Valery Falkov, Head of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science, held a meeting on the development of the Baikal deep-sea neutrino telescope Baikal-GVD. Representatives of nine scientific and educational organizations, including Novosibirsk State University, gathered at the Telescope’s control center. The heads of organizations and scientists conducting research at the mega-science unit discussed in detail the progress of the unit’s construction, research results, and plans for the further development of the project.
The Baikal Neutrino Telescope is one of the flagships of the Russian neutrino program. The launch of the mega-science installation took place in March 2021. The scientists work is coordinated by the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and the Kurchatov Institute.
Today, within the framework of state policy, we, on the one hand, focus on applied research and development. It is clear that in today's economy the specific results of science and technology in general are in great demand. On the other hand, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said this, fundamental research should not be relegated to the periphery. We must be very careful about spending the reserves that we have and, vice versa, invest, support, and help.
At the meeting, plans were announced for the development of the mega-science facility and research. By 2030, another 8-10 telescope clusters will be installed, which will ensure the detection of high-energy astrophysical neutrinos with an effective volume of up to 1 cubic km. This will allow Baikal-GVD to compete with the IceCube (USA), KM3NeT (EU) projects and projects developing in China and Canada.
Representatives of all organizations at the meeting expressed their desire to participate in the Russian Neutrino Program and in the Baikal-GVD project in particular. Another meeting is scheduled for April this year to continue discussing the nationwide development program in neutrino physics and astrophysics. The Russian neutrino program will bring together many scientists, preserve the country's scientific potential in this field of science, and attract international partners.
