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Tag: Russia

LETI scientists create a model describing internal processes in the artificial muscles of microbots

Posted on by Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University

A team of scientists from Saint Petersburg Electrotechnical University “LETI” developed a computer model to study the internal processes in the electrical components of microbots and to predict their reactions to different conditions. The work was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation, and an article about it was published in the Micromachines journal.

To work with nano- and microsized details or in hard-to-reach places, modern-day scientists use microbots. For example, in medicine, they are used for target drug delivery or non-invasive surgeries.

“Most polymers are flexible, lightweight, and easy to manufacture and process. In addition to these properties, an ionic polymer-metallic composite material (IPMC) is also able to actively deform in response to several volts of voltage applied to electrodes. Because of that, it can be used as a material for soft robotized drives, artificial muscles, and dynamic sensors for bionic engineering,” said Ivan Khmelnitskiy, Assistant Professor at the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of LETI.

An ionic polymer-metallic actuator (activation device) is a mechanism that consists of a polymer membrane covered with a conductive layer of metal on both sides and electrodes with 1V to 5V voltage attached to it. Before use, the polymer is saturated with water. The liquid starts moving under the influence of the electric field, increasing the pressure on one electrode and reducing it on the other. This pressure difference causes IPMC to curve.

Composite materials of this kind can be used to manufacture various microbots. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand the processes that happen inside them under the influence of applied voltage to accurately predict the reaction of the membrane. To do so, scientists use complex mathematical models that calculate the internal processes based on the initial observational data. However, most mathematical models require a lot of computational resources and are quite expensive. Therefore, scientists are looking for optimization methods that would simplify the research and development of microdevices.

A team of researchers from LETI created a computer model that requires minimal resources to program an algorithm and create a simulator to monitor all necessary processes. The model consists of adjoint differential equations that describe the transportation of charged particles (ions) and water molecules in an ion-exchange membrane, as well as the electrostatic field inside it and the mechanical deformation of the mechanism. To calculate these values, the scientists added geometric characteristics (length, width, layer thickness, etc) and physical properties (diffusion coefficient, ion concentration in the polymer, layer density, etc) to the model.

“Using the novel computational modeling software, we calculated and studied the spatial distribution of ions and water molecules in an IPMC polymer membrane. The optimized model suggested by our team provides for the monitoring of ion transportation dynamics in the composite material depending on membrane parameters and control voltage,” says Eugeny Ryndin, Professor of the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of LETI

“Our work supports calculations with complex modern-day mathematical models and provides for international-level results, but requires quite simple equipment: a personal computer with free software. We hope that the simulation methodology described by our team would spur further developments in this field,” commented Anton Broyko, Assistant Professor at the Department of Micro- and Nanoelectronics of LETI.

Summer Schools at Mining University: Belarusian and Armenian Students share their experiences

Posted on by St. Petersburg Mining University

Mining University has resumed summer school programmes following the last year’s break caused by the pandemic. Upon completing the studies, some of the participants have already left for home. What is their opinion on the educational programmes, practical training opportunities, and the organisation of the learning process as a whole? Summer schools have been delivered by Saint Petersburg Mining University together with the International Competence Centre for Mining-Engineering Education under the auspices of UNESCO.

The number of foreigners admitted to state-funded higher education programmes within the RF Government quota will double in the coming years, the Ministry of Education and Science notes. Over 13,000 international students enrolled in Russian universities in the last academic year, compared to this year’s figure of 15,000. In comparison, the 2021/22 quota is equal to 18,000.

Foreign youth are also interested in short-term programmes. They are available in many universities across Russia, and their length typically ranges between 1 to 4 weeks. Such courses help improve the competency in the chosen area of study and give a chance to plunge into the country’s history and culture, see the city highlights.

As for St. Petersburg Mining University, in 2018, it received more than 200 applications from four countries, with the number rising to 450 in 2019. That year delegations from 17 countries came to the university. There were no summer schools last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but there was a great deal of interest in them. Students from Australia, Germany, Norway, Estonia, Iraq, and Iran contacted the first higher technical university in Russia to ask whether they could participate online.

It was decided to reintroduce the international intensive courses this year but in the format of blended learning since many countries are still keeping their borders shut. Over 40 participants from Kazakhstan studied remotely to improve their skills in preparing the mining-engineering documentation and designing the equipment using field-specific software. The majority of the programmes were, however, held on-site. Some 100 undergraduate and postgraduate students – from Armenia, Belarus, and institutions being part of the Nedra University Consortium – arrived in St. Petersburg to take the courses.

Mikayel Martirosyan, a PhD student at the National Polytechnic University of Armenia, is studying renewable energy and researching the conversion of solar radiation energy to other forms suitable for practical use. He is also working alongside his studies as an engineer of a turbine hall in a nuclear power plant. Amongst the programmes offered by Mining University, he chose the one in digital mining.

“Armenia is now focusing on mining and energy as drivers of its economic growth. And Mining University is one of the top educational institutions that offer programmes in these fields. The summer school I participated in provided me with a more profound knowledge of digitalisation. Only students in IT are studying it at my university, but technologies are becoming more sophisticated regardless of the field,” says Mikayel.

The only way to move forward for the mineral, fuel and energy sectors is, as I got convinced here, to introduce modern digital solutions and software applications. This should be on the agenda globally, not just seen as a privilege of certain companies. Therefore we need versatile engineers who understand business processes and how they work. They also need to have skills in programming and digital analytics. We are yet in the very beginning in Armenia, so our specialists end up seeking knowledge and skills elsewhere, outside of the country,” adds  Mikayel.

According to the PhD researcher, he was deeply impressed by the university’s laboratory facilities and the scientific opportunities provided therein.

“At Mining University, I got acquainted with technologies which, for now, we don’t have access to at higher educational institutions of Armenia. At the Centre for Digital Technologies, I had a chance to work with the equipment provided by Schneider Electric, one of the world’s largest companies offering energy and digital automation solutions,” explains Mikayel.

“We also visited a few local companies where we studied how digital technologies affect specific performance indicators. An example would be a visit to the training base of Rosseti, one of the largest operators of energy grids in the world. There we saw with our own eyes the state-of-the-art equipment enabling the ongoing transition to smart grids,” adds Mikayel.

After the course coming to an end, the postgrad chose a few topics he plans to address in his research. In particular, Mikayel expresses interest in the software-based forecasting of the impact of natural phenomena and climate change on his home country’s energy sector.

Participants from Russian universities came to St. Petersburg as part of a partnership agreement between the members of the Nedra Consortium. The association of universities is working on creating a shared academic environment enabling effective transfer of knowledge and scientific progress within it. Each university individually selected the most talented undergraduates and postgraduates from amongst its students.

Adele Shalyapina, a PhD student at the Industrial University of Tyumen, took part in the summer school programme named Oil & Gas Business.

“Living far from the big cities, working and studying there, is like being confined to a place where nothing happens. All major industrywide forums and conferences are organised in Moscow and St. Petersburg. And aside from the facts that one can read in scientific journals, any new information on up-to-date technologies and recent trends is coming in with much delay,” recalls Adele.

“This explains why short-term programmes at leading universities and research centres are of such importance to us. By enrolling in them, we get an opportunity to broaden our experience. This is also a great chance to meet the top-level experts in oil & gas who can share their insights on the current global trends and promising areas. It was by no means less exciting to work with cutting-edge equipment, too. We even did some lab work using VR tools,” she adds.

The summer school participants took advantage of VR technology to run a pumpjack on the simulation model of the Samotlor field. They also used it to switch between the operating modes of wells at the subsea production system of the Kirinsky field.

“I am an assistant in the Department of Well Drilling at my university. And the knowledge I have gained here will be mainly used in preparing lessons for students and writing a PhD thesis. Hopefully, I’ll be able to combine a job at Lukoil with teaching activities in the future. This will allow me to be engaged both in theoretical and practical work. And I’ll be able to pass on to students the up-to-date information I’ll be getting either at my workplace or whilst participating in various professional conferences,” she summarises.

Most of the course participants had never visited St. Petersburg or Mining University before. Nadezhda Tyapova, a fourth-year student of the Belarusian National Technical University (BNTU), is more of an exception.

In early June, she took part in the Topical Issues of Rational Use of Natural Resources, an international conference in which she earned the top spot in one of the nominations. Since the contest was held at the venues of Mining University, she had a chance to get familiar with the university that celebrates its 250th anniversary in 2023.

Nadezhda’s research was dedicated to upgrading flight conveyors that are specifically tailored for use in mining systems. The win secured her a place in a summer school.

“There’s an exceptional atmosphere here, as well as the quality of student life, academic environment, top-level infrastructure, loads of partner companies. All in all, this is absolutely fantastic,” says Nadezhda.

“I participated in the programme called Mining Machinery and Equipment. As part of my studies, I, for example, was able to get hands-on experience with Caterpillar simulators. Moreover, numerous field workshops were organised specially for us. We visited the Zeppelin Russland service centre, the official dealer of CAT products in Russia, and IZ-KARTEX, Russia’s largest manufacturer of electric-powered shovels and drilling rigs. So at first, we learnt how to run machines on a simulator, the next day, we went to see how they work in real-life conditions. And finally, we were shown the process of manufacturing the machines. This was as informative as it could be,” she describes.

“By the way, we have no practical training at BNTU during the first three years of study at all, so the approach taken by Mining University really amazed us. To my knowledge, BelAZ, a Belarusian manufacturer of large and extra-large dump trucks, has signed an agreement with Mining University on the establishment of the innovative Competence Centre. This means a brand new opportunity for students. Whilst studying, they’ll be able to gain experience in operating mining and quarry machinery produced by the sector’s two most leading companies,” notes Nadezhda.

After completing summer school programmes, their participants received their assessments and were awarded certificates attesting they had acquired additional competencies. Along with degree certificates, they will help their owners stand out against their competitors in the labour market.

Oilman from Shiraz to promote cooperation between Russia and Iran

Posted on by St. Petersburg Mining University

Hamed Jafarpour, who, after graduating from Saint Petersburg Mining University, returned to his home country, shares his story. Hamed is a postdoctoral research fellow at Shiraz University. In 2021, he headed the Iranian-Russian Centre for Academic Cooperation.

An expert in the field of petroleum engineering, as Hamed calls himself, was born in the city of Shiraz. His father was a reservoir engineer; he would often talk to his son about how and where oil and gas form, how they are extracted and processed.

“I earned my bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Islamic Azad University of Omidiyeh, where I studied petroleum engineering,” he says.

“In my last year, a professor at the university – one of Iran’s most renowned academics – suggested I consider continuing my studies in Russia. He used to cooperate with Russian scientists, underwent his internships there. He was also convinced that if there is a place in the world to possess the most advanced technology, it must be Russia. After all, it produces about 10.5 million barrels of oil every day,” he adds.

“So I browsed through the list of Russian mining-engineering universities, carefully studied the programmes they were offering, and chose St. Petersburg Mining University. Soon I left for Russia to proceed with PhD studies.”

Hamed spent in Russia 6 years in total. He says the most notable difference between Russian and Iranian educational systems lies in the immediate consolidation of theoretical skills in practice.

“That is, at Mining University, with the end of a lecture, students immediately head off to laboratories to learn how to apply what they have just learnt to the real world. And at the end of each study year, they do one-month-long – or longer-lasting – internships at industry-specific organisations or in the field.”

“We don’t have so many practical classes and workshops in Iran, whilst the main focus in our universities is on theory — mathematics, physics, chemistry, geology. It is only at PhD level that lab research becomes a mandatory part of the learning process. The Russian approach is more effective as I see it — you study first and then do it yourself. Thus students can feel what it’s like to be an oil engineer, and if they are not happy with their choice, change their field of study accordingly,” Hamed adds.

When the fresh graduate returned to his home country in 2019, he decided to dedicate his career to passing on the knowledge and skills he had gained in Russia to Iranian students.

“A lot of recent research in the oil & gas industry focuses on enhancing oil recovery. Many of our fields have been developed for more than 40 years. Hence, they are gradually depleting and require rehabilitation. Therefore the topic of my PhD thesis – oil production technology involving acid treatment of carbonate reservoirs – assumes particular importance. Any field starts to produce less raw material over time, so it is crucial to study how to prevent and remove mineral deposits in the borehole equipment. By getting rid of them, we can prolong a field lifecycle and intensify the oil flow,” Hamed says.

“In Iran, I could only learn the theory of how to extract oil using acid compounds. It was different at Mining University. Thanks to the support of highly qualified scientific staff, and essential equipment and reagents on hand, I became engaged in research work. It yielded credible results, so I began writing scientific papers and publishing them in international journals.  Besides, I took part in conferences in Russia and France, and even won some prizes,” he adds.

Hamed is now working in the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Shiraz University. In addition to teaching students and pursuing his own research, he is also heading the Iranian-Russian Centre for Academic Cooperation. The Mining University’s graduate aims to intensify scientific and educational cooperation between the two universities.

“Iran-Russia relations are good actually; numerous joint projects are being implemented, especially in energy, transportation, and industrial cooperation. And yet, we know very little about each other. To be honest, Iranians are often afraid of Russia. So I, for my part, inform local students and high-school graduates about the benefits of studying in Russian universities. I tell them what life in Russia is really like,” Hamed says.

“With the active development of trade, economic and political cooperation between our countries, my knowledge of Russian has become a huge advantage. It is not easy to get a job at Shiraz University. However, when the rector found out that I had studied in Russia and spoke Russian, they literally started persuading me to accept a job offer,” he adds.

Shiraz University is one of the oldest and most prestigious higher educational institutions in Iran. It has been working closely with St. Petersburg Mining University for some years now. The two universities’ teaching staff are writing joint research articles. Iranian students have on repeated occasions participated in the events organised by the first higher technical university in Russia.

A draft agreement between Shiraz and Mining universities is currently under discussion. It includes articles on student exchange programmes in Russia, visiting professorships, joint research projects, and online courses in Russian for undergraduate applicants. The agreement is expected to come into force at the start of the next academic year; then, its implementation will begin.

TPU scientists develop installation for industrial partner to apply coatings extending life time of bone implants

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University have developed and passed to OSTOMED-M, one of the largest implant producers in Russia, unique equipment to apply bioactive and protective coatings on implants and medical instruments.

The R&D was conducted within the Federal Target Program from 2017 to 2019. The funding allocation was approximately 96 million rubles. The TPU scientists designed and produced the equipment (production line) as far back as 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a pass of the equipment to the industrial partner became possible only in 2021, however, as the scientists note it allowed implementing a trial run at TPU. The equipment will be used at a new plant of OSTEOMED-M in Rybinsk, where at the moment, installation of the production line is being carried out at its industrial sites.

“It all started from the participation in a discussion at the Burdenko Main Military Clinical Hospital, where there were discussed introduction ways of our developments into the industry. Leonid Brizhan, Deputy Chief Traumatologist of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and Dmitry Kholyavkin, Chief Executive Officer at OSTEOMED-M, took part in that discussion and told which coatings they were interested in. In case there are no interested doctors, then our work is bound to be unsuccessful. Before we cooperated with this company, however, in much less volume. Some time ago, there was a task received from the doctors: to produce coatings not only on experimental samples but on an industrial scale,” Sergey Tverdokhlebov, Acting Head of the Laboratory for Plasma Hybrid Systems of the TPU School of Nuclear Science and Engineering, said.

These are bioactive calcium phosphate coatings for hip implants and screws for spine surgery. These are implants, which remain in a human body for a long time and which require stable fixation in a bone. Moreover, an essential task is the improvement of an implant survival rate. Based on the terms of reference received from the industrial partner, the TPU scientists not only developed but also improved the unique equipment — an experimental industrial complex for the formation of bioactive and protective coatings on implants and medical instruments, as well as passed the company the results of intellectual activity. It includes a number of technological know-how. It is an electrolyte formulation, a solution, in which coating formation, application processes of bioactive coatings on a hip stem and application processes of protective coatings on spine screws occur.

Furthermore, jointly with Microsplav, a technological partner, there was developed and patented a powerful pulse generator to be a power supply for the installation. Using the development results, it is able to extend a lifetime of a hip implant, as well as to ensure better integration of an implant with a bone.

Calcium phosphate coatings applied on an implant allow not using bone cement, due to bioactive properties, a bone will grow in an implant. According to our calculations, the life time of such implants must increase by 5-10 years.

The problem is that implants, which are inserted in a hip joint, in case of a hip fracture, can loosen after some time. Besides, our equipment having no alternatives in Russia allows applying coatings on temporary implants, for instance, on crews used in spine surgery,” the scientist explains.

New mathematical generator helps scientists at CERN predict behavior of dark matter particles

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists at the NA64 Collaboration at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) have developed a program that simulates the birth and behaviour of several classes of hypothetical dark matter particles. Young scientists from Tomsk Polytechnic University participated in the research. According to researchers, such predictions are necessary to design detectors that try to intercept new elementary particles. The principle of the generator configuration is described in an article published in the Computer Physics Communications journal (IF: 4,390; Q1).

The NA64 experiment is carried out at the Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS), a circular particle accelerator at CERN. Since 2020, Tomsk Polytechnic University has officially become an associate member of the NA64 collaboration. TPU scientists participate in analyzing data from the detectors, modelling experimental setups, and general works.

The entire experiment aims at creating conditions under which dark matter particles could form. It is assumed that the dark matter, the existence of which a number of cosmological observations allow, consists of currently unknown massive particles.

The proof of the dark matter existence is necessary to explain astrophysical phenomena such as an abnormal rotation rate of the outer regions of galaxies, characteristics of relic radiation, motion of star clusters and their collisions, and to explain the origin of the universe itself.

“In order to create detectors that can register such theoretically predicted particles, we have to understand what we need to register. In this regard, it is important to model in advance, to predict the properties and behaviour of particles. We can do this by applying Monte Carlo methods and using statistical generators. Our collaboration has developed such a generator for four possible classes of light dark matter. They are similar to each other by birth conditions via electromagnetic mixing mechanisms. The development of this generator was oriented towards the well-known modelling tool previously developed at CERN, Geant4. Even though that it is generally available, working with it and creating new modules for it requires high qualification,” Renat Dusaev, one of the authors of the article, an engineer at the TPU Research School of High-Energy Physics, says.

The generator makes predictions based on particle data that are already known. More precisely – they are considered to be theoretically predicted. These are, for instance, their quantum numbers, mass, coupling constants, and so on.

“The efficiency of the generator, I mean, the speed of the program, depends on the majorizing function. Therefore, it is necessary to choose it correctly; it depends on pure mathematical intuition. In this case, we managed to find a good option, which allows the generator to work as efficiently as possible, as far as possible in principle. TPU’s task includes working with the majorizing function and integration of modules with Geant4,” the scientist says.

Following the raw data, the generator simulates the behaviour of particles: their movement, dispersion, frequency of occurrence.

“First of all, we are interested in parameters – how often particles can appear, and where they fly to. This is highly important to set up the experiment,” adds Renat Dusaev.

TPU scientists find simple method to control photonic nanojet

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with scientists from National Chiao Tung University (Taiwan) proposed a simple method to control and move a photonic nanojet (PNJ) by a ray focusing in a very small local area.

The operation of powerful up-to-date microscopes is based on the PNJ effect. In the long run, the simple method of moving the PNJ in depth may help to accelerate and simplify work with microscopes, increase the depth of field without reducing the quality of scanning. The research findings are published in the Optics Letter academic journal (IF: 3,776; Q1).

“There are small glass spheres in the design of powerful up-to-date microscopes — nanoscopes with the resolution up to 200 nanometers. The sphere focuses on emission, however, at the same time, it remains in the focus point of the lens. Due to this, multiple zooming occurs. To see a new area of the object in its depth, nowadays, the stand is moved with the object. It reduces the research quality and takes a lot of time. We offered to move the PNJ using two metal screens — thin aluminium plates,” Oleg Minin, Professor of the Division for Electronic Engineering of the TPU School of Non-Destructive Testing, a supervisor of the project, says.

The experiments were conducted using a dielectric polymer cube and not the sphere. The size of the cube is only four micrometres. The authors of the article note that the obtained results are also applied to the sphere.

“The plates were located on the sides of the cube. The PNJ moved together with the movement of these metal screens. Moreover, we fixed that the length and width of generated PNJs decreased almost in two folds in case of screen presence, which in the long run will allow changing both its resolution and the focus position in the process of microscope operation. At the same time, the resolution of the PNJ increased by 1,2 folds. Furthermore, by changing the width of plates, it is possible to change the PNJ focal length, i.e. to scan the focus area in-depth, to view objects in the third dimension,” the scientist explains.

During the experiments conducted, the plates were moved manually. According to scientists, in the future, this process can be automated.

“It is an extremely simple solution. Due to the lower cost of these dielectric cubes, they can be used for obtaining the PNJ effect not only in microscopes but also in modern integrated optical circuits, optical switches, lithography systems and so on,” Oleg Minin says.

TPU joins University Consortium to train international students for further study at Russian Universities

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

Tomsk Polytechnic University has become a member of a new consortium entitled Network Pre-University Faculty for Foreign Citizens. The consortium unites five leading universities, which jointly create and will implement a unique program of training international attendees to study bachelor’s, master’s degree and PhD programs in Russian at Russian universities.

The members of the consortium became Pushkin State Russian Language Institute, Voronezh State University, Moscow State University of Technology “STANKIN”, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University.

“These are universities possessing long-term and successful experience of training international students, as well as possessing preparatory divisions and faculties in their structure. A few years ago, we cooperated with Pushkin State Russian Language Institute in the project of creating a LMS platform entitled Education in Russian. TPU designed online courses in Mathematics, Physics and Informatics. As the result, there was a decision to enlarge a project and create a united network preparatory course,” Evgenia Sherina, Head of the Division for Russian Language of the TPU School of Core Engineering Education, says.

The course duration is 10 months. It will include classes with professors in the distance-learning mode and access to online courses for learning Russian and major subjects in Russian. For instance, training programs to study a bachelor’s degree will be designed in five areas: Humanities (Russian, Literature, History, Social Studies), Economics (Russian, Mathematics, History, Social Studies), Biomedical (Russian, Chemistry, Biology, Physics), Natural Science (Russian, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry), Technical (Russian, Mathematics, Physics, Informatics).

“At the moment, the consortium members are finishing the design of the courses and reviewing them. The most important is that an international attendee enrolling on the Network Pre-University Faculty can choose a definite university, which will coordinate his training, however, at the same time, he can use the resources of all member universities, have classes with highly qualified professors using all the most up-to-date communication and information technologies. Attendees will also have an opportunity to take part in online events of the member universities of the consortium such as speaking clubs, conferences, academic competitions,” Evgenia Sherina adds.

After completing a training program of the Network Pre-University Faculty, international students will obtain a certificate giving an opportunity to start a bachelor’s or master’s degree at any Russian university where there is a preparatory division. The attendees can choose any member university of the consortium to continue their education as well.

“For TPU, joining a consortium allows extending cooperation with Russian universities, which strength is educational programs for international students. We also will be able to attract more motivated students from different countries, therefore, students will be able to choose our programs.

Furthermore, the consortium members will work with the Russian universities to share the experience of teaching international students. We are willing to give assistance to professors in professional development,” Marina Nebera, Head of the TPU Pre-University Department.

All the information about the areas of work of the consortium, enrollment requirements and university data will be released on the special website. It is planned that the website will be launched in September.

TPU Petroleum Learning Center celebrates 20th Anniversary

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

A joint project of Tomsk Polytechnic University and Heriot-Watt University combines high-quality petroleum education, geosciences and real-world oil and gas projects.

The Petroleum Learning Center was established at Tomsk Polytechnic University in 2001. It was one of the first endeavours for Heriot-Watt University in global expansion and became the first institution in Russia to train petroleum-engineering specialists according to international standards.

The first students of the Petroleum Engineering Master’s Degree course commenced studies on October 1, 2001. Since 2003, the Petroleum Learning Center has been providing another Masters’ Degree course in Reservoir Evaluation and Management. In 2006, the paired degrees course of TPU and Heriot-Watt gained traction.

“At the time of opening and up until now, all the aspects of teaching: course content, study materials, qualification requirements for tutors have been the same in Tomsk and Edinburgh, the home city of Heriot-Watt. Over 1,100 graduates completed their studies at the Petroleum Learning Center and obtained degrees from Heriot-Watt University. Among them are top managers and executives of leading Russian energy companies, many of the graduates work abroad,”  said Valery Rukavishnikov, Head of the Petroleum Learning Center.

Annually, the Petroleum Learning Center holds about 20 open events related to petroleum engineering and geosciences. One of the flagship projects is the OilCase championship, where more than 3,000 students and young professionals tackled various case study problems related to hydrocarbon exploration and oil field development. The championship has been held annually since 2018, and currently is the largest event of such kind in Russia.

The PLC experts also designed a free online course on the fundamentals of petroleum engineering, with over 6,000 participants from across 35 countries. At the moment, the MOOC is available in English on Coursera. The Petroleum Learning Center is home to the local Society of Petroleum Engineers and European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers chapters.

The experts and academics of the Petroleum Learning Center maintain close ties with the petroleum industry in Russia. They not only provide training and further development courses to employees of more than 50 companies but also conduct various research and development projects. These include oil field development and hydrocarbon prospects estimation, geochemical and core analysis, big data processing and predictive analytics related to petroleum engineering. Since 2003, over 200 projects of various complexity have been completed.

“The most important is that the cooperation between Tomsk Polytechnic University and Heriot-Watt University resulted in the creation of a unique place where students, academic staff and industry experts share the same values and work in a team. The ongoing efforts of two world-renowned institutions make a significant contribution to shaping the next generation of the professional community in Russia ready for rapid change and evolvement,” said Valery Rukavishnikov, Head of the Petroleum Learning Center.

Japanese companies become familiar with work of Russian Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

On July 5, representatives of over 60 Japanese organizations and companies, including Toyota, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and others, discussed the development of the market of hydrogen technologies in the online mode. Experts of Tomsk Polytechnic University became invited speakers of the webinar that was arranged by the Japan Association for Trade with Russia & NIS (ROTOBO). They told about the Russian initiatives in low-carbon energy, particularly about the work of the Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies and the university developments.

It should be mentioned that the Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies was created in Russia in November 2020 under the initiatives of the universities jointly with the Russian Academy of Sciences with the support of executive authorities and industrial companies. Its co-founders and first members became the Institute of Problems of Chemical Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Boreskov Institute of Catalysis of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Tomsk Polytechnic University, Sakhalin State University, Samara State Technical University.

Dmitry Sednev, Acting Rector, Co-chairman of the Coordinating Council of the Consortium, told the Japanese colleagues about the current work on Thursday, July 5.

“Creating the Russian Consortium, of course, we became familiar with the global experience. The analysis showed us that in many countries research organizations and companies jointly develop hydrogen technologies,” Dmitry Sednev noted.

“We can see that the implementation of such significant initiatives as forming the market of the hydrogen economy, hydrogen involvement in various areas of the industry is a backbreaking task for only one organization.”

“This work is comparable with national space programs or atomic projects. Implementing such a task is possible only jointly, united the efforts of a large number of diverse organizations. The Russian Consortium of Hydrogen Technologies was initially created as a distributed structure. Its members locate in different regions of Russia, from Moscow to Sakhalin,” Dmitry Sednev said.

The Consortium has already united over 20 Russian universities and research institutes, as well as 16 industrial partners. By today, the working parties have been formed from the Consortium members. These working parties study technological obstacles delaying the introduction of specific technologies and products at the market, as well as the introduction of proposals to tide over these obstacles. Based on the results of the work, there will be presented a public analytical report on promises of the development of hydrogen technologies in Russia.

“It will be a document reflecting the technological condition of the hydrogen economy in Russia. As the Consortium includes all key members both industrial, science and technological ones, I believe that this report will best reflect the circumstances in Russia at the moment. I am sure that we will have an opportunity to publicly present our report at one of the important events devoted to the hydrogen economy. Moreover, the report will be released on the Consortium website,” said Dmitry Sednev answering the questions of the webinar members.

The universities, which joined the Consortium, possess significant groundwork in hydrogen technologies. Over 150 scientists and engineers conducting their research in hydrogen economy work at TPU.

“For the last 20 years, the research groups of TPU and academic organizations of Tomsk Oblast have accumulated their technological and research groundwork in hydrogen economy enough to be integrated into the process flow of creation of hydrogen economy. TPU possesses groundworks on all the elements of the process flow from hydrogen production, storage, transmission and to application,” said Andrey Lider, Head of the TPU Division for Experimental Physics.

The technologies of creation thin-film electrolytes for solid oxide fuel cells, hydrogen fuel cells based on polymeric membranes to produce green hydrogen, plasma conversion technologies to produce turquoise and grey hydrogen, treatment processes of solid fuel to produce brown hydrogen, which are technologies for hydrogen transmission and storage, are at the different stages of implementation.

Project of TPU and Tomsk Regional Museum of Local Lore for International Students becomes winner of all-Russian competition

Posted on by Tomsk Polytechnic University

The Mikhail Prokhorov Foundation (also known as the Charitable Foundation for Cultural Initiatives) has summed up the New Role of Libraries in Education competition. A Tomsk project for international students entitled Tomsk: View from Other Side of Earth received the support of the Foundation. The project will be implemented in partnership with Tomsk Polytechnic University and the Tomsk Regional Museum of Local Lore.

Experts of three TPU divisions: the Museum Complex, the Science and Technical Library, and the International Students Office are working on this project. The project starts from September 2021, a beginning of a new study year.

“At TPU, there will be formed groups of international students for which we jointly with colleagues are developing a program of social and cultural, adaptation events based on our Museums, Library and the Tomsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. We are planning to involve the urban museum community in the process of cultural adaptation and integration on the regular basis. In order international students will be able to become familiar with the city and region where they are going to study for a few years,” Lidiia Lozovaya, Director of the TPU Museum Complex, says.

The event program includes excursions, discussion sessions and exhibitions. The organizers hope that the project will help international students to faster become accustomed to a new city and become involved in the cultural life of the university and Tomsk.