On June 26, 2025, at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, France, a delegation from the Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP, Almaty) held a series of plenary meetings aimed at expanding scientific and technological cooperation in the fields of fundamental and applied neutron physics.
The visit began with a working meeting between the Director General of INP and Dr. Michael Jentschel, Head of the "Nuclear & Particle Physics" group at ILL. Dr. Jentschel provided a detailed overview of his team’s scientific mission, the ILL user program, and the Institute’s unique suite of instruments, including modern detectors for slow and ultracold neutrons. Particular attention was paid to upcoming experiments focused on the search for the neutron electric dipole moment and the study of rare interactions—areas in which ILL maintains global leadership based on intensity and stability of its neutron sources.
The INP Director General extended an official invitation to Dr. Jentschel to visit Kazakhstan and explore the Institute’s infrastructure and research capabilities. Dr. Jentschel warmly accepted the invitation and confirmed his participation in a scheduled trip for mid-autumn 2025, expressing strong interest in the technical, commercial, and scientific potential of the Kazakhstan’s initiatives.
The second part of the program included a scientific discussion with Dr. Stefan Baessler, a Professor at the University of Virginia (USA), who was visiting ILL to participate in an experiment. A recognized expert in slow neutron physics and a member of the INP’s International Advisory Group on the design of a high-intensity ultracold neutron source, Prof. Baessler noted a strategic significance of the project and expressed readiness to contribute to the future operation of the GRANIT spectrometer at the new source in Almaty. He emphasized that the new source will offer a unique opportunity to create international collaborations focused on fundamental research using ultracold neutrons.
It is worth noting that in 2022, following a meeting between Sayabek Sakhiyev and the ILL Director, an agreement was reached to provide the €10 million GRANIT installation for joint use at no cost, enabling future experiments at the INP in Kazakhstan.
