Today, February 26, 2024, the Institute of Nuclear Physics was visited by the US Consul General in Almaty Michelle Yerkin and the Director of the Department of Energy Office of the US Embassy in the Republic of Kazakhstan Constance MacAninch.*
During the visit, Michelle Yerkin visited the Nuclear Security Training Center (NSTC), the WWR-K research reactor, the future nuclear forensics building, as well as the storage facility for spent radiation sources, which was created as part of the cooperation between the Ministries of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the United States, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada.
Director General Sayabek Sakhiyev noted that the Institute and the US Department of Energy have been cooperating in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy for many years. Within the framework of this partnership, such projects as the modernization of the physical protection system, the conversion of the VVR-K research reactor, the opening of the Nuclear Safety Training Center, and the foundations for the creation of a regional center for nuclear forensics have been laid; since this year, as part of cooperation with the US Embassy, INP employees have been learning English free of charge. He also noted the Institute's cooperation with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the field of nuclear science and technology, personnel training and the development of the TGS spectroscopy (transient grating spectroscopy/TGS) methodology, taking into account the construction of a desktop version of the TGS system at the Institute.
The head of the Nuclear Safety Training Center Natalia Izmailova in turn thanked the American delegation, including the US Department of Energy, for supporting the construction of the Nuclear Safety Training Center. Today, the NSTC is part of the international network of IAEA nuclear safety training and assistance centers.
Consul General Michelle Yerkin thanked for the warm welcome and expressed hope for further cooperation.
