🆕 Skoltech researchers have investigated the way the composition of small molecules called lipids and metabolites varies in the brain in the first hours and days after death. This research was published in the journal Biomolecules and was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.

Marina Zavolskova, a research intern and a PhD student of the Life Sciences program at Skoltech “Lipids and metabolites, too, could be of use. For example, our colleagues recently reported headway in measuring the lipid levels in the blood of patients with schizophrenia and depression, but analyzing brain tissue is more challenging, because you only get the sample after the death of a patient, and you never know which of the observed effects are due to the disease and which are due to tissue decay. Well, you do know the latter now.”

Looking at samples from humans, mice, and rats, the study considered the levels of nearly 1,000 small molecules. By showing most of them to be fairly stable over the first 48 hours and documenting the transformations undergone by the rest, the work opens the way for further research that could establish the brain-based molecular footprint of schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and other mental and neurological disorders, whose underlying biology remains poorly understood.

🆕 Researchers from Skoltech and HSE University have developed a photovoltaic cell for powering wireless temperature and humidity sensors that does not require recharging. The development was supported by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), and the results were published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

"In this work, we demonstrated that a perovskite-based photovoltaic cell, when properly protected from the environment, can effectively function as a charger for wireless sensors. This opens up new possibilities for the application of perovskite photovoltaic cell, which can utilize not only solar energy but also artificial light. In the future, we plan to develop a photovoltaic cell integrated with a supercapacitor into a single device," says Alexandra Boldyreva, a Research Scientist at the Skoltech Center for Energy Science and Technology, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, and principal investigator of the RSF-funded project.

Such devices could become an eco-friendly alternative to traditional power sources—a safe replacement for batteries containing toxic substances like mercury and cadmium.

🎉 Skotech's project "Mathematical Walks" published in China shortlisted for the "For Fidelity to Science" Award!

The project "Mathematical Walks" has been nominated for the 11th All-Russian Award "For Fidelity to Science" in the Russian Science for the World category (in honor of Konstantin Ciolkovskij).

The book, created by Skoltech in collaboration with the Paulsen publishing house and the Chinese agency Rightol Media, is a collection of interviews with leading Russian mathematicians. The edition has been translated into Chinese and was presented to a wide audience in China and Southeast Asian countries this year.

The winners and diploma recipients of the Award will be announced on October 24. You can learn more about the award here.

🆕 Skoltech researchers have created a promising catalyst to speed up a chemical reaction producing clean hydrogen fuel from the urea contained in wastewater.

While that process is known to be catalyzed by various forms of nickel, the Skoltech team has now shown nanowires of that metal embedded in purposely defective carbon nanotubes treated by nitrogen plasma to be particularly fit for withstanding the aggressive alkaline environment of the reaction. This makes the new nickel-based catalyst not just effective but long-lasting, which is an important advantage for future electrolyzers producing hydrogen in a clean way, while also removing urea from wastewater. The findings are reported in the journal Small. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation.

Aliya Vildanova, the first author of the study and a research intern at the Laboratory of Nanomaterials of Skoltech Photonics and a PhD student in the Institute’s Materials Science and Engineering program: “As humanity phases down fossil fuels, one of the main available ways of storing clean energy is in the form of hydrogen fuel. There are multiple industrially relevant chemical reactions used to produce hydrogen, all of them relying on catalysts. Urea oxidation is a promising approach, because it consumes less energy than other competing processes and because it doubles as a wastewater purification technique. We have optimized the catalyst material, reducing its degradation in the harsh reaction environment. This could later be used in electrolyzers producing hydrogen.”

🥳 Thirty-four researchers from Skoltech have been ranked among the world’s top 2% scientists by Stanford University and Elsevier! The ranking is based on citation metrics and research impact, excluding self-citations.

🔸 Distinguished Professor Artem Abakumov of the Energy Center — inorganic and nuclear chemistry.

🔸 Research Scientist Vladimir Anisimov of the Material Discovery Laboratory — applied physics.

🔸 Professor Evgeniy Antipov of the Energy Center — inorganic and nuclear chemistry.

🔸 Leading Research Scientist Denis Baranov of the Physics Center — nanoscience and nanotechnology.

🔸 Professor Valeriy Bukhtiyarov of the Energy Center — physical chemistry.

🔸 Professor Evgeny Burnaev of the AI Center — artificial intelligence and image processing.

🔸 Professor Dmitriy Chudakov of the Bio Center — immunology.

🔸 Senior Research Scientist Shadfar Davoodi of the AI Center — energy.

🔸 Professor Vasily Fedotov of the Photonics Center — optics.

🔸 Associate Professor Federico Ibanez of the Energy Center — electrical and electronic engineering.

🔸 Research Scientist Igor Ivanov of the Omics Technologies Center — general physics.

🔸 Leading Research Scientist Anatoly Kamchatnov of Krichever School — fluids and plasma.

🔸 Senior Research Scientist Yaroslav Kartashov of the Photonics Center — optics.

🔸 Research Scientist Andrei Katanin of the Material Discovery Laboratory — applied physics.

🔸 Senior Research Scientist Vladimir Kolesnikov of the Materials Center — artificial intelligence and image processing.

🔸 Professor Alexander Korsunsky of the Engineering Center — mechanical engineering and transport.

🔸 Late Professor Igor Krichever of Skoltech — general mathematics.

🔸 Professor Ivan Kulakov of the Petroleum Center — geochemistry and geophysics.

🔸 Distinguished Professor Pavlos Lagoudakis of the Photonics Center — applied physics.

🔸 Research Scientist Ivan Leonov of the Material Discovery Laboratory — applied physics.

🔸 Distinguished Professor Artem R. Oganov of the Material Discovery Laboratory — applied physics.

🔸 Professor Ivan Oseledets of the AI Center — artificial intelligence and image processing.

🔸 Professor Andrei Osiptsov of the Energy Transition Center — energy.

🔸 Associate Professor Alexander Safonov of the Materials Center — materials.

🔸 Principal Research Scientist Alexander Shalin of the Photonics Center — optics.

🔸 Professor Alexander Shapeev of the AI Center — materials.

🔸 Professor Stanislav Smirnov of Krichever School — general mathematics.

🔸 Associate Professor Andrey Somov of the Engineering Center — electrical and electronic engineering.

🔸 Professor Gleb Sukhorukov of the Neuro Center — chemical physics.

🔸 Associate Professor Dzmitry Tsetserukou of the Engineering Center — industrial engineering and automation.

🔸 Professor Dmitry Yarotskiy of the AI Center — networks and telecommunications.

🔸 Assistant Professor Chengdong Yuan of the Petroleum Center — energy.

🔸 Associate Professor Sergey Zagoruyko of the AI Center — artificial intelligence and image processing.

Congratulations to our scientists! 🎉

Six more Skoltech scientists — Physics Center Director Vladimir Drachev, Bio Center Director Mikhail Gelfand, Photonics Center Professor Albert Nasibulin, Omics Technologies Center Director Evgeny Nikolaev, and Materials Center Professors Ghader Rezazadeh and Oleg Vasilyev — were included in the updated ranking for career-long impact (including 2024).

Learn more here.