"Robots and AI can replace routine work for chemists"
Russian scientists went to a scientific roadshow to talk about their research in Russian cities. This week, on April 21-22, field lectures were held in St. Petersburg, on April 23-24 - in Nizhny Novgorod, and on May 15, the stars of science will arrive in Saratov. In an interview with Izvestia, the chairman of the scientific committee of the Challenge Prize, Professor Artyom Oganov, spoke about the new format of popularization of domestic research, as well as about the materials of the future that will change our lives, and the importance of artificial intelligence as a tool.
"It is very important to notice the work of rising stars of science"
— Applications for the National Award in the field of future technologies "Challenge"-2025 are currently being accepted. Tell us, will there be any innovations this year?
— Applications are already underway, just like last year. The application campaign ends on May 21. We will take a really close look at them when the full set is assembled. We are thinking of creating another nomination so that there will be six laureates, now there are five. International, for young scientists.
It is very important to notice the work of rising stars. Anyone can recognize the rising stars. They shine for everyone. And ascending is an interesting, difficult and really important task. But we will not introduce it this year.
— You are introducing a new format for our country to promote the achievements of scientists — the roadshow. What kind of events are these?
— We want to show our laureates and the science they do to the widest possible public. We want to inspire scientists to apply for our award. The well—known saying "Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times" is very well suited to a scientific award. And the term "roadshow" is quite standard, it's not necessarily related to show business. It's just that it's new in science, but in general it's more about a field lecture.
— Many Western companies are now returning to Russia. Are there any changes in international scientific relations?
— In general, since 2022, we have all observed in a state of shock the almost complete severance of scientific ties with Europe and America. This is a tragedy for science. Because science should not be a pawn in the hands of politicians. Science should be international. It should be independent, bring people closer together, serve as a bridge, and not serve as a tool in strife. But nevertheless, what happened happened.
And despite this, when in 2024 we established the international Challenge award nomination, Discovery, we received, to everyone's amazement, 112 applications from different countries, including applications from the USA, Germany, France, Austria, Italy, as well as those expected from India, China and others. countries. And among the applications that we received in the international nomination, at least three were absolutely Nobel-level. Which is good news.
Sooner or later, of course, there will be a complete reconciliation. However, those people who have betrayed their colleagues will have to choose their words more carefully to be forgiven.
"Who are you talking about?" The most prominent example is CERN.
— Yes, CERN and other organizations. Moreover, many of them received money from the Russian Federation into their budget. After that, how do they have the right to block access to Russian scientists? Many of these institutions have received critical technology from us. What right do they have to do that? But by doing so, they ruined their reputation. And it won't be easy to restore it.
I think that as a result, we have benefited from all this in many ways. Of course, it's painful to be disappointed, to break ties halfway, or to see the other side break off cooperation. Of course, this is all extremely unpleasant. But we've survived it all and are moving on calmly.
— Speaking of international cooperation, you recently held the largest conference on materials science at Skoltech. What impressed you the most?
— There were really great scientists among the lecturers. Yuri Tsolakovich Oganesyan, the greatest scientist in Russia, the man who discovered the 10 elements of the periodic table. Ho Guang Mao, the patriarch of high-pressure physics and chemistry, is a man who has received all kinds of awards, so far except the Nobel. By the way, many people are predicting the Nobel Prize for both him and Oganesyan. My childhood friend and childhood idol Igor Pekov was among the lecturers. He's about eight years older than me, and when I was a schoolboy, he was a student and gave us lectures on mineralogy, and we went on expeditions. This man discovered almost 300 new minerals. Considering that about 5 thousand of them are known in total.
Among the lecturers was also a student of the remarkable Chinese colleague Yang Li from Peking University, who is engaged in research at the intersection of mineralogy, chemistry and the origin of life. In other words, how inanimate matter created the conditions for the emergence of life on planet Earth. This is an incredibly interesting area of research. The lecture was also delivered by the great Italian scientist Michele Parrinello, who is one of the founding fathers of the field of theoretical materials science and theoretical chemistry.
"Materials determined the entire progress of mankind"
— Thanks to materials science, a lot of things will be different soon. What awaits us in this area?
— I would like to draw your attention back by looking at the history of mankind. After all, materials determined the entire progress of mankind throughout its history: the Stone, Bronze, and Iron Ages.
Now, thanks to artificial intelligence, it is possible to predict materials with the desired properties on a computer. In other words, you don't have to spend decades exploring different possibilities through trial and error, but you can purposefully search on your computer and find materials that are extreme in their properties, better than which no one will ever create.
And this will significantly accelerate the progress of human civilization.
— Tell us in more detail, what are these materials?
— We can count on the availability of materials for a new generation of batteries. Lithium-ion batteries have changed our lives. By the way, in 2024, Evgeny Antipov and Artyom Abakumov, laureates and solaureates of the Challenge Award, made a huge contribution to this field. And now AI is joining in. Materials for converting solar energy into electricity, or for converting thermal energy into electricity. New types of steel are being created, including radiation-resistant ones, for nuclear reactors that could significantly extend the life of nuclear power plants.
I will also add one important area — the development of new drugs. Because now it has become possible to develop new drugs using AI.
I believe that the future belongs to a combination of artificial intelligence prediction and robot synthesis of materials. In other words, robots and AI can replace routine work for chemists.
Evgeny Antipov, Professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, after the award ceremony of the national prize in the field of future technologies "Challenge" at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall
— Artificial intelligence in general has now come to the fore in the technology race, many compare the AI race with space. Is it comparable?
— This is a correct comparison, yes. Moreover, I think that artificial intelligence will revolutionize our society to a greater extent than space. Very large volumes of cargo cannot be sent into space. You can't send a human into space for long. I do not know how humans will colonize Mars or Venus. It's too cold on Mars, too hot on Venus, and there's no oxygen. There is no water there. I do not know if colonization of these planets will ever take place.
But AI permeates our entire lives today. And it will only get worse in the future. Artificial intelligence is a new tool. As for the ancient man, the tool of labor was an axe or a hoe, an arrow and a knife. And then all the other technologies were built on this basis. And now everything from navigators, voice assistants, and search engines to predicting new materials, medicines, data analysis, and everything else that follows is being done with the help of AI.
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