The RA Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Higher Education and Science Committee

New Joint Laboratory To Be Established

01.08.2017

On August 1, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the National Polytechnic University of Armenia and the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant on “Creating a Joint Laboratory for Technical and Criminal Expertise of Nuclear and Radioactive Materials”.

The joint laboratory for nuclear and radioactive materials will be created by the joint efforts of the Regional Center of Studies on Nuclear Safety of the National Polytechnic University of Armenia and the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant's External Radiation Control Laboratory, combining scientific and educational activities in the field of technical and criminological expertise of nuclear radioactive materials, aimed at the coordination, increasing the effectiveness and the level of the international recognition of the research in the mentioned spheres, implemented in Armenia.

The main types of activities to be carried out by the laboratory are the technical and criminological expertise of nuclear and radioactive materials, detection and neutralization of uncontrolled or unused radioactive sources, scientific and technical analysis of prospective development of nuclear energy in Armenia etc.

One of the main goals of the laboratory is the development and implementation of scientific, technical and scientific-educational programs in the field of technical and criminological expertise of nuclear radioactive materials, development and implementation of educational programs, preparation and implementation of scientific and scientific-educational grants projects, organization of conferences, youth schools and other scientific events.

The laboratory will operate in the city of Metsamor, Armavir, but the material and technical base of the laboratory will be available for scientific organizations and universities, including scientific organizations operating in the RA National Academy of Sciences, Yerevan State University, A. Alikhanyan National Research Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute) and Armenian Scientific-Research Institute for Nuclear Power Plant Operation.

The premises underlying the signature of the Memorandum was the meeting between Armenian and American nuclear experts on February 22-23, 2017, in the United States of America.