Institut Laue – Langevin (abbreviated as “ILL”) currently operates the most intensive continuous neutron source in the world – a heavy water nuclear reactor. It produces 1.5 × 1015 neutrons per second per cm2 in approximately 50-day cycles at a thermal output of about 58 MW. The resulting neutrons are slowed down and redistributed into hot (10 km/s), thermal (2.2 km/s), cold (700 m/s) and ultracold (10 m/s) and are distributed through up to 120 m long tubes (neutron conduits) to experimental halls with more than 40 experimental stations, where almost 2000 users from ILL member countries annually carry out more than 800 different experiments in various fields – in physics, chemistry and crystallography, biology, biochemistry, drug research, materials research, engineering sciences, but also in Earth sciences (mineralogy, geology), fuel research, environmental studies and archaeometry. Experiments can also be performed at very low or high temperatures, high pressures or in strong magnetic fields.
ILL has the formal status of a non-governmental non-profit organization under French law (société civile). It was founded on 19 January 1967 by the signing of an agreement between the governments of France and the Federal Republic of Germany, which was joined by the government of Great Britain on 19 July 1974. These three countries are the so-called Associate Member Countries. These countries are represented in the ILL by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique and Commissariat à l’énergie atomique in the case of France, Forschungszentrum Jülich in the case of Germany and the Science and Technology Facilities Council in the case of Great Britain. These associates are the owners of ILL. They were gradually joined as so-called scientific members chronologically by Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Russia (later withdrew), the Czech Republic, Sweden, Belgium (later withdrew), Poland, India (later withdrew), Denmark, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia.
Slovak republic (SR) became a scientific member of the ILL through the Central European Neutron Initiative (abbreviated as “CENI”). Comenius University in Bratislava (UK) was proposed as the representative of the Slovak Republic in CENI at the meeting of the XFEL Commission on 10.4.2008. Immediately after the mandate of 26.6.2008 by the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic and the Minister of Education of the Slovak Republic, UK initiated bilateral and multilateral negotiations with representatives of CENI and ILL on the wording of the Agreement on Scientific Membership between the CENI and ILL consortium. The first agreement under the mandate of the Minister of Education and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic was signed on behalf of the Slovak Republic by the Rector of UK on 5.11.2009. In 2024, the Slovak Republic, represented by UK in Bratislava, proceeded to conclude an agreement on scientific membership directly with ILL.
Representation of SR in ILL:
- Prof. Mgr. Pavol Balgavý, CSc. – member of the CENI Steering Committee (2009 – 2015)
- Prof. RNDr. Marian Reiffers, DrSc. – member of the ILL Scientific Council (2010 – 2013)
- RNDr. Ľubomír Smrčok, CSc. – member of the ILL Scientific Council Subcommittee for Materials Research (2012 – 2014)
- Mgr. Norbert Kučerka, DrSc. – academic guarantor for SR in CENI (2015-2023), academic guarantor for SR in ILL (from 2024), authorized representative of the Commenius University and chairman of the ILL SK coordination committee (from 2020)
- Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Peter Kopčanský, CSc. – member of the ILL Scientific Council Subcommittee for Magnetic Structures (2014 – 2018), authorized representative of the Slovak Academy of Sciences in ILL SK (from 2020)
- Assoc. Prof. RNDr. Adriana Zeleňáková, DrSc. – authorized representative of UPJŠ in ILL SK (from 2020)