (2010) and Abingtone (2012). The present Seminar brought together over 100 participants from American, English and Russian academic institutes and laboratories.
Beside the traditional delegations from the USA, represented by Los-Alamos and Livermore national laboratories, this time a big delegation from Great Britain was present comprised of 8 persons, (AWE, Oldermaston), who presented 43 reports. As always the active part in the proceedings of the Seminar was taken by the two biggest Russian Federal Nuclear Centers: VNIIEF and VNIITF (Snezhynsk) and Dukhov VNIIIA. The leading experts representing certain other academic institutes also participated in the Seminar.
The topics covered by the Seminar, include: phase stability and phase transitions; electronic structure and simulation; plutonium isotopes and oxides; corrosion of plutonium; dynamic properties of materials, etc. The collected reports of the participants were issued before the Seminar started. The co-chairs of the Seminar B.A. Nadykto – the Chief Research Associate of VNIIEF and Ziegfrid Hecker – the Professor of Stanford University, opened the Seminar. Saying his word of greeting to the participants of the Seminar the first Deputy Chief Designer of VNIIEF V.S. Nefedov underlined the importance and fruitfulness of the regular contacts of the Russian and the foreign experts involved into plutonium-related issues; he encouraged those present to exchange the resultant data in future so as to promote safe and secure running of this strategic material in the respective countries.
The Seminar, held on the annual basis, differs from the other scientific forums from the viewpoint of its topicality and also due to the fact, that the participants are always vividly discussing the reports being presented, thus moving the complicated plutonium science forward.
The Seminar was arranged for the first time in 2001. Then the representatives of VNIIEF and L.F. Timofeeva from VNIINM (Moscow) met with Zig Hecker – the only representative of the US lab, being the expert in metallurgy and the skilled plutonium expert (the ex-director of Los-Alamos national lab), who invested a lot of his energy into establishment of the Seminar and holding the same on the regular basis. On the Russian side it is B.A. Nadykto, who is responsible for preparatory and organizational work and who makes a big personal contribution into arrangement of the Seminar, and who heads the Russian delegation in case the seminar is held outside VNIIEF.
Over 45 verbal reports and 30 poster papers were presented at the Seminar. Unfortunately only the fundamental aspects related to plutonium science are considered at the seminars like that, without addressing the so-called special topics, which are of no minor importance. This notwithstanding, the participants of the Seminar unanimously agree that they always come to know something fresh, which helps them better understand the nature of plutonium, thus stipulating reciprocal accumulation of the new facts about this mysterious element.
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