Privilege to do what you love

On 31 March, the general meeting of the Association of Young Scientists and Specialists was held. A new AYSS Council was elected. It included: Ksenia Ilyina (VBLHEP), Ekaterina Kolosova (CED Office), Maria Mardyban (BLTP), Ivan Sokolov (MLIT), Veronika Smirnova (FLNP), Rostislav Sotensky (DLNP), Konstantin Timoshenko (FLNR), Daria Shamina (LRB). Regina Kozhina (LRB) was elected to the position of the Chairman of the AYSS Council.

Six years ago, Regina told us about herself for our newspaper:

"My first acquaintance with the Laboratory began in 2014 in my first year of study when we, students of the Department of Biophysics at Dubna State University, were taken on a tour. But it was a very superficial acquaintance. In the second year, we had an internship in the Laboratory of Radiation Biology of JINR and later, white coats, test tubes, pipettes, microscopes, chemical reagents, centrifuges and thermostats fascinated me!

I realized that I would enjoy being in the laboratory, hand in hand with the mysterious world and in my mind that is a sure sign. I was looking for a job that I would enjoy doing, that I wouldn't get bored with in a couple of years.

It is very strange to me now that when I studied at school in my native Murmansk, I had no idea about scientific institutes. Of course, I knew that there are scientists, they make experiments, on the basis of which scientific discoveries are made in the world, but how it looks like in real life, I had no idea. At school, we were not told about the activities of scientists. In this respect, Dubna students are lucky, they can learn about current research areas from school age, look at science from the inside and decide whether it is close to them.

I was greeted very warmly by the research team. They showed me a few articles to bring me up to speed, told me about the general principles of work and I began to try and practice. And afterwards, there was the first experiment and I was very worried that I might be wrong about something.

During my short period of work at the Institute, I was surprised at how proactive and independent most of my colleagues are. That is, as a young scientist, you have the right to plan the course of your work yourself (within the concept of your group's topic, of course). I am very impressed by the internal impulse to develop, the desire to learn and the curiosity of my colleagues, not only in the laboratory, but throughout the Institute. Their eyes light up when they talk about what they do! I am fortunate to work in such an environment of passion and goodwill".

Regina's election as Chairman of the AYSS Council was another opportunity to talk about her attitude to the Institute and her immediate plans.

In 2019, you raved about the scientific work at LRB. Has your attitude changed over the years?

- Absolutely not, these years have flown by, there are new tasks, new colleagues. I am still as happy when I wake up in the morning that I have the privilege to do what my heart is set on.

Your name is often found in the organizing committees of events. What do you gain from organizational and public activities?

- I have always thought that communicating with people is not my strong point but I consider this skill to be very important, regardless of what one does professionally. When I first had the opportunity to participate in the work of the organizing committee of the Conference "Alushta", the main task I set for myself was to work on this skill. Because I am convinced that only getting out of the comfort zone can contribute to personal growth. In addition, I have always been interested in the organization and optimization of processes, I like to think about it in my free time, to learn information on this topic. But the processes themselves should be interesting and meaningful in my coordinate system. Scientific events are the best combination of all: they are exciting, allow you to broaden your horizons by learning what your colleagues are engaged in, understand people better, get great motivation for work and simply, being in such a society, enjoy the moment that you are surrounded by such wonderful people with similar views on the world and values.

What are your plans for the work in the AYSS?

- First of all, of course, to maintain the high level of events that has been achieved by 2025 (AYSS Conference and Conferences "Alushta", "Lipnya", School of Accelerator Physics, AYSS seminars, corporate events). In addition, next year, JINR will celebrate a big anniversary, so there is a lot of work to be done to prepare events dedicated to the Foundation Day of the Institute.

Today, young people come to work, as we were a few years ago. We would like them to get into the spirit of the Association and to appreciate all the opportunities that JINR gives to its staff. Organization of JINR events and participation in the work of the Council is an opportunity to pass our values to the new generation of scientists, to acquaint them with each other, to help those that have just started their scientific path. I would like them to be proud of the Institute, their colleagues and the fact that they work here. I want them to stay here for a long time.

Galina MYALKOVSKAYA,
photo by Olesya CHEPURCHENKO