30 Jan 2023 ITMO University

ITMO’s Monday Science Roundup #23

Every second Monday, we bring you a selection of the most intriguing, insightful, and impactful news from the realm of science at ITMO and beyond. Today’s line-up includes new opportunities for students of biotech and chemistry, success stories from PhD students, a must-read explainer on personal data – and much more.

30 Jan 2023 ITMO University

ITMO Fellow Eugene Smirnov On Colloid Chemistry Applications: From Space Telescopes to FoodTech

Remember the James Webb Telescope? The one that’s recently discovered its first exoplanet? It’s an impressive machine that has 18 mirrors covered with an ultrathin layer of gold. It takes 3.5 years of polishing to produce one such mirror, which then has to be linked to the others and delivered to the orbit. Wouldn’t it be great if we could just make a liquid mirror out of nanoparticles? Sounds like a dream, but colloid chemistry can get us closer to it. What other possibilities does it open? We asked ITMO Fellow Eugene Smirnov, a scientist with international experience from Switzerland, Germany, and China, who now heads a research group at ITMO.

27 Jan 2023 ITMO University

ASTA: Russia’s First Award for Young Science Artists Unveils Longlist

The ASTA award for young science artists has just announced its longlist, which includes 54 projects. In total, the jury received more than 170 submissions from students and graduates of the country’s leading universities. 

27 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Personal Data: What It Is and How To Protect It

Remember that huge document titled Personal data usage agreement that every piece of software seems to want you to sign? What could be easier than to ignore it and click “Agree,” especially when you really need to access that banking app, online storefront, car rental service, and so on? But there’s a reason why you should take your time to check such documents. In the lead-up to the international Data Privacy Day, we spoke to Anton Endresyak, a senior associate at the IP consultancy firm CLAIMS and a lecturer at ITMO University’s IP Management Strategy program.

27 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Songs To Get You Pumped up This Winter

If you know us, you are sure to guess our go-to way to kickstart the year and keep our spirits high. That’s right, it’s music all the way. Here’s our finest selection of tunes that would make for one tiny-yet-raucous dance party. Enjoy!

26 Jan 2023 ITMO University

ITMO Students and Staff Receive Badges of Honor on Student’s Day

On January 25, celebrated in Russia as Student’s Day, accomplished representatives of St. Petersburg’s universities and citizens of the city were presented with special badges of honor. These medals are awarded to those who have made a notable contribution to moral enlightenment and took an active part in the life of society. Among those celebrated at the ceremony were a student and a staff member from ITMO University.

26 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Student Spotlight: Marshell Nmaz, Mozambique

Attending morning classes in winter is not easy at all. It is one of the biggest challenges that our international students, who sometimes have no experience of living amidst snow, face regularly. Marshell Nmaz, a student from Mozambique, is facing a similar challenge. Besides the weather, the language barrier is also making his life somewhat difficult. But he is a fighter who’s keeping his focus on his studies. Learn more about him and his life in Russia in today’s interview.

25 Jan 2023 ITMO University

ITMO Launches New Biotech Master’s Track With Geropharm

A new educational track has been launched at ITMO’s Faculty of Biotechnologies in collaboration with GEROPHARM – one of the top three pharmaceutical companies in Russia’s Northwestern Federal District. The company’s R&D center has been responsible for developing the program’s curriculum, which includes classes that will be taught by GEROPHARM’s department heads. The track starts February 6. Keep reading to find out more about the new program and how it will benefit the students.

25 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Cheap and Simple Method of Detection of Harmful Gases Suggested by ITMO Researchers

Researchers from ITMO and North Ossetian State University have suggested a brand-new cheap and highly sensitive method of detecting hazardous hydrogen halides that are toxic for humans. The new perovskite nanolaser-based method is able to detect dangerous concentrations of various substances that can vary in the range of 5-500 molecules per a million of air molecules. Their suggestion may provide the basis for highly sensitive compact gas leak detectors for the food and chemical industries.

25 Jan 2023 ITMO University

This Weekend in St. Petersburg: January 28-29, 2023

The last weekend of January is packed with special occasions, especially for our beloved city. Busy bee-ing or not, take a look at our weekly digest to find even more reasons to get out of the house.

06 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Test: Most Astonishing Discoveries of 2022

There is always something cool going on in science – every year, scientists discover new planets, find new minerals, and create unique materials. 2022 was no exception. Let us prove it to you with a test. We’ve prepared 7 amazing but real science news items and 14 fakes – try to guess which are which.

05 Jan 2023 ITMO University

7 Video Games You Can Complete in a Day

While we wait on Hideo Kojima to cook up something extraordinary in 2023 (we anticipate news on Death Stranding 2 and the other, secret project), here are a few games that can be finished in one evening. Incidentally, our list includes some projects by ITMO students. If you need a break from visiting friends and binging TV, how about trying to find all of the treasures of an ancient flying city, or saving a duckling from a primordial curse? Each of these games takes only a couple of hours to finish on average, so you are not getting bored any time soon.

09 Jan 2023 ITMO University

How To Return to Work After Holiday Season When Motivation Is Lacking

Whether we like it or not, all holidays eventually end, and we have to get back to our routine of studying and working. But it might prove especially challenging after having a whole week off after New Year’s. We teamed up with Evgenia Shestakova, a psychologist and a lecturer at ITMO’s Institute of International Development and Partnership, to figure out how to make returning to work after a long rest easier.

04 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Magic of Science: 5 St. Petersburg Museums to Attend on Winter Holidays

In St. Petersburg, there are over 200 museums and their branches. The New Year’s holidays offer a great opportunity to visit the most interesting of them. Listening to The Nutcracker under a starry sky, learning about the exploration of the Arctic and Antarctic, experiencing the magic of light – these are just a few of the ways to learn more about science during the holidays!

20 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Contractor Named for First Construction Phase of ITMO Highpark

The tender for construction of the first phase of ITMO Highpark was awarded to the company PolitekhStroy. The works are planned to be completed in June 2025.

13 Jan 2023 ITMO University

How To Relax Properly and Not Burn Out: Advice From a Psychologist

The first work week of the new year is officially over, and if you felt like it would never end, then you are not alone. How do you prevent burnout or falling prey to routine? How not to be suffocated by the routine? What is proper rest culture? And why is maintaining proper work-life balance not working out for you? We teamed up with Olga Gofman, a PhD in psychology, a lecturer at the Institute of International Development and Partnership, and a research associate at the Research Center “Strong AI in Industry” to answer these questions.

04 Jan 2023 ITMO University

Books, Podcasts, and YouTube Channels To Keep Your Brain Running on Holidays

Do you need a break from the usual holiday activities of visiting friends, playing in the snow, and gathering around the table with your family? How about learning something useful and practicing your Russian skills? From ITMO.NEWS, here are a few popular science books, podcasts and YouTube channels for you to explore.

11 Jan 2023 ITMO University

3D Printing Meets Biology: The Fascinating Field of Bioprinting

Nowadays, clothes, cars, medical tools, and construction materials can all be produced via 3D printing. The technology is common enough that one of your friends may have even used it to make miniatures for their tabletop games. Yet there is a new scientific trend – the use of living cells to 3. So, to find out how bioprinting works and what ITMO does with this technology, keep reading.

12 Jan 2023 ITMO University

A World Inside a Molecule: How Chemistry Paves the Way for Secure Data Storage

With each year, the volume of data grows ever higher; according to Statista, in 2022 the total of all information accumulated by humans has amounted to approximately 97 zettabytes. By 2025, this number is expected to reach a whopping 180 zettabytes. Today, most data is stored on hard drives, flash drives, and cloud services. But are these media all that reliable? What else can scientists offer us – and how does chemistry come into play? George M. Whitesides, one of the most highly cited chemists of our time, shared his insights in a recent lecture – and ITMO.NEWS is here with the cliffnotes.

11 Jan 2023 ITMO University

New Method of Quantum Entanglement Generation Suggested at ITMO

The university’s scientists have come up with a versatile way to generate quantum correlations and entanglements that makes it possible to dynamically change the system’s parameters and tweak photon characteristics such as bunching and antibunching. This study paves the way towards coding entangled states in superconducting qubits and processing quantum information on next-gen optical chips.