News

9 october 2020

During the second day of the inaugural Bilateral Conference on Functional Materials, organized by Skoltech and Aalto University, participants reviewed recent progress in photonics, modification and functionalization of novel materials. Discussions were led by, among others, Yuriy Gladush, senior research scientist at the Skoltech Laboratory of Nanomaterials, who reported on his studies in the optical properties of carbon nanotubes and other nanomaterials; Elena Obraztsova of the A.M. Prokhorov General Physics Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences, who discussed the use of graphene for laser applications; and Polina Kuzhir, senior researcher and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie fellow at the Institute of Photonics, University of Eastern Finland, presenting her research in carbon-based materials for biosensors and 3D bioscaffolds. Zhipei Sun from Aalto University spoke about nonlinear optics with nanomaterials, Ayrat Dimiev from Kazan Federal University covered polymer composites with carbon nanostructure inclusions, while Sergey Makarov of ITMO University presented his research on halide perovskites.

The conference also heard 45 shorter ‘flash’ presentations from students and young scientists, who presented their research in the synthesis of novel materials as well as their physics and chemistry. Anna Vorfolomeeva of the Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemist

ry won the flash oral presentation competition, with Ilya Novikov, Tatyana Abakumova and Alisa Shaikhulova of Skoltech, Zahra Ahaliabadeh of Aalto University and Elena Shlyakhova, also from the Nikolaev Institute, recognized by the jury as second and third place winners.

In total, the conference brought together 133 people from nine countries.

8 october 2020

Today, Skoltech and Aalto University started their First Bilateral Conference on Functional Materials, with over 130 registered participants from Finland, Russia, India, Malaysia, Israel, Vietnam, USA, UK, and Brazil. The two-day conference will cover some of the most recent advances in fundamental and applied science of novel functional materials. It was opened today by Dr Alexander Okotrub, who heads the Department of the Chemistry of Functional Materials of the Nikolaev Institute of Inorganic Chemistry (SB RAS). Dr Okotrub reported on his team’s research in carbon nanostructures, particularly graphene layers on diamond surfaces, studied at the BESSY II synchrotron source in Berlin. Among other speakers, Olga Glukhova of Saratov State University spoke about the properties of graphene-nanotube films; Skoltech Provost Keith Stevenson discussed catalysts needed for the electrochemical generation of hydrogen, Kari Laasonen of Aalto University spoke about modelling of electrochemical reactions, and Jari Koskinen of Aalto University spoke about the recent advancements in materials for electrochemical bio-sensing. The first day of the conference featured sections on the synthesis, modeling, and electrochemistry of novel materials, whereas tomorrow participants will discuss photonics, modification and functionalization, as well as hear shorter ‘flash’ presentations from students and young scientists.