The Governing Board of the International Science and Technology Center held its 48th Meeting in Moscow
STATEMENT OF THE 48th GOVERNING BOARD
OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER
Moscow, Russian Federation
26 March 2009
The Governing Board of the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC) held its 48th meeting in Moscow, Russian Federation.
Representatives of various ISTC Parties attended the meeting, including Canada, the European Union, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russian Federation, United States of America, Norway, Republic of Armenia, Republic of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic and Republic of Kyrgyz Republic participated as rotating CIS Board member.
The Governing Board approved the extension of the contract of Mr. Sergey Vorobiev, Principal Deputy Executive Director on behalf of the Russian Federation for one year.
The Governing Board approved the nomination of Mr. Michael Einik as Deputy Executive Director in charge of the Partnering and Sustainability Department of ISTC of behalf of the United States of America.
The Governing Board approved the final Project Funding Worksheet (FS48). The ISTC approved 10 new projects representing over $2,064,595 and €385,000 in new funding for activities in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia and Kazakhstan.
The Governing Board noted the initiatives taken by the Secretariat to arrange for co-financing of programs and/or projects by recipient countries and other public and private partners. It asked the Secretariat to continue to elaborate various co-financing modalities with all interested inpidual countries and other interested parties, including inpidual institutes. It underscored the importance of having co-financing modalities in place as soon as possible. It thanked the commitment made by Kazakhstan to start a discussion with the ISTC Secretariat on this matter.
The Governing Board noted with satisfaction a recent letter received by the Secretariat from the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation on the issue of taxation. The official letter confirmed that, in accordance with the terms of the ISTC Agreement, recipients of funds from ISTC will not be subject to taxation on those funds received from ISTC.
The Governing Board noted with satisfaction the progress made towards implementation of sustainability plans for the following research institutes:
- Khlopin Radium Institute (KRI); St. Petersburg, Russia
- Institute of Physics and Power Engineering (IPPE); Obninsk, Russia
- Institute of Nuclear Physics (INP) in National Nuclear Center, Kazakhstan
- Research Institute of Pulse Technique (NIIIT)
It asked the Secretariat to continue work on sustainability plans for:
- Siberian Chemical Combine in Seversk
- Former Pavlodar Chemical Plant (“Caustik”), Kazakhstan
- State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) and its Shikany branch (GITOS)
It also requested the Secretariat to find eventual funding for the approved sustainability plans for:
- Boreskov Institute of Catalysis (BIC); Novosibirsk, Russia
- Institute of Immunological Engineering (IIE) in Lyubachannyi
The ISTC Secretariat will start to prepare the next stage of the sustainability program, taking into account the lessons learned and the budgetary means available.
The Governing Board noted with satisfaction that VAT paid for the time period Q1/ 2001 and May 2007 was refunded and asked the Secretariat to continue with efforts to receive VAT reimbursement paid during the period 2001-2007. A new claim has been sent to the relevant authorities of the Russian Federation.
The Governing Board did not approve at this time two ISTC Partner Program applications from companies located in third countries (Australia, Singapore). The general issue will be further reviewed in the overall transformation discussion of ISTC.
The Governing Board welcomed the proposed targeted initiative on probiotics and health. Implementation of this Targeted Initiative will start once it is approved by the interested federal authorities. The main objective of this Targeted Initiative is to coordinate the activities of research centers, governmental agencies and private organizations to preserve and improve human health through the use of probiotics. A Steering Committee will be established and various organizations will be invited to participate in this initiative. Specific activities will be initiated to attract funding for this new initiative.To date, ISTC has funded 12 projects in this field with a total value of 7M USD. A number of workshops and seminars on the topic of probiotics and health have also been sponsored by ISTC.
The Governing Board approved the planned events celebrating the 15-year anniversary of ISTC. The main event making this anniversary will take place on 10 December 2009 in Moscow. It asked the Secretariat to continue its preparations.
The Governing Board thanked the Secretariat for the revised ISTC Travel Rules and Procedures and agreed that the proposed ISTC Travel Rules and Procedures apply from 1 April 2009 on a provisional basis for ISTC travels, pending adoption of the document at the July Governing Board meeting.
The Governing Board agreed to convene the next Plenary Session on 9 July 2009 in Belarus (Minsk).
List of funded projects:
Project 3896
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Full Title: |
Experimental Studies of Thermohydraulic Processes in a Bundle of Rods as Applied to Channel-Type Reactor Conditions at Supercritical Parameters of Water |
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Leading Institute |
Federal State Unitary Enterprise Research and Development Institute of Power Engineering named after N.A.Dollezhal, Moscow, Russia |
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Collaborators |
Advanced Energy Technologies Consulting Inc., Oshawa, ON, Canada (Kostyuk T) Atomic Energy Canada Limited, Chalk River, ON, Canada (Speranzini R A, Khartabil H) School of Energy Systems and Nuclear Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Ontario, Canada (Pioro I) |
Project 3925
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Full Title: |
Revival of Non-Culturable Microorganisms from Siberian Permafrost Soil |
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Leading Institute |
Institute of Biochemistry and Physiology of Microorganisms, Puschino, Moscow reg., Russia |
|
Supporting Institutes |
Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Pushchino, Moscow reg., Russia Research and Production Center for Environmental Monitoring "RACEM", Kirov, Russia |
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Collaborators |
Universitat Innsbruck / Institut fur Mikrobiologie, Innsbruck, Austria (Margesin R) |
|
|
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Project 3949
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Full Title: |
A Study of Probiotic Properties of Lactobacilli and Bifidobacteria Strains for the Production of Direct-to-the Vat Starters Used in Food Processing Industry and Agriculture |
|
Leading Institute |
Institute of Immunological Engineering, Lyubuchany, Moscow reg., Russia |
|
Collaborators |
Kyorin University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan (Kamiya S) Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada (Reid G) University of Texas / Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA (Motin V L) Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Safarika v Kosiciach, Kosice, Slovakia (Bomba A) |
Project A-1671
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Full Title: |
Remediation of Contaminated Soils in Zones of Radioecological Tension by Water-Retaining Polymers |
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Leading Institute |
Institute of Hydroponics Problems, Yerevan, Armenia |
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Supporting Institutes |
Yerevan Institute "Plastpolymer", Yerevan, Armenia |
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Collaborators |
Agricultural University of Athens / Department of Natural Resources & Agricultural Engineering, Athens, Greece (Massas I) Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada (Schellenberg M) New Mexico State University / College of Agriculture and Home Economics, Las Cruces, NM, USA (Unc A) Universidade de Coimbra / Departamento de Botanica, Coimbra, Portugal (Freitas H) |
Project B-1603
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Full Title: |
Developing the Technology of Hydrogen Production from Alkali Metal Borohydrides and Creating Hydrogen Generator |
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Leading Institute |
National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Belarus / Institute of Heat and Mass Transfer, Minsk, Belarus |
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Collaborators |
Corall Trade Inc., Los-Angeles, CA, USA (Uchanin Yu I) Ecole des Mines d'Albi, Albi, France (Soudais Ya) Kyoto University / Graduate School of Engineering / Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Kyoto, Japan (Yoshida H) University of Connecticut / School of Engineering, Storrs, CT, USA (Smirnova A) |
G-1666
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Full Title: |
Development of a New Phage Composite Targeted to Prevent and Treat Mixed Infections |
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Leading Institute |
Georgian Academy of Sciences / Institute of Bacteriophage, Microbiology and Virology, Tbilisi, Georgia |
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Collaborators |
Department of Veterans Affairs / VA Northern California Health Care System, Martinez, CA, USA (Kuhl S) Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada (Moineau S) |
Project K-1284.2
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Full Title: |
Catalytic Synthesis of Phosphoric Ethers from Low-Valence Phosphorus Derivatives |
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Leading Institute |
Institute of Organic Catalysis and Electrochemistry, Almaty, Kazakstan |
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Supporting Institutes |
JSC «Kaustic», Pavlodar, Kazakstan |
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Collaborators |
University of Illinois / Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences / Illinois State Geological Survey, Champaign, IL, USA (Khan L) |
Project K-1700
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Full Title: |
Development of the Technology for Production of Highly Efficient Sorbents and Composition Materials on the Basis of Carbon Сontaining Ores of the Republic of Kazakhstan |
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Leading Institute |
Kazakh National University / Center of Physical and Chemical Methods of Analysis, Almaty, Kazakstan |
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Supporting Institutes |
LTD Scientific-Production Centre “Ulba”, Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakstan |
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Collaborators |
Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ, USA (Braida W) Universita degli Studi di Palermo / Dipartimento di Ingegneria e Tecnologie, Palermo, Italy (Conte P) |
Reallocation of funds for previously approved projects
Project 3891
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Full Title: |
Intelligent Multifunctional Biomimetics for Optical Nanodevices: New Materials for Environment Protection |
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Leading Institute |
Mendeleev Chemical Technological University, Moscow, Russia |
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Supporting Institutes |
FEI (IPPE), Obninsk, Kaluga reg., Russia Photochemistry Center, Moscow, Russia |
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Collaborators |
Universite Louis Pasteur / Laboratoire de Chimie Supramoleculaire, Strasbourg, France (Lehn J-M) University of Bologna / Dipartimento di Chimica "Giacomo Ciamician", Bologna, Italy (Balzani V) |
Project development grants
Project 3923
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Full Title: |
Development of Ultrasonic Equipment and Typical Complex Technology for Deep Purification of Acid Mine Waters (AMW) in the Regions of Extraction and Reprocessing of Mineral Resources (Using Urals as Example) |
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Leading Institute |
VNIITF, Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk reg., Russia |
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Supporting Institutes |
Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry (IONKh), Moscow, Russia Institute of Solid State Chemistry, Ekaterinburg, Sverdlovsk reg., Russia |
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Collaborators |
Euroby LTD, Worthing, UK (Ley B) Johannes Gutenberg-Universitat Mainz / Rhine-Main Water Research gGmbH, Biebesheim am Rhein, Germany (Wilken R-D) |