Russia has a perfect chance to become a leading scientific power with highly developed nanotechnologies. All we need is making Russian science and education interdisciplinary.

Round table, which took place in St. Petersburg within the international forum “Science and Society”, united scientists in discussing development of nanotechnologies. Eight Nobel Prize laureates, coming from Russia, Germany, USA and France, and other leading scientists from various universities and research centres of CIS participated in the meeting. Close attention was paid to organization of “innovative system of training professionals in fields of materials and nanotechnologies” in Russia.

Large research institutions and science and production companies of our country will be equipped with high-tech facilities, hosting up to 4500 new employees. Russian authorities plan to open 39 regional education centres on the base of famous higher educational institutions. Nobel Prize winner Zhores Alferov suggested switching from three-year PhD programme to four-year, since nanotechnologies require training in fundamental sciences, such as physics, biology, chemistry and material science. Additional year extends profound training of young professionals in rapidly developing field of nanotechnologies. Such training should begin in primary school, continue in secondary and higher educational institution and come to its final in PhD programme. All this can be given in special nanocentres in large academic institutes or higher educational institutions.

Rector of Moscow State University considers his institution to be a perfect place to establish a nanocentre in Russia’s centre. Another host for nanocentre can be Kurchatov Institute of Nuclear Physics. North of our country can host a nanocentre on the basis of St. Petersburg science and education centre of physics and technology, Institute of Physics and Technology and some faculties of Polytechnic University. Siberia also has potential hosts for similar educational projects in Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk and Far East.

 

 

Russian authorities counted average output from one employee in St. Petersburg – $12-15 thousand, which is several times lower than Western workers give – about $90 thousand. Employees of Russian innovation and technology enterprises bring $30 thousand per year. Despite such difference in average output, Russian engineers used nanotechnologies to create highly effective LEDs (light-emitting diodes), aimed to replace costly electric lamps; new types of composition materials with given properties and many more. Innovations in nanobiotechnologies allowed starting production of antiseptic and anti-tumor medical agents and diagnostic test systems. Russian medics also developed successful substitutive therapy, based on cell technologies.

Today many scientific centres in Russia deal with nanotechnologies. This means that domestic science turns interdisciplinary from narrowly-specialized. Physicists, biologists, medics, material scientists and other scientists keep working in a global rhythm, which is essential for our country on its way to nano-superpower.

Source: Science & Life

Kizilova Anna