The Science in Faces exhibition opened at the SPIEF-2026 site

The fifth season of the Science in Faces exhibition has started at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The exhibition includes portraits of 32 Russian scientists whose research and development have been awarded high prizes in the field of science – laureates of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of science and innovation for young scientists and other key scientific prizes, as well as scientists who presented their developments to the President of the Russian Federation at the Congress of Young Scientists, winners of competitions of the Russian Science Foundation, employees of leading Russian scientific organizations and high-tech companies.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, delivered a welcoming speech at the opening ceremony.

"The anniversary exhibition "Science in Faces" is a very important event in the series of events of the Decade of Science and Technology, announced by our President. It claims to be one of the brightest, it is a kind of pearl among others. It shows the faces of our scientists, whom the whole country should know. We know some of them personally, work with them, and have participated in various events. Thanks to such events that popularize science through its heroes, we get results. According to VTsIOM, almost 90% of our citizens can name at least one scientific discovery. And our heroes today are just vividly demonstrating the results to our citizens. The project will also be presented at the Congress of Young Scientists. I wish it to continue developing!" stressed Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The event was attended by Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Secretary of the Coordinating Committee for the Decade of Science and Technology, Andrey Belevtsev, Senior Vice President and Head of the Technological Development Unit at Sberbank, and Alexey Valkov, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Denis Sekirinsky, Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, Secretary of the Coordinating Committee of the Decade of Science and Technology, noted the growing interaction between science and the real sector of the economy.

Representatives of the project partners spoke about the contribution of large business to scientific development.

Alexey Valkov, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, noted the role of events in attracting talented young people to the scientific field.

"The largest events organized by the Roscongress Foundation — the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the Congress of Young Scientists – serve as a platform for building a dialogue between government, science and business, discussing the needs and real tasks of participants in the scientific field. But, in addition, these events work to involve young people in science by demonstrating real success stories and career prospects," said Alexey Valkov.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by the heroes of the project — the authors of advanced scientific research and development — the winners of the Prize of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of science and innovation for young scientists for 2025 — Alexander Anikin, Deputy Director of the department, head of the research department of the High-tech Research Institute of Inorganic Materials named after Academician A. A. Bochvar, a leading researcher at the Kuban State University Dmitry Penzar, Head of the Scientific group of the Scientific Center for Translational Medicine at Sirius University of Science and Technology, Dmitry Butylsky, winner of the Sber Scientific Prize, Researcher at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Arseniy Yuzhalin, Head of the Scientific group at the Sirius University of Science and Technology, and Nikolay Kolosov, Director of Scientific Development at the SIBUR Innovations Research Center.

During the year, the portraits of outstanding scientists will be seen by visitors to Moscow's largest public spaces — VDNKH, Sokolniki Park and the Central Park of Culture and Recreation. Gorky, passengers of the Moscow metro. The exhibition will also be presented at the sites of federal universities in the regions of Russia. Science in Faces will conclude the season at the VI Congress of Young Scientists, which will be held at Sirius University of Science and Technology on November 25-27, 2026.

"This year, the Science in Faces project celebrates five years! During this time, millions of people in Russia and abroad have read the stories of more than 100 prominent Russian scientists. The project showed scientists exactly what they really are: initiative, brave and responsible people. Our scientists are extremely passionate about their work and are able to work in a team for great results. Many of the technologies that have become part of our daily lives today, from new materials and medicines to digital services, have emerged thanks to the long—term work of researchers. Behind every scientific decision are people who turn knowledge into real change. This is the fifth time our exhibition has been about them," said Elena Ivannikova, the curator of the project.