�� - Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics

How to Make Urban Greening in �� Work Better

Евгений Сергеевич Загоскин — Mon, 21 Sep 2020 19:00:00 +0000

The development of the “Smart City” concept is not over yet. Scientists from the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics have estimated the scale of urban greening and found out how it affects the improvement of air quality in ��. The results of the research were published in the highly rated scientific journal “Biodiversitas. Journal of Biological Diversity "(Q1). Severe problems �� is a typical industrial city in Russia. Up to a third of days a year, there are unfavorable meteorological conditions in the city, when the probability of exceeding the maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in the air increases. There are 8 stations and several mobile laboratories for monitoring the air condition in the city. The most dangerous air pollutants are formaldehyde, hydrogen fluoride and nitrogen dioxide. PhD, Associate Professor of the Department of Ecology, Management of Natural Resources and Chemical Engineering Tatiana Krupnova conducted a study and proved that urban greening reduces the negative impact of air pollution and has a positive effect on the citizens’ health. “In our study, we assessed the relationship between landscaping and air pollution near environmental monitoring stations. The aim of our study was to improve understanding of the impact of urban land use and vegetation on air quality in ��. The analysis of the data obtained showed that the lowest levels of pollution are typical for areas with high greening rates,” Tatyana Krupnova said. This study is especially relevant to the smart city concept in ��, including in the direction of creating an ecologically safe urban environment. Scientific approach to landscaping Air pollution is one of the most dangerous factors affecting human health. In industrial cities, there are many sources of air pollution, such as transport, industry, thermal power plants. It is well known that urban greening and urban forests can reduce air pollution. But a competent and smart approach is important. “Greening forms the so-called urban-ecological framework of the city. According to modern ideas, choosing the wrong type of landscaping can be useless and dangerous. For example, in an urban setting, tall trees and large buildings form street canyons. These canyons formed by tall trees planted along highways, actually concentrate air pollutants, which becomes hazardous to the health of pedestrians. Choosing an effective strategy for greening is not an easy task,” Tatiana Krupnova explained. �� is a prime example of the fact that traditional approaches to greening do not work. So, on the territory of our city there are 14 urban forests and two pine forests, the specific coefficient of green area per capita is quite high. But this does not mean that the situation with the greening of the city is satisfactory, since the values of the coefficient vary greatly from district to district of the city. The issue is especially acute in the new areas without green spaces. An ecological framework has not been formed in the city, and a scientific approach is not applied to the choice of greening strategy. It is necessary to look after the already existing green areas, carefully choose such trees and plants that can effectively neutralize harmful substances in the atmosphere. Consideration should be given to special protective green areas near the enterprises that are the main sources of emissions, as well as green spaces along the main transport routes of the city. Scientists note that while urban greening is a great way to reduce air pollution, there is certainly a direct way to improve urban air quality by reducing industrial and transport emissions. The authorities of �� have been implementing the Smart City project since 2019. The project provides for a number of measures aimed at improving the urban environment, public transport, and the environmental situation. �� provides expert assistance, conducts scientific research to make the city safer and more technological. Research in the field of ecology is one of the three strategic directions for the development of scientific and educational activities of ��, along with the digital industry and materials science. �� is a participant of 5-100 Project, intended to increase the competitiveness of Russian universities among the world's leading research and educational centers.

Author:

Елена Кирякова, фото: Данил Рахимов

Russian Scientists Figured out How to Extend the Life of LCD Screens

Евгений Сергеевич Загоскин — Tue, 02 Jun 2020 19:00:00 +0000

Scientists at �� published the results of their research that will affect many areas of modern science and technology. Researchers were able to measure the ionic electrical conductivity of a liquid crystals layer in complex structures consisting of several materials (liquid crystal cells). This means that now experts will be able to diagnose the state of structured materials as well as objects and devices, which include materials with ionic conductivity, e.g., liquid crystal displays, biological and composite materials. They are used not only in the creation of modern gadgets, but also in medicine, aviation and the space engineering. An article on the study of electrical conductivity in liquid crystal heterostructures is published in the journal Liquid Crystals (Q2), indexed in Scopus. Displays Under Control LCD displays are an integral part of modern society: they are used as displays for computers and laptops, tablets, smartphones, TVs, digital cameras, navigation systems. Despite the wide use of liquid crystals, scientists continue to improve their performance. For example, they solve the problem of an LCD display failure. The research team led by PhD in Mathematics, associate professor of the Faculty of Physics of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics of �� Fedor Podgornov worked on this issue. Scientists have proposed a method that will allow diagnosing liquid crystal displays in real time to predict the possible failure of displays. Failures in the operation of liquid crystal displays are usually associated with a change in the ionic conductivity of liquid crystals. Conductivity affects both the quality of the transmitted image and can lead to failure of the control electronics. Ionic impurity in a liquid crystal layer arise for many reasons: LC molecules can decompose under the influence of an electric field, light radiation, and radiation. Such cases can be avoided by tracking changes in electrical conductivity. This is a key characteristic of materials, which makes it possible to judge their properties, physical processes occurring in them, and even determine their practical use. If the charge carriers are ions, electrical conductivity is difficult to measure in complex systems, such as an LCD display. The situation with objects consisting of several materials is even more complicated. The scientists at �� solved this problem. “In the case when ions carry the charge, it becomes difficult to measure the electrical conductivity of the material. The fact is that ions cannot move in wires, therefore, to conduct measurements, it is necessary to select electrodes so that an electrochemical reaction takes place in them. The ions either received or gave electrons between the test substance and metal. If the material contains several types of ions, it is hard to correctly measure its electrical conductivity. The situation is even more complicated when it comes to heterostructures. These objects consist of various materials; therefore, it is impossible to measure the conductivity of each of them using classical methods. To solve this problem, we considered the possibility of using not a conduction current, but a bias current. This approach is more universal”, Fedor Podgornov says. A Thorough Research is to Follow To check the proposed method, the effect of nanoparticles on the conductivity of the liquid crystal layer in the LC cell was studied. Changes appeared after the introduction of nanoparticles, which adsorb impurity ions. This also led to an increase in the resistance of the liquid crystal layer and a decrease in the time of electro-optical switching of liquid crystals. With the help of these measurements it will be possible to diagnose LCD displays. Work in the fields of medicine, aviation, space will be facilitated, i.e. where the failure of displays can lead to irreversible consequences. Moreover, the results of the work can be used in organic electronics and biology. But researchers admit that it’s too early to talk about their practical application. It is necessary to conduct detailed studies in which the influence of other physical conditions on the accuracy of the results will be taken into account. “Currently, detailed studies are being carried out to take into account the influence of other physical effects, in particular the relaxation of double electric layers, the formation of space charge. Future research will also focus on exploring the possibility of measuring nonlinear ionic conductivity and identifying the mechanisms responsible for its occurrence,” Fedor Podgornov says. The research is already being conducted by Maxim Gavrilyak, the graduate student of the Optinformatics Department of the Faculty of Physics at Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Ahmed Karaavi, a graduate student from Iraq, participates in this study on DC electrical conductivity in liquid crystals too. Research in the field of materials science is one of the three strategic directions for the development of scientific and educational activities of �� along with IT and ecology. �� is a participant in the 5-100 Project, intended to increase the competitiveness of Russian universities among the world's leading research and educational centers.

Author:

Дарья Цымбалюк, фото: Виктория Матвейчук, pixabay.com

To �� for a University Degree: Applicants from Kyrgyzstan Choose ��

Евгений Сергеевич Загоскин — Sun, 31 May 2020 19:00:00 +0000

�� (��) is located on the border of the European and Asian parts of Russia, in the city of ��. The convenient location and good academic traditions have led to more than 2300 international students from 56 countries studying in our university today, of which around 400 are from CIS countries. Which fields of study are especially popular among students from Kyrgyzstan? How do international students support one another in a Russian university? A master’s student of the Ecology and Use of Natural Resources programme of the �� Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Nursultan Ozbekov spoke to a correspondent. Nursultan, why do young people from Kyrgyzstan choose to study in Russia and how do they like it here? “When I first enrolled in the master’s programme at �� after graduating from the Kyrgyz National Agrarian University (KNAU), I was asked this often. Personally, I like �� a lot, and the university and campus. As a senior supervisor of �� students from Kyrgyzstan, I know that this was also important for others when applying. The majority of international students enrol in bachelor’s programmes, less in master’s programmes, and there are not so many postgraduates. Often, after completing their bachelor’s programmes, students stay at �� to complete a master’s programme. After this, some stay for a postgraduate programme, but most return to their country. International students like extracurricular activities most of all. And �� Association of International Students always holds many interesting events for them – sport competitions, Young Leader School, and more. Students play soccer and badminton, take part in the international sports festival, Arab Culture Day and European Culture Day, and also take part in the Sri Lankan and Chinese New Year’s celebrations. International students from different countries speak with one another and know more about the cultures of different nationals. The system for working with international students is very well-developed at ��. I think that our university is a leader in this regard”. Why is it important to the university to have international students? “I think the university wants to raise its level and spread its “wings” across the world. This makes it possible to popularize Russian culture in other countries. I would compare this to the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 or with the World Cup in 2018. Before the World Cup, many foreigners were told that it is dangerous to travel to Russia. But the fans came and got to know this rich and hospitable country and were assured that a lot of what they know about Russia is false stereotypes”. Do international students come in the Association about their problems? “The association has been working with representatives of different countries at �� since 2013. It maintains contact with international students on social networks. They come to us for help if there are issues in the dormitories or with finding directions around the city. The Association has volunteers who are always happy to help”. What does a young person need to enrol at �� in a bachelor’s, master’s, or postgraduate programme if they have finished school or university in Kyrgyzstan? “To enrol in a bachelor’s programme, you must gather your documents and take the entrance exams. In Kyrgyzstan there is a social group which has gathered more than 40 students in this academic year. Most likely, the Ministry of Education will work on this. I enrolled at �� in the master’s programme. The university that I graduated from is a member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, and there is an agreement by which they send three students here annually. You just have to gather the necessary documents. Potential participants complete a competitive selection process. In terms of postgraduates, there are none yet from Kyrgyzstan”. What do you think, will there be competition among Kyrgyzstan applicants to get a state-funded place at ��? “I think yes. Our students tell their acquaintances where they’ve enrolled and that they like the university. And that’s how our popularity grows among international applicants. This makes competition fiercer, without fail”. Where do your compatriots work after graduating �� and in what professions? Do you maintain contact with graduates? “For now a small number of Kyrgyz citizens have graduated from ��. The majority of them are successfully building their careers in the education field. For example, one of my acquaintances, a �� graduate, works in the Ministry of Education. A different acquaintance came to �� for a year in an exchange programme, now he is working for the National Security Service”. Let us remind that foreign citizens who want to get a prestigious degree at �� can learn all the details regarding the procedure of admissions via the portal for university applicants by clicking the link. If any questions, please also send an email to applicant@susu.ru. (International Student Support at the �� International Office).

Author:

Viktoriya Matveychuk; Photo by the author

�� in the World’s Education Elite

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Sun, 15 Sep 2019 04:38:34 +0000

Dear lecturers, workers and students! Dear members of the academic and administrative staff, postgraduates, and students! Please accept my sincere congratulations on the occasion of ��’s being included in the 2020 Times Higher Education global international ranking! Our standing is in the 1001+ group of places! This is a big achievement for ��. We have been working hard to reach this ambitious goal for more than three years. Times Higher Education is one of the three most reputable world university rankings. It includes universities, which conduct active research studies in all the fields of activities. To compile this ranking, 13 main performance indicators are used with regards to five aspects: teaching, research, citations, international interaction, and production activity income. And now we can be proud of the fact that �� has good standings in two global world rankings: QS World University Ranking and Times Higher Education World University Ranking-2020. Dear friends, this important event is the achievement made possible thanks to our joint efforts! I thank everyone for your contribution into our university’s development! Our international activity, scientific research studies, and publication activity allow us to take higher and higher positions in the world’s educational community. By constantly raising the bar for ourselves, we are creating an advanced system of education, thanks to which �� is successfully competing with the world’s leading universities. I feel confident that the collaboration, which we have started with Times Higher Education, will continue, and we will keep strengthening our standing in this ranking. Rector of ��, Chairman of the Council of University Rectors of the Ural Federal District Aleksandr Shestakov �� continuously maintains and improves its positions in both national and international rankings. This is the result of systematic work of the university in various directions. Improvement of ��’s positions in rankings proves its global competitiveness, favored by increasing recognizability of the university in global education space. University in rankings

Logic Problems and Mathematical Charades: �� Students Celebrate Pi Day

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 05:30:19 +0000

�� comprises ten educational divisions: schools and institutes, each of which has its own traditions. Every year, on March 14th, the �� Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics celebrates an unofficial holiday of all math lovers – Pi Day. Pi Day celebrations originally started in 1988. A physicist from Sac Francisco Larry Shaw proposed to celebrate it on this date, as in the American system of date writing, where month goes before day, the 3.14 (the first digits of Pi) stands for March 14th. Director of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Alevtina Keller shares on the importance of this number: “Pi is a constant defining the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. It is of great importance not only or science, but for the world’s culture as well, as circle for many people is an embodiment of something whole, a unity. It’s an irrational number, an infinite terminate decimal fraction, and scientist are still trying to figure out the maximum possible number of digits after point. Many contests and events devoted to this constant are held. Today, in our university, Pi Day is celebrated in an escape-the-room game format, and before that we held fascinating lectures and online contests, and treated everyone to π-shaped pies. This holiday has already become a tradition for the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.” Students of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics were the ones who organised the event. On the third floor in the hall of the university’s main building four spaces were arranged, where students had to complete different tasks: answer “True or False?” questions on mathematics, come up with associations on digits being part of Pi, solve logical problems, and even pantomime mathematical symbols and digits, like in the game of Charades (called Crocodile game in Russian). “Pi Day is traditionally among the most important holidays for mathematicians. We’ve been organising events on the occasion of this date for the third year in a row now since the date the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics was established. This year we’ve decided to organise an event for all students on an open ground in the university’s main building. Once a students passes through all the interactive stages, s/he is awarded with souvenirs from the event’s sponsors,” shares organiser, second-year student of the �� Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Polina Korsunova. Despite the fact that Pi Day is celebrated mainly by students and academic staff of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, students from other specialities also enjoy participating in it. “I liked the celebrations very much, it has left me with the most positive emotions. The final stage was the best one – I had to pantomime digits, and it was really fascinating. I think this event needs to be put on a bigger scale. I will gladly take part in the Pi Day contests next year,” shares his impressions student of the Institute of Engineering and Technology Aleksandr Dubrovin. In the end of the event, the participants who successfully solved all the tasks were awarded certificates for a climbing wall, laser paintball, anti-gravity workouts, and other giveaways.

Author:

Azaliya Sharafutdinova

30% Stronger: Russian Researchers Creating “Smart” Steel

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Thu, 14 Mar 2019 09:16:28 +0000

Researchers from �� are working on producing an innovative, super-light, and super-strong kind of steel – bainite. This new material will find use in the aviation industry, mechanical engineering, and the defence industry. The researchers’ developments have been published in the Physics of Metals and Metallography journal (indexed in Scopus and Web of Science). The authors of the article are Doctor of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics), Professor Djalal Mirzayev and Associate Professor of the Department of Optoinformatics of the �� Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Ivan Buldashev. Highly Strong and Malleable Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon, but depending on the temperature the iron is heated to, it is possible to obtain different steel structures. This is because within the interval of 0 to 911°С the properties of iron change completely. There is a low-temperature zone which makes it possible to obtain ferrite, and a high temperature zone which makes it possible to obtain austenite. At a temperature lower than 911°С, austenite enters a more malleable and soft phase – ferrite, which is formed with slow cooling. In manufacturing, ferrite is used for machining. However, with shock cooling, austenite forms one more, superhard phase – martensite. “Martensite is a solid phase of steel, since during quick cooling, carbon is unable to separate fully as carbide and gets “stuck” in the structure. In addition, during this kind of cooling, many microscopic defects appear – dislocations, which are not dangerous, but weaken the steel. Martensite is simultaneously a hard and brittle structure. Our goal is to create steel which maintains the high hardness of martensite and sufficient malleability, and, therefore, is stronger,” shares Djalal Mirzayev. Structure of the bainite phase Fe-Si-Mn-Cr-V of still under a scanning electron microscope New Steel Being Created for the Oil Industry The basis of the current research is bainite. This is a steel structure, which is similar to martensite. It is produced by adding such elements as nickel, chrome, manganese, silicon, etc. Maintaining the highest level of strength, bainite has a higher malleability than martensite. However, the malleability of bainite is not ultimate. The researchers from �� are working on obtaining carbide-free bainite, what will make it possible to increase its impact resistance, since carbide particles are stress concentrators which stimulate fracture. One more important aspect is cutting the time of production required for this kind of steel. It is important to note that this new steel will become 15-30% stronger. It will find application in both the defence industry and the oil industry. Pipes made from carbide-free bainite will not only have high impact resistance, they will also have durable strength in arctic climates. In the future, the scientists will work on searching for the optimal composition of new steel, the properties of which will depend on the industry the material will be intended for.

Author:

Viktoria Matveichuk; photo: Viktoria Matveichuk

Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics: Successful Start into the Stable Professional Future

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 08:48:13 +0000

�� is a higher education institution which performs training of leaders in all spheres of professional activity. ��’s Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics provides fundamental knowledge in the sphere of mathematics, mechanics, programming, physics and chemistry. Alumni of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (INSM) are programmers-and-developers, business- and web-analytics, research fellows, physicists and engineers in the sphere of electronics and nanoelectronics, and specialists in chemical and environmental engineering. Students who graduated in such majors as Mathematics and Mechanics, Chemistry and Physics are especially in-demand abroad; this is exactly what attracts international university applicants. In 2019, the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics has 219 state-funded places for Bachelor’s degree studies, and 100 state-funded places for Master’s studies. “The Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (INSM) of �� brings together fundamental training and modern technologies. These exact components provide competitive ability of our alumni during their entire professional career. Our alumni are in-demand both I Russia and abroad, because educational programmes of the INSM are based on the world’s best educational experience, as well as on achievements of science and technology,” notes Director of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Doctor of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics), Alevtina Keller. Nowadays, the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics includes 350 academics and administrative staff; more than 200 among them are doctors and candidates of sciences, 1200 are students; there are also 23 laboratories equipped with advanced equipment, 9 Departments, 10 majors for Bachelor’s studies and 7 majors for Master’s studies. Demand for the alumni Alumni of the INSM work in various spheres of economy of Russia and foreign countries. Programmers with good mathematical skills are required everywhere, especially when developing software and solving complex problems which require application of mathematical methods and models. Business analysis and Internet analysis specialists are demanded when working with data bulk and its analysis in order to ensure managerial decision making. Among employers cooperating with the INSM are leaders in the sphere of information technology, such as Naumen Company Group, 3DiVi software development company, Laboratory of Software Products LLC, and many others. Chemists and ecologists get employed to research and development institutes and laboratories, including the ones in regulative bodies and industrial enterprises. Among employers are Rosprirodnadzor, Centre of Laboratory Analysis and Technical Measurements in the Ural Federal District, regional Ministry of Ecology, Hygienic and Epidemiological Centre in the �� Region, Centre of Labour Protection and Environmental Safety, BVK JSC, VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation, Signal JSC, Aleksandrinskaya Ore Mining Company OJSC, �� Electronic Plant, general education institutions, etc. Among industrial giants they are ChTPZ, KONAR, ChEMK, Metran, etc. Besides, many alumni work in consulting and project organisations such as Ekoresheniya (Environmental Solutions) and YuzhUralPKB. Alumni of the INSM are research engineers and experts in maintenance and operation of computer systems of large industrial enterprises. Many of them work in laboratories of large global-scale research centres in Russia and abroad; some of them are successfully handling their own businesses. Specificities of training Studying at the INSM is a tedious everyday labour, laying a foundation of one’s professional career. Students learn correctly solving problems in a limited time; at that, many important personal qualities encouraged in any company – responsibility, stress resistance, confidence - get formed. Quality of education is proved not only by the alumni’s success but also by students who become winners in various international and all-Russian subject-related Olympiads, individual and team championships in programming, and in tournaments in natural sciences. Five times teams of programmers made it to the final of the world’s championship in sport programming among students. EVERY YEAR students of the INSM take part in 20 large-scale international and all-Russian subject-related Olympiads and tournaments. In 2018, students of the INSM got 4 golden, 16 silver and 14 bronze medals. Our students Mikhail Medvedyev, Marina Vasilenko, Ekaterina Anikina and Aleksey Basmanov have more than 30 awards each. At the Institute, students not just master competencies intended by the major; here they acquire fundamental knowledge in many spheres of natural sciences and mathematics. A student of the INSM who took part in I Am the Professional All-Russian Olympiad of students majoring in nuclear physics and technology, Mikhail Dryazgov, noted: “Despite the fact that such a topic as Nuclear Physics and Technology is hardly related to the major of the Department of Optoinformatics where I am studying, the knowledge acquired in the process of studying at �� are quite extended and profound, which allows us applying them in various spheres of science.” Moreover, students of the INSM take part and become winners in various research projects and contests. For example, the Institute’s team took the 2nd place in a contest of research projects held by SMS Group company, the world’s leading manufacturer of metallurgical equipment, and obtained 1 000 Euros to promote its research activity. Research papers of students and research fellows of the INSM get published in journals which are peer-reviewed in the largest international databases such as Scopus and Web of Science. Specifically, a research work in the frameworks of the governmental assignment by the Institute of Electrophysics of the Ural Division of the RAS is being implemented in the sphere of Applied Mathematics and Physics. Within project-based learning, Master’s degree students of the INSM take part in a project targeted at development of a new technology for removal of oxidation-resistant organic pollutants out of the water by their oxidation using a catalyst and their further transformation into simple harmless compounds. While working over the project, students acquire skills of working in a team, apply their knowledge in practice, and solve the serious ecological issue. Ordering customer of the project is Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works PJSC. “Students, who successfully combine their study with research activity and Olympiad training, always get properly supported at our university. This includes enhanced scholarship, financing of trips, and beneficial trip tickets. Thanks to their success, they obtain grants, get scholarships granted by the President of the Russian Federation, Russian government, Governor of the �� region, Administration of the city of ��, and the University Council. INSM of �� is the Institute in which the boldest dreams are brought into reality,” notes Deputy Director of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Sergey Sozykin. The world of big science INSM includes Faculties of Chemistry and Physics, as well as the Faculty of Mathematics, Mechanics and Computer technology. All of them have a long history and brought up a lot of famous scientists over the time of their operation. This proves the level of education and prospects of growth in the global scientific environment. One of ��’s former students, Ruslan Vaulin, graduated in the major of Applied Mathematics and Physics and has become the co-author of gravitational waves discovery. After his graduation from the university, he got admitted for postgraduate studies of the Faculty of Physics at Florida Atlantic University (USA). In 2007–2015 he was a member of LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) Scientific Collaboration which had been developing a unique technology of discovering gravitational waves emitted during collision of astrophysical objects such as black holes and neutron stars. The apex of this work was detection of the first signal emitted by collision of black holes in 2015 and a signal emitted by collision of neutron stars in 2017. These historical events signified discovery of a new era in astronomy: the era of gravitational waves. Contribution of the scientist and his colleagues was acknowledged by a special award for a breakthrough in fundamental physics in 2016. At the moment, Ruslan Vaulin is a senior research fellow at Amazon Web Services, and together with a team of technicians he introduces inventions intended to create a system for protection of Internet networks and computer cloud. Another �� alumnus is a famous mathematician Olga Golts. Having graduated from ��’s Department of Applied Mathematics and Programming, she completed her postgraduate studies in the USA, worked as a professor’s assistant in the University of California in Berkeley and solved numerous mathematical problems that no one before her could solve. In 2006, Olga Golts was granted the international Sofia Kovalevskaya Award, one of the most major awards intended for conduction of prospective research. For this purpose, Olga Golts was assigned 1 000 000 Euros and a termless professorship contract at the Technical University in Berlin. Olga Golts supervises a group of postgraduates and PhD students; together with them, she works on solution of complex mathematical problems. One of the projects is a problem on acceleration and simplification of calculations that can be used, for example, in aircraft engineering or pharmacology. Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics actively maintains scientific relations with leading universities of the Great Britain, Germany, USA, Spain, Serbia and Finland, and the team of academics includes globally acknowledged scientists. Nowadays, �� has Nanotechnology Research and Education Centre equipped with brand-new equipment and capable of solving a wide range of scientific problems. By working there, students get familiar with mechanisms for controlling formation of nanoparticles, as well as study their properties together with methods of creation materials with preliminarily set characteristics. Also, the Institute of natural Sciences and Mathematics includes the Laboratory of Organoelement Compounds, the Crystal Growth Laboratory, the Laboratory of Multiscale Modeling of Multicomponent Functional Materials, the Laboratory of Interferometry, etc. Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics is an excellent choice for those who wants to make a successful career, engage oneself into the world of big science, conduct unique research and change the world for the better!

Author:

Azaliya Sharafutdinova, photo by: Oleg Igoshin

Intellectual Quiz for Students Held at ��

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 09:02:15 +0000

On February 28th an intellectual event in the form of a quiz was held at the Volunteer House of ��. A quiz is a trivia game, a team competition to test logic, mental agility and quick wits. In the recent years quizzes have become very popular and are held as part of many events all over the world. Students of �� are no exception, so they took part in this funny game. Vice-Rector for Student Affairs Vyacheslav Burmatov explains why extracurricular activities and such events are important for student life. “�� constantly keeps track of the new format being popular with young people, so that those could be used for extracurricular activities. Quizzes are now more popular than ever: they require logical thinking, extensive knowledge, and ability to make decisions quickly. Such game format is a strong team-forming factor. Sure, students will make use of these skills in their future as well.” Among the event participants were the enthusiasts of the �� schools and institutes. Having beforehand teamed up into 15 groups with 6 people in each one, students came up with the names for their teams and were provided with game tablets. “This game is called Sherlock House, and it was created and developed in Minsk. It features a unique content and interesting questions. Each team had their own tablet, so the typed in answers were counted automatically. The questions covered very different topics, that is way the game was quite dynamic. We did not know who would win till the very end,” shares the intellectual game organiser Evgeny Daineko. The organiser notes that you do not need to have encyclopaedic knowledge to play this game. On the other hand, the game did not require logical skills, but rather the breadth of knowledge. The trivia consisted of 9 rounds with 3 to 10 questions, and one minute was given to give an answer to each question. From among the 15 teams three cracked the tasks better than others: team of the student council of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, team of the �� student association Predprinimai (Endeavour), and team of the student council of the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Leader of the winning team of the Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Maksim Motovilov shares his impressions after the intellectual trivia. “Till the very last moment we could not tell who would become the winner. Our rivals were breathing down our necks, and there was a minimal margin in the scores. Right before the final round we summoned all our strengths to snatch the victory from the jaws of our rivals.” I believe that for a team to become winners every member must actively participate in the process of the competition and must have a will to win. I am sure that the combination of these factors was what helped us win. Our team is very grateful to our university for giving us such great opportunity to participate in a quiz! According to organisers, the number of those willing to take part in this game had exceeded all their expectations, so this format of recreation activity will continue to be used and will be scaled-up in the future. The three winning teams were awarded free passes to an escape room game.

Author:

Marina Kovyazina; photo by: Oleg Igoshin

More than 2,700 State Scholarships: �� Trains Leaders in All Fields

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Fri, 22 Feb 2019 10:54:32 +0000

Choosing a university is one of the most serious decisions in everyone’s life. For many applicants, the deciding factor in enrolling in a university is the affordability of education. �� offers around 3,000 state scholarships annually. This year, according to Order No.346 of the Ministry of Education as of 28.04.2018, a big number of state scholarships will be offered for technical, natural science, and humanitarian fields of higher education. Traditionally, the majority of state scholarships – over 1,000 – are assigned to popular engineering fields. The technical majors are always among the most important and in-demand in Russia and around the world. No large industrial business can do without technical specialists these days. Graduates of our university gain a quality education; their level of knowledge meets the modern international academic standards, and a degree from �� is accepted not just in Russia, but abroad as well. That is why graduates of �� have leading positions in the largest businesses of the regional, federal, and international level. We train leaders of the industry! The university works closely with leading industrial organisations and businesses of the �� Region defence complex. ��’s partners include such giants as the V.P. Makeyev State Rocket Centre, Metran industrial group, ChelPipe, PAO Rosseti, OAO MRSK Ural, Roscosmos State Space Corporation, Rosatom state corporation, and others. Graduates of our university often become creators and founders of leading engineering companies in our region and on the Russian market: Intersvyaz, Napoleon IT, Innovatsii Detyam (Innovations for Kids), and more. Specialists of technical fields who obtain their education at �� successfully find work abroad. There is high demand for engineers in the automotive, oil and gas, aerospace, and metallurgical industries, as well as in energy and automotive engineering. The �� Institute of Engineering and Technology trains professionals in these fields. Around 450 state scholarships are offered in the IT majors, which are offered in the School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science. �� is one of the leading universities in Russia offering education for the best specialists in information technology who are in demand around the world. The university has created a modern laboratory base: students have access to the �� computer, Emerson and Endress+Hauser industrial automation laboratories, the Kaspersky Laboratory for informational security research and education centre, the Samsung laboratory, and more. As part of project-based learning, �� provides students a close relationship with potential employers. This practically guarantees graduates a decent job immediately after graduation. Many big industrial partners are involved in projects by students of technical majors. Those include such companies as SMS Group, Transneft, Magnitogorsk Iron & Steel Works, Metran, Ural Engineering Centre, ChelPipe, Khodoviye Systemy company, UralNIIstrom, Simvol Beton, and many more. More than 300 state scholarships are available in natural sciences majors offered by the �� Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. The education obtained here helps build a professional career in physics, nanoelectronics, chemistry, chemical technologies, ecology, as well as programming and business analytics. Students of technical and natural science fields can study in the �� Faculty of Military Education in programmes for training officer reserves and can earn the military rank of a Lieutenant. This gives them great chances for a successful career in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and other governmental structures – the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Investigative Department, the public prosecutor’s office, and the Federal Security Service. Students of other fields can enrol in the Faculty of Military Education and earn the military rank of a Private or Sergeant. It is worth noting that in 2019-2020, �� will offer state scholarships in Bachelor’s programmes in the humanities and economics fields, which will always remain important in the labour market. Specialists in these fields are in demand in many spheres of activity and organisations. The Linguistics, and Fundamental and Applied Linguistics majors are offered by the �� Institute of Linguistics and International Communications. Here, students obtain quality linguistics education which allows them to build a successful career both in Russia and abroad. In addition, state scholarships are offered in a number of fields at the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities. In the Faculty of Journalism, state scholarships are offered in the Journalism, and Philology fields. This year, there are also state scholarships in the Psychology Bachelor’s programme of the Faculty of Psychology. Applicants have a chance to enrol with state scholarships into the Clinical Psychology Specialist programme. �� graduates of the humanitarian fields have always been and will remain in demand in the labour market thanks to their high quality of knowledge and their professional competencies. Graduates of the �� humanitarian fields work in such organisations as: Ministry of Culture of the �� Region, Ministry of Education and Science of the �� Region, Department for Youth Affairs of ��, and �� Region International Cooperation Agency. When enrolling in ��, applicants’ individual achievements are taken into account. They can present their diplomas and certificates from Olympiads and other intellectual, creative, and professional competitions, sport events (including GTO pins) upon application. Based on these documents, according to the Rules of University Enrolment, applicants can be given additional points (up to 10 in total). In addition, applicants who are winners and finalists in Olympiads (the list of which is confirmed by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation) have a chance to enrol at �� with a state scholarship without exams and receive 100 points automatically in the subject that matches the Olympiad they participated in. Upon enrolling, diplomas from 4 years of education will be counted. In this way, school graduates who won or earned places in these Olympiads even while back in the 8th grade can enrol in �� without exams. Students with state scholarships earn a higher academic scholarship. In the first semester, Bachelor’s and Master’s students earn around 2,000 roubles; in the future, depending on their academic success, they can apply for an increased academic scholarship. The maximum state academic scholarship is 20,000 roubles a month. �� supports students, who enrol with high points in the Unified State Examination (EGE), with a scholarship. First-year students who had high results will be paid 10,000 roubles a month in their first semester, from September through January. This scholarship is awarded both to those who enrol with a state scholarship and those who enrol on contract. In addition, �� students can apply for 20 scholarships, including the Russian Federation Presidential, Russian Federation Government, and �� Region Governor scholarships and more. �� passed state accreditation in 2018. This is a procedure evaluating the quality of education by governmental supervisory bodies in 192 majors and specialties. The university was awarded Certificate of State Accreditation No.2791, valid until 2024. You can get acquainted with the admission plan, the number of state scholarships, benefits, and special rights on the �� portal for applicants.

Author:

Azaliya Sharafutdinova; photos by Oleg Igoshin

Fuel Made of Wastes: Scientists are Burning Plastic with Ultraviolet

Богданова Дарья Владимировна — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Universities of Russia propose new methods of recycling of secondary raw material Russian scientists invented unique methods of recycling of hazardous wastes, a huge amount of which have accumulated at the territory of both Russia and other countries. Researchers from all over the world are facing the problems of safely getting rid of disposed railway sleepers, creating substances that dissolve synthetic organic substances, recycling of wastes from aluminum plants or the so-called red mud. National inventions proposed by scientists of Russian universities are quite capable of bringing profit while ridding the world of wastes. Nowadays, accumulation of wastes is one of the major environmental issues all over the world. Year after year, the number of industrial enterprises increases and so does the amount of wastes, which results in environmental pollution. Dissipating polyethylene using ultraviolet Scientists of Nanotechnology Research and Education Center at �� (a university participating in the programme for competitive enhancement of Russian education called “5-100”) are developing photocatalysts for destruction of organic wastes under exposure to ultraviolet. Synthetic organic substances (capron, nylon, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrol, etc.) are the most oxidation-resistant substances of the environment. There are no natural microorganisms that would decompose them. Nowadays, specialists use several methods to dispose such substances, but neither of them is optimal. For example, sorbents that absorb synthetics need to be disposed as well. “Under exposure to ultraviolet radiation, photocatalysts developed by our scientists can decompose synthetic compounds till harmless substances existing in the environment, which are carbon dioxide, water and nitrogen,” said Dean of the Faculty of Chemistry at ��’s Institute of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Vyacheslav Avdin. The university is already cooperating with an industrial partner in this research area. In particular, the enterprise is interested in purification of sewage water using the method of photocatalysis to eliminate phenol which gets formed during production of metal. Safely burning railway sleepers The problem of wooden railway sleepers’ disposal is the most urgent for the transport industry. Time-expired railroad sleepers are subject to get buried at regional landfills for industrial wastes. However, because of overfill of such landfills, it is often that railway subdivisions have to accumulate and store sleepers in places not intended for their storage. The main method of railway sleepers’ disposal is burning. But in this process, a huge amount of toxic volatile substances get emitted in the environment. For instance, 80% of a railway sleeper’s peripherial part is composed of coal tar oil which in turn contains 20,1% of phenols, 17,2% of phenanthrenes, 16,9% of pyrenes, 22% of acetone and 12% of butanol. Having been emitter into the air, these compounds can cause severe poisoning of people. Scientists of the Faculty of Information, Measurement and Biotechnical Systems at Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University (LETI) are developing breakthrough ecologically safe and economically profitable technologies of waste recycling, including disposal of railway sleepers and time-expired tyre casings. According to the Head of LETI’s Waste Disposal and Neutralization Centre, Mikhail Vostrikov, the methods of high-temperature thermal neutralization are in the basis of the technologies under development. This is an entire complex of techniques that allow decomposing wastes without emission of combustion products. Uniqueness of LETI’s inventions is in the fact that scientists combine various approaches when creating waste-recycling reactors. This is a complex of such techniques as pyrolysis, thermolysis and pyrogenation. All of this are methods of waste destruction under high temperature in anoxic environment. As of today, thousands of installations developed at LETI operate at facilities of Russia, CIS, far abroad and Antarctic Continent. Recycling mud into raw material In the result of operation of the majority of aluminum plants, wastes that mainly consist of oxides of iron, aluminum, titanium and other beneficial metals get produced. Such wastes are called red mud and they can be very hazardous for the environment. Within the area of their distribution, these pollutants can destroy plants for decades, and in case of getting onto the skin of a living creature they can corrode it with alkali. A team of researchers headed by a UrFU Professor, Oleg Sheshkunov, is the inventor of technology of solid-phase recycling of red mud with further obtainment of market products for metallurgical and construction industries. According to the scientist, nowadays red mud is the object of research all over the world; however, the proposed approaches either regard solution of some particular problem or extraction of one or another sub-product for its further use. There is no complex solution to the problem of red mud recycling. The essence of the technique is reduced to application of new methods for sub-product treatment in the system of red mud recycling (solid-phase synthesis). The developed technology allows obtaining oxides of rare-earth elements as final elements as well as ferrous and silicious concentrate. According to scientists, oxides of rare-earth elements can be further used as initial raw material for extraction of rare-earth elements themselves; ferrous concentrate can be used as raw material for melting of cast iron and steel, and silicious concentrate can be used in production of blocks for construction of buildings and structures. “Separation of ferrous concentrate out of silicious one is possible due to a special structure of the kiln as well as application of solid-phase synthesis when caking sub-products during one of the stages of the production cycle,” said Oleg Sheshukov. By the expert opinion, such complex approach might help solving the problem of complete disposal of red slam. In this regard, they recall environmental disaster of 2010, in the result of which red mud got distributed by the current of the Danube River across a vast residential territory. Thus, the issue of recycling of more than 50 tons of red mud is still extremely topical in Hungary, where all this amount of wastes is in the preserved state. Potential partners from the University of Dunaujvaros have already expressed their interest in testing UrFU’s technology for Hungarian industry. Producing fuel out of wastes Researchers from Tomsk Polytechnic University proposed to produce organic coal-water fuel compositions (OCWF) out of wastes formed after coal beneficiation and petroleum refining. According to scientists, using such a fuel is capable of solving the problem of environmental load imposed on the environment by the coal heat power engineering. “This is a type of liquid composite fuel, approximately 80% of which is consisting of coal recycling products. We use four groups of substances as OCWF components: solid combustible components from amongst low-rank coals and wastes formed after coal beneficiation, liquid combustible components, water, and a plasticizer. Separately, each of the four components is inapplicable as fuel for “high” power engineering. But together, they compose a fuel that is analogous to the traditional coal by its power engineering characteristics,” explained Head of the TPU Department of Heat and Power Process Automation, Pavel Strizhak. According to his estimation, if coal gets partially replaced by the amount of OCWF equivalent to its amount by power generation, the economy of high-quality solid natural fuel will approximately amount 1 billion of tons annually. The scientist believes that the proposed activities will allow solving the problem of disposal of waste oils accumulated till 2018 completely as well as reducing the amount of accumulated wastes formed after coal beneficiation for 10%.

Author:

Based on materials from iz.ru

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