THE FIRST VYZOV PRIZE WAS AWARDED FOR BREAKTHROUGH IDEAS AND INVENTIONS

Outstanding Russian scientists Dr. Ilya Semerikov, Dr. Gamlet Hodzhibagiyan, Prof. Pavlos Lagoudakis and Dr. Raul Gainetdinov won the first VYZOV National Award in Future Technology. Each of the laureates received 10 million rubles for scientific achievements that have potential to affect lives of millions of people in the next decade. 

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin addressed the greetings to the participants, organizers and guests of the ceremony. The President of Russia stressed: "I am convinced that the VYZOV Prize will become traditional, receive recognition from the public and also from our foreign friends and partners, will popularize science, increase the authority of creative work and research".

Nomination “Vision” (awarded to young scientists under the age of 35) goes to Dr. Ilya Semerikov, PhD, from Lebedev Physical Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, for creating a trapped-ion quantum processor based on multilevel systems – qudits, and for a demonstration of quantum algorithms.

Nomination “Engineering Solution” is awarded to Dr. Gamlet Hodzhibagiyan, PhD, from the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, for developing a technology for producing magnets based on high-temperature superconductors for charged particle accelerators and energy accumulation.

Nomination “Breakthrough” (awarded for solving a major scientific or technological problem) is given to Prof. Pavlos Lagoudakis, PhD, from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Moscow, for advanced research in polariton-based computing platforms and for the development of an optical transistor.

Nomination “Scientist of the year” is awarded to Dr. Raul Gainetdinov, MD, PhD, from St. Petersburg State University, for his discoveries in the area of dopamine system and trace amine-associated receptors, which enabled new approaches for pharmacological treatments of brain diseases.

"It was very difficult for us to choose the winners, because among the 218 applications were many very strong ones. Today we announced the names of the laureates of the VYZOV Prize — great scientists whose works bring science to a new level and will change people's lives for the better," said Artem Oganov, Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the VYZOV National Award in Future Technology.

The awards were presented to the laureates by famous Russian actors Viktor Verzhbitsky, Igor Mirkurbanov, Alexandra Rebenok and Konstantin Khabensky, as well as representatives of leading Russian companies and scientific and technological organizations: Natalia Popova, First Deputy Director General of the non-governmental Institute for Development Innopraktika, Ruslan Yunusov, co-founder of the Russian Quantum Center, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom Alexey Likhachev and Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank.

"The whole history and future of the nuclear industry is a story of breakthroughs: personal, intellectual, technological. The nuclear industry has opened up the possibility of using the most powerful forces of nature that lurk inside atomic nuclei, inside matter. And today, scientists are already working on future technologies that will define a new reality. Our Homeland is truly aimed at becoming a source of new knowledge that will benefit all mankind," said Alexey Likhachev, Director General of the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. 

"Science and technology should primarily serve human needs. The developments of the laureates of the VYZOV Prize are really capable of solving important problems, whether it is the treatment of serious diseases, the development of energy-saving technologies or the creation of new machines for calculating extremely complex tasks. For our part, we will support innovators whose ideas and discoveries lead us into the future," said Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank.

"The project was initially based on scientists and engineers — we wanted to raise the demand for these key professions, give a powerful impetus and the necessary tools for the development of original solutions. This is a large-scale project that includes a number of initiatives and events — earlier this year, the Forum of Future Technologies was already held, with the participation of the President of Russia," said Ruslan Yunusov, co-founder of the Russian Quantum Center. 

"To transform future technologies into present solutions, the synergy of the state, scientific and business communities is essential - our task was to create a platform necessary for this kind of synergy. Together with our partners we will make our best efforts to discover new heroes of science and make them known worldwide with the help of the VYZOV Award," said Leonid Shlyakhover, President of the Vyzov Foundation. 

The principle of interdisciplinarity inherent in the works of the laureates was reflected in the immersive Award ceremony directed by the artistic director of the The Moscow Drama Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, Konstantin Bogomolov. The synergy of various music genres was embodied in exclusive duets of pop singers and world opera stars - Dima Bilan and Aida Garifullina, Polina Gagarina and Ildar Abdrazakov. Igor Vernik, actor of the Chekhov Moscow Art Theater, hosted the ceremony.

It is planned that in 2024, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation the VYZOV Prize will become international: scientists working in the field of future technologies around the world will be invited to participate.

The VYZOV National Award in Future Technology is a part of the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia and designed to recognize fundamental breakthroughs, ideas, and inventions that are changing the landscape of modern science and the lives of every single person. The Prize aspires to encourage the new generation to pursue science and technology. The founder of the VYZOV Prize is the Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations “Vyzov” together with Gazprombank with the support of the Government of Moscow and the State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom. The media partner is Channel One (Russia).