Yuri Nikolaevich, perhaps for the first time, topics related to science were presented so widely at the EEF. Have you started to look at science?
Yuri Kulchin: We were very encouraged when Western sanctions were introduced. Scientists have not lost their competence in creating new developments for the industry, despite the fact that for a long time this was not in demand: companies acquired technologies abroad.
We quickly put together a list of our projects that could be used. With the support of the mayor of Vladivostok and the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Primorye, they began to hold technological meetings to which businessmen were invited. But it turned out that they didn’t really need us. Companies are looking for solutions to buy technology.
But these paths lead to higher prices, which affects the cost of production and, ultimately, consumers: we start paying more for gasoline, food, goods and services.
And I’m not saying that this approach slows down our own development and interferes with ensuring the country’s technological sovereignty.
This situation highlighted another point: managers often do not have the freedom to make decisions on the implementation of innovations on their own, since the companies are part of a holding company and the final decision rests with the board of directors. And there they are very focused on the commercial side of the issue. Few people want to invest in new areas without a 100% guarantee of high and quick profits.
Therefore, it is not necessary to expect that now there will be a boom in the implementation of our developments.
But do you see any way out, at least theoretically?
Yuri Kulchin: It is necessary to use administrative resources. On my recent vacation I went to Moscow and, at the suggestion of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gennady Krasnikov, and the Deputy Prime Minister, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Far Eastern Federal District, Yuri Trutnev, I visited the relevant ministries – the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Eastern Development of the Russian Federation. The Ministry of Industry and Commerce put us in contact with the Technological Development Agency. Together with their representatives, scientists from the Far Eastern Section of the Russian Academy of Sciences audited important developments for the industry.
I spoke with the head of the Ministry of Eastern Development, Alexei Chekunkov. We talked about the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which will be held in February next year, and about issues related to the organization of international activities, in particular, scientific and technological partnership with China. The construction of the satellite city of Vladivostok was also affected. We agreed that scientists would participate in the work of this large-scale project.
But the solution to the problematic situation in Novik Bay has so far stalled. When they planned the development of Russky Island (the construction of a university, an aquarium and other infrastructure) they saved money. And now the treated wastewater goes to Novik: the water area is desalinated and the functioning of ecosystems is disturbed. You can get out of the situation if you move the release point towards Ussuri Bay. But there they carry water for the Primorsky aquarium. If you just put a pipe in there, you can create an even bigger problem. To avoid this, it is necessary to study the currents, take into account other factors and do everything according to the recommendations of scientists. In addition, it is necessary to assess the magnitude of the disaster in Novik and find technologies to correct the situation.
We have drawn up a comprehensive program worth 160 million rubles that provides for these measures. The money isn’t that big by state standards, but it’s not included in any budget. I hope that the Ministry of Eastern Development will help us move forward in solving the problem.
That is, do the authorities support your initiatives?
Yuri Kulchin: The process is difficult, but I think it is very important that we manage to establish relations with the authorities. In recent years, all attention has been paid to universities, but the potential of Far Eastern academic science (6.5 thousand employees engaged in a wide range of research) has been in little demand.
Our task is to come out of the shadows. At a meeting with the rector of the FEFU, Boris Korobets, who chairs the Council of Rectors of the Far Eastern Federal District, we talked about the need to create a structure uniting the heads of universities and directors of institutes of the Far Eastern Branch East of the Russian Academy of Sciences. and industry representatives.
What problems could be solved together? For example, personnel: understanding what specialists are needed, how and where to train them.
At the Institute of Automation and Process Control of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a basic department has been organized: students come to study directly at the institute, that is, they are in an academic environment. This is a new form of training, but it is already clear that it is very successful.
The creation of a synchrotron in Russia will help raise the level of research in the region and, therefore, the level of problems that can be solved, and international and regional cooperation will develop.
But the ideal option is when the development is “sold” along with the personnel who can ensure its operation. During the visit of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Chernyshenko to Vladivostok, I raised the issue of training specialists to work on a megascience facility – the Russian Photon Source (RIF) synchrotron. He proposed creating several scientific laboratories aimed at young people in the institutes of the Far Eastern Section of the Russian Academy of Sciences. There, young scientists, under the patronage of venerable experts, will be able to conduct research using X-ray radiation, using the power of synchrotrons at the National Research Center of the Kurchatov Institute, SKIF in Siberia and colleagues from friendly Asian countries, to that when the RIF starts working, they will be able to get to work for it. Thanks to this, firstly, scientific research topics will be prepared and, secondly, the connection between the Academy of Sciences and a modern research center will be strengthened.
Why do scientists wait so long to build a synchrotron?
Yuri Kulchin: The creation of this facility will help raise the level of research in the region and, therefore, the level of problems that can be solved, and international and regional cooperation will develop. All this will contribute to the development of the territory.
The synchrotron can do a lot. The textbook I wrote for students of relevant programs, including at FEFU, contains examples. The world is working to study the structure of the Universe and life in it. Scientists know that in interstellar space there is star dust, made up of small solid particles made of compounds of carbon, silicon and various metals. Each grain of dust is a refractory core and an icy mantle that covers it, where organic substances can form when interacting with radiation. Therefore, according to one of the assumptions, life was “brought” to Earth by a fallen comet. Using synchrotron radiation it was possible to study nanoparticles of star dust collected by a spacecraft in the tail of a comet. Scientists have not yet found confirmation of the theory, however, they obtained very interesting results.
Or research in the field of culture and archeology. Using a synchrotron, the authorship of the painting “The Gunsmith’s Workshop” was established, which was attributed to the Flemish painter David Teniers Jr. After studying the thinnest layers of paint, art historians came to the conclusion that the armor in the painting It is identical to that represented in six other paintings by the artist Jan Brueghel the Younger. It was concluded that the armor panel was painted by a different artist.
In our case, we expect revolutionary results in studies of marine biota. Studying ocean plants and animals will help discover and create new classes of substances, from medicinal compounds to industrial materials.
