Neutron physics at the JINR: 60 years of the I M Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics

26 March 2016 marked 60 years since the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research was founded in 1956 and within which the Laboratory of Neutron Physics was established. Already four years later, in 1960, the world's first pulsed fast reactor (known by its Russian acronym as IBR) operating in the periodic mode was put into operation, followed in 1984 by IBR-2. The research achievements over the last decade are summarized, the state-of-the-art laboratory hardware is discussed, and the prospects for the future are reviewed.