KDSA 2009 Workshop on Knowledge Discovery in Scientific Domains, which was held at the RBI today, brought together collaborators from all seven projects included in the research program Computational Knowledge Discovery in Scientific Applications supported by the Croatian Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

Distinguished American scientist Prof. Josef Michl, PhD, professor of Chemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder and Head of the Laboratory at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences in Prague, will be visiting the Ruđer Bošković Institute on Monday, 9 November 2009. On this occasion he will give talk titled: From Molecular Rotors to Molecular Bubbles and meet with the RBI Director Danica Ramljak, DVM, PhD, to discuss possible cooperation between the RBI and the University of Colorado as well as the Institute of Organic Chemistry.

Organized by the RBI scientists from the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions, an intensive two-day workshop on Ion Beam Applications for Materials Modification and Analysis gathered sixty participants from the RBI, University of Zagreb, Rijeka and Dubrovnik, Institute of Physics, Croatian Conservation Institute, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Croatian State Archives, Archaeological Museum in Zagreb, the National and University Library of Zagreb, Institute 'Vinča' (Serbia), Josef Stefan Institute (Slovenia), University of Sarajevo (BiH), TAEK (Turkey) and the State University of St. Petersburg (Russia). Besides the presentation of the work on the project 'Upgrade of the RBI Tandem Accelerator Facility' which was launched in 2007 within the EU FP6 INCO program, the participants had the opportunity to visit the Laboratory for Ion Beam Interactions and get familiar with the work of Tandem Accelerator system and devices.

At the invitation of Dr. Susanne Radtke, European Programme Manager at the US-NCI Liaison Office of the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda (NCI), the RBI Director Danica Ramljak, DVM, PhD, has started a two-day working visit to Brussels. During her visit she will meet with the leaders of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) and the European Cancer Organization (ECCO). The purpose of this visit is to present RBI potential in cancer research and promote its successful integration into the network of leading European research institutions connecting basic with clinical research.

Professor Branimir I. Šikić, MD, Co-Director of the Stanford Centre for Clinical and Translational Education and Research at the Stanford University and professor of Medicine in the Division of Oncology at Stanford University School of Medicine, will be visiting the Ruđer Bošković Institute on Tuesday, 10 November 2009. On this occasion he will give talk on Predictive Biomarkers for Cancer Therapy: Steps towards Personalized Medicine.

The round table discussion on Digital Data Storage System - Development of the National Strategy organized by the RBI Centre for Informatics and Computing in partnership with the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Zagreb will be held on Friday, 6 November at 10 a.m. at the Faculty of Philosophy in Zagreb.

At the invitation of the Ambassador of Croatia to Finland and Estonia Damir Kušen, PhD, the RBI Director Danica Ramljak, DVM, PhD, and Hrvoje Zorc, PhD, Head of the Division of Laser and Atomic Research and Development and Adviser to the Director for Technology and Innovation Development, have started on Monday a five-day working visit to Finland. During their visit they where they will meet with the leaders of Finnish institutions that finance science and high technology projects.

The 6th Meeting of the European Radiation Protection Associations was held yesterday at the Ruđer Bošković Institute. Organized by the Croatian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA), the RBI and the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Medicine the meeting gathered experts from the radiation protection associations in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Great Britain and the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA). The aim of this meeting was to enable participants to share their experiences and common problems as well as to facilitate discussions on future actions and plans in the area of radiation protection.

The Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Medicine in Zagreb today hosted a ceremony marking the 30th anniversary of the Croatian Radiation Protection Association (CRPA). On this occasion, Professor Božo Metzger was elected as the fist Honorary Member of the Society, and for the first time in the Society`s history the Best Paper Award in the field of Radiation Protection was presented to RBI scientist Martina Rožmarić Mačefat, PhD.

On the initiative by RBI Director General Danica Ramljak, DVM, PhD, and the Chief Executive Officer of Končar – Electrical Industries Inc. Darinko Bago, the Ruđer Bošković Institute and Končar - Electrical Industries Inc. held their first joint workshop today. The aim of this workshop was to define common research and development programs of special interest to the Republic of Croatia.