crucial to improve human life

Aleksey Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the Vyzov Award Scientific Committee, Head of the Physics and Quantum Engineering Institute of the National University of Science and Technology MISIS, and Head of the research group at the Russian Quantum Center, answered questions about the Award at the III Young Scientists Congress in Sochi.

– Aleksey, you are one of the leading experts in Russia in the field of quantum technologies, which are now at the forefront of global science. I am sure that the congress guests are waiting for your presentation on the latest achievements. Last year, your lecture was one of the forum highlights. What are you going to tell us about today?

– I will be participating in several sessions, including the one dedicated to the latest quantum technology achievements. Of course, we will discuss the latest news in this field, including the progress of quantum technologies in Russia. At the same time, I believe it's crucial to discuss more general questions regarding the development of science in our country. In particular, we will be discussing the Vyzov Award established this year. Why was it created, and what are its specifics? In a way, it combines two types of awards. It is given out not for purely fundamental achievements that reveal new properties of our world and may be implemented in fifty years or so, if at all. And not for products that already exist on the market and could be implemented tomorrow. This award focuses on science-intensive projects that are quite realistic to implement within the next ten years. And these are not just promising projects – it's crucial for us to highlight that they have the potential to drastically improve human life. One of the main award objectives is to minimize the time it takes to implement a purely scientific project. As we know, the economy doesn't show much demand for scientific results, and it is the Achilles’ heel of all science. Science-intensive business is considered risky: it requires considerable investments and gives no guarantee that they will pay off in the short term. The whole world is thinking about how we can fill the gap between the development and implementation of a science project. The Award Scientific Committee, where I am Deputy Chairman, believes that Vyzov should help attract the attention of business to science. The monetary prize of ten million rubles, in particular, plays into it. It is a prize comparable to the most prestigious awards in Russia. Plus, the experts who select the winners are the top experts in their fields. Their names are a seal of approval. They guarantee that the selected projects are world-class and have serious prospects for successful implementation. In a nutshell, receiving the award should not be the final goal of a project but an opportunity to grow it further. There will be many business representatives at the forum, and I hope to draw their attention to the award and hear their opinions. By the way, the winners will be announced on December 19.