Today, the opening ceremony of the international conference titled “Unstable Phenomena and the Emergence of the Universe” took place at the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia. The conference, attended by 67 scientists from 16 countries worldwide, was dedicated to the 110th anniversary of Victor Hambardzumyan. The RA Minister of Education and Science Arayik Harutyunyan, the Secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan and other representatives of the RA NAS Presidency welcomed the participants of the conference. “International conferences are very important for us in terms of sharing experience, as well as introducing and including the new ones. And this event, which is scheduled for the coming days, is double-binding, as it is connected with the name of Victor Hambardzumyan. The name of the great scientist is often heard during foreign, not only professional, but also humanitarian conferences, as he is well-known outside our borders, too. And it is not coincidental that, since 1996, his birthdate, September 18, has been proclaimed as the Day of Astrophysics”, the Minister noted, highlighting that the fact itself emphasizes the important role Victor Hambardzumyan had in our Republic and science. “Science is something like politics. With courage comes progress and innovations. And all our scientists, who had their significant contribution to science, were courageous. Hambardzumyan was also outstanding in this regard. During the arduous years of the Soviet Union and World War II this great scientist continued to work, which comes to prove the fact that the social conditions of the State can never hinder scientific researches and discoveries. This does not actually mean, that the State should not take care of science at all, but we should definitely do both. Recently, I have been reading an article about the time when the Soviet armies entered Czechoslovakia. It was mentioned there, that at that period any Soviet representative was welcomed with blares by the whole world, whereas the lectures and the reports read by Victor Hambardzumyan were heard in silence. This also proves his greatness. Apart from this, his award is gaining more popularity and interest nowadays. Soon, we must not spare any effort to attract more participants and publicize the award”, Arayik Harutyunyan mentioned, wishing the participants of the conference a beneficial discussion.
The conference was organized by the RA NAS Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory named after Victor Hambardzumyan, the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia, the Southwest and Central Asia Regional Center of Astronomy of the International Astronomical Union and the Armenian Astronomical Society.