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India takes nuclear path to go green

Russian expats seek research reforms

Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, last month announced a major new emphasis on nuclear power that could see the country generate as much as 470 GW of power from nuclear reactors by 2050. Speaking at the opening of the International Conference on Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in New Dehli, Singh said that the programme would sharply reduce India’s dependence on fossil fuels and be a “major contribution” to global efforts to combat climate change. “If we use the power of the atom wisely for the universal good, the possibilities are unbounded,” he said. However, even with this capacity, nuclear power would still only account for 25% of India’s energy mix, with the bulk of the rest coming from coal. India currently has 17 working nuclear power plants with a total capacity of 3.8 GW and the country has a three-stage strategy to generating the additional energy from nuclear power. The first stage involves building pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs), the technology for which is now well established in India. The second stage, which is already under way, involves building at least four fast breeder reactors (FBRs), backed by reprocessing plants and plutonium-based fuel-fabrication plants. Construction of a prototype FBR has already begun at Kalpakkam in southern India. Thorium will be integral to the third stage of the plan. India has been designing an advanced heavy water reactor (AHWR), construction of which will begin by the end of 2010. The reactor will mainly use thorium and a facility for reprocessing this fuel has already been built. Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India, feels that building an AHWR and reaching the goal of 470 GW is “doable” if support does not whither away. “Indians are just determined to [use atomic energy] and nothing will stop them, certainly the US can’t stop them,” says Siegfred Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory and currently co-director at the Center for International Security and Co-operation at Stanford University. Pallava Bagla New Delhi

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Over 170 Russian researchers working abroad have signed a letter addressed to the Russian president, Dmitry Medvedev, and prime minister Vladimir Putin raising concerns about “the catastrophic state of basic science” in the country. The letter, which appeared last month in the Moscow business paper Vedomosti, warns Russian leaders that unless urgent measures are implemented by the government, then science in the country may collapse. The authors of the letter call for a “new model” of science funding and development in Russia. The eight recommendations to build this new model include increasing funding for science in Russia, hosting international scientific projects in the country, and creating appropriate mechanisms to plan for future facilities and to evaluate grants from funding agencies. Andrei Starinets, a theoretical physicist from Oxford University in the UK and a co-author of the letter, told Physics World that the main concern was that the Russian government does not appreciate the importance and the scale of the problem. “Neglecting fundamental science and education is dangerous for the future of the society,” says Starinets, who was educated in Moscow before moving

Moscow State University

Energy

Fading glory? Russian researchers working abroad are calling for measures to improve research at institutions such as Moscow State University.

to the US to do a PhD in theoretical physics at New York University. The authors of the letter also bemoan the lack of international scientific projects hosted by the country, which they say makes Russia isolated internationally and leads to few overseas scientists working there. However, hosting such projects requires significant support from the government. “You still need hotels, roads and airports to be built that currently do not exist,” says Starinets. “This sort of money is not covered by a university or research council. We feel we have done our part by raising this issue, now the government should respond with practical steps.” Michael Banks

Spanish researchers hit out at budget cuts Societies representing over 30 000 researchers in Spain have expressed their concern about the government’s budget for 2010. In a statement, they warn that if the budget presented last month by the ruling socialist party is approved by parliament, it “will have a very high cost” for science in Spain. The statement is supported by the Confederation of Spanish Scientific Societies and the Conference of Spanish University Rectors. Although overall public investment in research in the budget is kept at 75.3bn – the same level as 2009 – this will, however, mean cuts to certain research organizations. The Canary Islands Astrophysics Institute (IAC) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) will each receive about 14% less than last year, while the Spanish contribution to the European Space Agency will also be reduced by 36% from 7184m to 7117m. ESS-Bilbao – a lab to be built in the Basque city to support the

In the last 10 years, Spain has steadily improved its position in science, but now it faces the risk of going backwards

construction of the 71.48bn European Spallation Source in Sweden – will not receive any new cash until 2011. These cuts will be compensated by a 7% increase from 7242m to 7260m in contracts for temporary positions, PhD fellowships and postdoc positions, as well as a 13% increase from 72.8bn to 73.2bn in loans awarded to research institutions and companies. Cristina Garmendia, Spain’s science minister, says that the proposed cuts will affect only infrastructure maintenance, while scientific activity would be maintained at current levels by national and European funding schemes. “In the last 10 years, Spain has steadily improved its position in science,” says José Miguel Rodríguez Espinosa, an astronomer at the IAC and one of the authors of the statement. “But now it faces the risk of going backwards.” Michele Catanzaro Barcelona Physics World November 2009