Kovalchuk called materials science and energy the eternal priorities of science

Materials science and energy remain two eternal priorities of science development. This was stated on June 4 by Mikhail Kovalchuk, President of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center (NRC), at the session "Mega Installations: the New Physics of International Cooperation" at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Kovalchuk noted that throughout history, entire epochs have been named after materials that changed the face of civilization: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the Iron Age.

"The first priority is obviously materials science, but you need energy to make the material. So you have two priorities — materials science and energy," he said.

According to Kovalchuk, any human thought requires materialization, regardless of whether it is a technical development, music or painting. That is why the creation of new materials remains one of the key areas of scientific development, he stressed.

At the same time, the main priority, according to Kovalchuk, is still human thought, and natural intelligence, which is able to invent new things.

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Kovalchuk announced on May 25 that Russia is implementing an unprecedented program to create mega—installations - synchrotrons and neutron sources. In particular, according to him, installations are being launched on Russian Island (REEF), in Novosibirsk (SKIF), and in Gatchina (PEAK). The key topic of the speech was also the analysis of the priorities of scientific and technological development of the country. Kovalchuk divided them into tactical and strategic ones.