"We will have the best research infrastructure in the world"
Russia is reaching a new level of scientific and technological development: a fundamentally new research infrastructure is being created in the country based on unique mega-installations, nuclear medicine is developing at a new level, and neuromorphic microelectronics that did not exist until today is being created. We are witnessing the formation of a fundamentally new technological order based on nature—like technologies. In accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, a large-scale program for the use of synchrotron radiation and neutrons is being implemented, as part of which a new SKIF synchrotron radiation source has been launched in the Koltsovo science city. ""In the near future, 25 experimental stations will be commissioned at one of the world's most powerful research neutron reactors, PIK, at the Kurchatov Institute in Gatchina, and new nuclear medical complexes "OKO" and "ISOTOPE". """"Mikhail Kovalchuk, Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation, full knight of the Order "For Services to the Fatherland", laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation, President of the Kurchatov Institute, told Izvestia about the prospects for the development of Russian science, about the transition from copying natural human capabilities in the form of complex mechanical structures to reproducing systems of wildlife on the eve of his anniversary.
"Science has no borders"
— Mikhail Valentinovich, your anniversary coincided with the moment when Russian science is experiencing, in fact, a new stage of development and is becoming independent and sovereign. If you look back at the last 20 years, what has been the main result of the strategy that you have consistently defended and implemented?
— You know, science is limitless. The field of cognition is one and cannot be regulated by borders or anything else. Scientific results are always global.
This was the case during the Soviet Union: international contacts, common projects, and scientific cooperation were maintained. Today, the West's attempt to exclude Russia from this process is more fraught with consequences for them than for us.
We have always had great science. Thanks to her, we have become one of the world's greatest high-tech superpowers. When the Soviet Union collapsed, everything practically stopped, production and scientific chains collapsed, and our enormous intellectual potential was actually "splashed out" onto the open market. And, to put it cynically, we were "ripped off with our hands." We came out with unique ideas and work experience, and we were in demand. And today, reviewing science over the past 20 years, we see that most successful Western projects in the field of megascience were initiated by us in one way or another.
— What is the reason for such a powerful contribution to world science by our scientists?
U-70 Accelerator control panel
— This is primarily due to the unique Russian physical school. Thus, synchrotron radiation was predicted in the works of Dmitry Dmitrievich Ivanenko and Isaac Yakovlevich Pomeranchuk, the principle of counter beams is associated with the name of Hersh Itskovich Budker, autophasing is associated with Vladimir Iosifovich Wexler, the creation of so—called embedded devices (wigglers and undulators) is based on the work of Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg. A number of these and other fundamental discoveries and inventions that form the basis of today's accelerator technology, such as the idea of creating an X-ray laser on free electrons, were "invented" in our country. "So,"more than 40 years ago, the world's most advanced proton accelerator, the U-70, was created in Protvino, Moscow region, completely independently from the "idea" to the "iron", which produced unique world-class results within the framework of extensive international cooperation.
During the construction of this accelerator, a unique scientific and industrial culture and competencies were formed: a 20-kilometer tunnel was built and the components of our own collider were largely developed and manufactured. After the collapse of the USSR, the project was stopped, and Russian specialists with their developments and intellectual potential came to work in the world's leading science centers.
By actively participating in these projects, Russia has not only preserved its intellectual potential, but also created a large amount of new intellectual property. An illustrative example is the free electron X-ray laser (XFEL) in Hamburg. The project is based on the Russian-Soviet idea, and this is a vivid example of the implementation of our developments. Russian scientists played a key role in the implementation of this project, and the Russian Federation invested significant funds.
It was Germany's most expensive scientific project worth more than €1 billion: Germany contributed half and Russia about a third, while the rest of the European countries invested significantly less.
The situation is the same with the European Synchrotron (ESRF): the Russian Federation became one of the largest shareholders, while participating intellectually, technologically and financially, and the contribution was not only monetary. Russian enterprises supplied technologies, equipment and components, which helped to maintain and develop their own production.
When the president decided to launch a national scientific and technological program in this area, Russia returned to the independent development of these areas.
The intellectual property created by us and legally owned by the Russian Federation has been returned to the country. Now the relevant technologies, productions and scientific competencies are being developed on their own site. Thus, cooperation with the West during a difficult period for Russia allowed us to preserve and develop our scientific potential. And today, this accumulated baggage has been returned and is being used to create something that does not yet exist in the world.
"We have not only preserved our competencies, but also brought them to a modern level"
""Speaking of unique mega—installations, on August 11, 2026, President Vladimir Putin visited the Koltsovo science city in the Novosibirsk Region, where he officially opened the "Siberian Ring Photon Source" (SKIF) Center for Collective Use. What fundamentally new will this installation give to Russian science? Is it possible to talk about the formation of a full-fledged system of mega-installations in our country?
— It is important to understand that this is the result of work that has been going on for decades. The first mega—installation in Russia after the collapse of the USSR was launched on October 1, 1999 at the Kurchatov Institute, a specialized synchrotron source "KISI-Kurchatov". It has been working flawlessly ever since. This is a wonderful "machine" that we created together with the INP SB RAS. Thanks to this installation, we have continuously developed our competencies. Today it is the only synchrotron installation of this class operating in the Russian Federation. It was the work of the Kurchatov Institute, where hundreds of specialists, including young ones, work today, that allowed this school to be preserved. Here we develop research stations, obtain new scientific results, and create technologies for industry, primarily for materials science and microelectronics.
In recent years, we have restored full technological sovereignty in this area in Russia. The launch of "SKIF" showed the main thing: we not only retained our competencies, but also brought them to a modern level. Now we can create installations that don't exist in the world yet.
It is obvious that in the coming years we will have the best research infrastructure in the world. Let me remind you that this year we are commissioning 25 stations at the "PEAK" reactor, the world's most powerful neutron research reactor, at the Kurchatov Institute in Gatchina. Next, the "SILA" installation will be put into operation, consisting of a synchrotron with an energy of 6 billion electron volts and an X-ray laser on free electrons, also at the site of the Kurchatov Institute in Protvino. There is no similar installation in the world today. Most of its key components have already been developed, manufactured and tested at the Kurchatov Center within the framework of the program. The nodes for the new version of the Kurchatov synchrotron have already been manufactured in Moscow, and the creation of a new machine, the Russian Photon Source (RIF) on Russky Island, has begun.
— The development of nuclear technologies in Russia also applies to medicine. How will nuclear medicine change and what is the contribution of the Kurchatov Institute to its modernization?
— In parallel with the development of the research infrastructure, we are implementing a nuclear medicine program on our own initiative, supported by the Government of the Russian Federation. In fact, this is the use of nuclear technologies (accelerators, neutron reactors and radioisotopes) for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Historically, these installations were created as part of an atomic project, primarily for the production of nuclear materials, so Russia and the United States, as the two leading nuclear powers, were at the origin of the relevant technologies and have accumulated tremendous experience.
Before the collapse of the USSR, we were practically the first in this field. Proton therapy methods were used at two main sites — in Gatchina together with the Russian Scientific Center for Radiology and Surgical Technologies named after Academician A.M. Granov and in Moscow together with the Scientific and Clinical Center named after S.P. Botkin. The USSR accounted for about a third of all patients in the world who received such therapy. After the collapse of the country, work stopped, and gradually we lost our leading position in the world.
The situation is changing today. By decision of the President of the Russian Federation, a new program for the development of nuclear medicine is being implemented. A unique complex for producing a wide range of isotopes is being created on the basis of the C-80 cyclotron at the PIAF Research Center "KI" in Gatchina, which is the basis for future radiopharmaceuticals. At the beginning of 2027, an ion therapy unit is planned to be commissioned in Protvino, the first and only one in Russia. We are creating an infrastructure for the production of radiopharmaceuticals, developing vivariums and a unique research system using primates, which will allow testing the most modern medicines, that is, we are talking about a full technological cycle — from basic science and isotope production to the development of new diagnostic and treatment methods.
At the same time, we have recreated a modern primatology center, which, in addition to a large collection of primates, has unique research capabilities. Together with the vivariums we have created for working with laboratory animals, the mentioned primatology center allows us to create and conduct preclinical studies of modern medicines.
"A modern computer is like an incandescent light bulb, but we need an LED"
— How do you see the tasks of modern science and what challenges are facing humanity in connection with them?
— Our strategic priorities have not changed for hundreds of years — matter and energy. Any human idea becomes the property of civilization only through its materialization. Therefore, materials science and energy are the two main components of technological progress.
We have achieved success in the nuclear and space programs precisely because we have learned how to create materials capable of operating in extreme conditions — at ultra-low and ultra-high temperatures, in radiation conditions, at enormous pressures and in aggressive environments. Nuclear icebreakers, special steels for the Arctic, materials for reactors and space technology are direct evidence of this.
Modern materials science has become possible thanks to X-ray studies. After the discovery of X-rays and the phenomenon of diffraction, scientists were able to see the arrangement of atoms and relate the structure of the material to its properties. This is the basis for the purposeful creation of artificial materials, crystals.
Today we have learned to determine the position of atoms with high accuracy. The next step is to see how atoms move and rearrange themselves, and how an ordered structure with specific properties emerges from chaos. The new mega-installations that we are creating will provide this opportunity. We will take a look at how nature creates materials, and transfer technologies to a qualitatively new level.
— Now there is a massive implementation of artificial intelligence in all scientific fields. What Russian developments do you consider to be key and what projects is the Kurchatov Institute leading?
— You and I must clearly understand that all conversations about AI are the most important thing. But let's remind you what artificial intelligence is. Even 40 years ago, we had one of the best automation systems in the world. Our shuttle "Buran" flew into space in a fully automatic, unmanned mode. He did not just fly around the Earth — when landing on Baikonur, his systems saw that the crosswind was too strong, he went on a new trajectory, changed the angle of approach and landed on the runway himself. No one has been able to repeat this in 40 years. Today, even in an unmanned vehicle, there is always a driver. And "Buran" 40 years ago flew into space by itself. I emphasize this simply so that we understand the level of computer technology development that we had before.
Why didn't they talk about artificial intelligence then? Because artificial intelligence is the analysis of a huge amount of data in a very short time. The computing technology of that period did not allow this to be done. There were no such storage facilities and capacities. Now they have appeared.
— But surely these technologies are not perfect and have their limits?
— We are faced with two problems. When we created microelectronics, we thought we were copying the brain, although we still did not understand how complex biological matter works. We took inorganic silicon and built a binary system on it, whereas the brain is analog. In addition, the RAM and long-term storage in the computer are physically separated and actually connected by a "wire" (metallization). And every time an electrical signal "runs" back and forth and a significant part of the energy goes into heat, so today the more productive a computer is, the more electricity it consumes, converting it into heat.
What is now called artificial intelligence is, figuratively speaking, sublimated electricity. A modern computer is like an incandescent light bulb, giving a lot of heat and little light, but we need an LED: with much less energy, we get much more results.
We are carrying out large-scale work on the creation of fundamentally new microelectronics. The first task is to combine operational and long—term memory. As part of a consortium with technology companies, we have already done this and reduced electricity consumption by orders of magnitude.
The second is to create a neuromorphic processor not by programming, but physically. Today, by understanding the structure of living matter, knowing the structure of the brain, and understanding the role of synapses connecting neurons, we can recreate its synaptic structure. We simulate synapses in the form of certain devices — memristors with similar properties. At the first stage, this is a memristor network, a reproduction of the "brain in iron". And this computer is already becoming brain-like, anthropomorphic, or neuromorphic. And the next step is a computer with living brain cells. This is already a biomachine. We are also doing this work at the Kurchatov Institute.
— You have repeatedly said that today the development of energy is directly related to access to resources. And the main issue of the future is energy for new technologies. And where to get it?
— Any modern data center is a huge consumer of electricity. There is a popular story that today ChatGPT, which is widely known, has hundreds of millions of subscribers. If you increase the number by several times, then all the energy generated by the United States will not be enough for one site. Therefore, coal-fired power plants are being thawed, nuclear energy is being activated, and new energy sources are being searched.
At the same time, we have been developing a fundamentally different approach at the Kurchatov Institute for many years — a battery-powered nuclear power plant. A traditional power plant operates on the principle of indirect conversion: first, heat is produced, which boils water, steam is produced, and steam under pressure rotates the turbine, and the turbine is a generator. It doesn't matter what to heat: coal, gas or nuclear fuel. In this sense, a nuclear power plant is primarily a way to produce steam, but the "firewood" is different.
In our installation, thermoelectric converters are placed around a conventional reactor, not generators and turbines. Nothing rotates: heat is directly converted into electricity. The prototype of the "Elena" station has been working with us for decades. It produces about a megawatt of electricity and 10-15 megawatts of heat.
I would like to emphasize that this is especially important for the development of remote and sparsely populated territories, primarily the coast of the Arctic Ocean, Siberia and the eastern regions of the country. You can provide people living in any remote village with the same quality of life as in megacities today.
"The scientific focus has shifted from inanimate matter to living systems"
— Mikhail Valentinovich, you are one of the founders and ideologist of the development of nature—like technologies in Russia. Let's remind you, what is the essence of this approach?
— Until today, man is the crown of nature. We studied humans, and then copied their capabilities in the form of complex technical systems. You know, I once bought my grandson a children's book. There, the man was disassembled into several systems. For example, a skeleton is a mechanical system. Look at the hand: it simultaneously resembles an excavator, a bulldozer, a grader, a crane. And we create a huge number of machines, copying individual capabilities of the human body.
But today we already understand the limitations of this approach. We mechanically copied human capabilities because we did not know how a living system works at the biological and atomic levels, so we created the most complex machines that require a huge amount of energy.
The situation is changing today. Thanks to modern mega-installations and computing technologies, we understand the structure of living nature and matter much better. It seems to me that this is the future of technology — the transition from mechanical copying to the reproduction of natural principles.
— And new materials are needed for this?
"Of course, new materials are needed for this, so the Kurchatov Institute, along with today's nuclear technologies, is developing advanced science in this field and thereby helping Rosatom to remain competitive for decades to come." At the same time, it is a matter of our energy and technological security. ""Together with ""Rosatom", we are currently implementing the "Atomic Project 2.0", aimed at creating a "green" nuclear energy based on nature-like, waste-free principles.
And a much more important scientific shift is taking place here. When I was a student and started working, the basis of my research was semiconductor crystals. At a certain stage, up to 90% of scientific work was on semiconductors. Today, up to 90% of our research is already related to bioorganic objects, to living nature, that is, the scientific focus has shifted from inanimate matter to living systems. That is why the "Bioeconomics" project is becoming so important, where the Kurchatov Institute plays a key role as one of the main scientific organizations.
In fact, we are moving into a completely different technological zone, a zone where the principles of wildlife itself become the basis of development.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
