Сколтех — новый технологический университет, созданный в 2011 году в Москве командой российских и зарубежных профессоров с мировым именем. Здесь преподают действующие ученые, студентам дана свобода в выборе дисциплин, обучение включает работу над собственным исследовательским проектом, стажировку в индустрии, предпринимательскую подготовку и постоянное нахождение в международной среде.

Архив метки: the skolkovo institute of science and technology

Seminar: Stress-Responsive Sestrins Regulate mTOR Signaling via Two Parallel Pathways

Когда: 08-09-2014 13:30

Где: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

Scanning electron micrograph of the Drosophila melanogaster sestrin-null mutant used to study pathways involved in oxidative stress and aging. Sestrins are a family of proteins that play key roles in regulating aging and metabolism. A sestrin-null mutant exhibits an age-dependent response to oxidative stress. Image by Thomas Deerinck, NCMIR Courtesy of cellimagelibrary.org

Which genes might protect us from aging and age-related diseases like diabetes? Meet the Sestrins, and the person who knows them up close and personal: Dr. Andrei Budanov is our guest speaker at the Skoltech seminar.

Title: «STRESS-RESPONSIVE SESTRINS REGULATE MTOR SIGNALING VIA TWO PARALLEL PATHWAYS»

When: September 8, 2014; 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

Sestrins are a family of stress-responsive genes involved in the regulation of cell viability and metabolism. In his research Dr. Budanov and his collaborators have demonstrated that the major activity of Sestrins involves the regulation of mammalian Target-of-Rapamycin (mTOR) kinase, the critical controller of protein and lipid biosynthesis, cell growth and metabolism.

As they described, Sestrins work via activation of AMPK kinase and TSC1:TSC2 protein complex. As a result, Sestrins protect from aging and age-related disorders. They have recently identified a new mechanism of mTOR inhibition by Sestrins via regulation of lysosomal mTOR localization.

Dr. Andrei Budanov

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Dr. Andrei Budanov is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human and Molecular genetics at Virginia Commonwealth University. His Ph.D. project on the characterization of the Sestrin2 gene was conducted in the laboratory of Peter Chumakov at the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology and the Cleveland Clinic.

In the following postdoctoral studies in the laboratory of Michael Karin Dr. Budanov found that Sestrins control the activity of mTOR kinase, protecting from aging and diabetes. His ongoing research focuses on the mechanisms of mTOR regulation by Sestrins, and their role in cancer and stem cell biology.

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advance scientific knowledge, and foster new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

Seminar: ‘Host-Pathogen Interaction: Understanding The Immune Surveillance To Harness The Therapeutic Potential’

Когда: 28-08-2014 13:30

Где: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

MRSA antibiotics resistant ‘superbug’ bacteria. Image courtesy of mfablog.ca

The immune system is a complex, fascinating machine that keeps our bodies safe against external and internal enemies. Can we find new ways to harness the molecules it deploys to treat infectious diseases or autoimmune and inflammatory conditions? Prof. Srinivas Kaveri , our guest lecturer at the Skoltech seminar, has a few answers to this life and death question.

When: August 28, 2014 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster, Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

Everyday, in our body, millions of cells take birth, communicate with each other, generate many substances and sometimes die. All this is done to ensure the maintenance of the homeostasis of the organism. Some of these cells have an important task – that of sentinels. The immune system through its cells and molecules protects the host against infectious pathogens (bacteria, virus, fungus, parasites) and unwanted internal invasion, such as emergence of cancers, at the same time ensuring that it does not attack the self tissues and organs.

Despite this powerful check, some pathogens can cause serious infections by escaping the immune surveillance. What strategies do these pathogens use to escape the immune surveillance?

The same system of sentinel sometimes is dysregulated and turns out to become aggressive against our own organs – leading to most dreadful autoimmune diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, hepatitis, multiple sclerosis. What are the causes for this dysregulation? How can one harness the very molecules of the immune system to treat infectious diseases or autoimmune and inflammatory conditions?

Prof. Srinivas Kaveri, our guest lecturer at the Skoltech seminar

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Srinivas Kaveri received his basic formation in Veterinary Medicine in Bangalore India, and Ph.D. at the Pasteur Institute, Paris. He carried out post-doctoral research training with Professor Heinz Kohler at IDEC pharmaceuticals and University of California, San Diego, USA

Currently, Srinivas Kaveri is leading a research team at the Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers University of Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. His team has been involved with the basic and applied aspects of research on immunopathology and immunotherapy. His research interests include: i) host-pathogen interactions, ii) exploiting the therapeutic potential of antibodies in the treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory disease, and iii) immunogenicity of therapeutics molecules such as Factor VIII.

Training for Oil & Gas Industry Specialists: Best Practices of Successful Sandstone and Carbonate Acidizing

Когда: 15-09-2014 12:55

Где: Skoltech

Oil and gas exploration. Image courtesy of rogtecmagazine.com

For the first time in our brief history, Skoltech will be offering and hosting a training on “Best Practices of Successful Sandstone and Carbonate Acidizing”. The training is scheduled to be hosted at Skoltech, on September 15-26, 2014. Organizers include the Skoltech Center for Hydrocarbon Recovery (aka Hydrocarbon Recovery CREI), and the Skoltech Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) in collaboration with TRIAS – an energy consulting company.

The agenda includes two education modules: both are focused on the basics of acid impact on various seams, matrix acidizing design, best world practices and pioneering technical solutions in the field. Participants will analyze the main difficulties of using acid compositions. This will be the first time that Skoltech hosts a training on this subject which will bring together established Russian oil&gas companies and internationally renowned experts from Texas A&M University. Professors Hisham Nasr-El-Din and A. Daniel Hill will coach the training, which will be delivered in English.

September 15-19 – Module 1 – Acid treatment of sandstone reservoirs.

September 22-26 – Module 2 – Acid treatment of carbonate reservoirs.

Anyone interested is welcome to join, as long as a registration request will be sent by September 1, 2014. For furtherinformation please email at: .

Seminar: Theoretical Studies of Emerging Electronic Materials – Graphene, Topological Insulators and More

Когда: 18-08-2014 13:30

Где: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

Graphene. Image courtesy of Hinkle Group, Flickr

Graphene has been all the rave for a decade now. But what more can be achieved? Join us and our guest lecturer Prof. Oleg Yazyev for a seminar on «THEORETICAL STUDIES OF EMERGING ELECTRONIC MATERIALS: GRAPHENE, TOPOLOGICAL INSULATORS AND MORE»

When: August 18, 2014 13.30 – 15.00

Where: Beijing-1 Auditorium, China cluster Skolkovo School of Management

SEMINAR ABSTRACT:

The past decade was marked by several momentous discoveries of novel electronic materials such as graphene and topological insulators. In my talk I will highlight some of their remarkable properties and show how theoretical and computational physics can help guide us towards the future technological applications of these emerging materials. In particular, I will cover some of my past research on disorder-induced magnetism in graphene as well as on topological defects and electronic transport in this two-dimensional system. Future directions outlined in my presentation will include the search for novel topological electronic phases, platform materials for technologies beyond traditional electronics and economically viable systems for photocatalytic energy conversion.

SPEAKER INTRODUCTION:

Prof. Oleg Yazyev

Prof. Oleg Yazyev was born in Simferopol, Crimean peninsula. He obtained his degree in chemistry from Moscow State University in 2003. He then joined Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) completing his PhD thesis in 2007. Next two years he has spent as a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Theoretical Physics (ITP) and the Institute for Numerical Research in the Physics of Materials (IRRMA) of the same institution. In 2009-2011 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Physics of the University of California, Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. In September 2011 he returned to EPFL starting an independent research group supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation professorship grant. In 2012 he was awarded an ERC Starting grant. His current research focuses on the theoretical and computational physics of the recently discovered Dirac fermion materials with strong emphasis on their prospective technological applications.

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and fosters new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

Space Forecast: Skoltech Researchers Achieve Unprecedented Accuracy in Magnetospheric Reconstruction

09/07/2014

A new method developed by Skoltech, MIT and UCLA researchers allows to restore the current state of the radiation belts in the Earth’s Magnetosphere. Image courtesy: NASA

More than a thousand operational satellites are currently orbiting the Earth and each of them is prone to the severe disturbances known as “space weather”. Now researchers from Skoltech, UCLA and MIT have developed a method that allows to restore the current state of the radiation belts in the Earth’s magnetosphere and predict its evolution. This “space forecast” is usually based on sparse observational data. Yet the team of Russian and American scientists has been able to improve its accuracy to an unprecedented level, as they report in the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR), Space Physics. Researchers believe the new method might also be used for weather forecasting and the dynamics of the oceans.

Working in space could be a nightmare mission when it comes to sensitive electronics. When outside of the protection of atmosphere, devices operate under a heavy bombardment of high-energy particles originating mainly from the Sun and trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field. The intensity of radiation can vary in orders of magnitude, depending on solar wind conditions as well as on processes inside the magnetosphere. In order to determine where and when space equipment might fail, researchers and space agencies must constantly monitor the space environment with research satellites.

Professor Yuri Shprits, Skoltech, co-author of the Magnetosphere Reconstruction study

Professor Yuri Shprits, Skoltech, co-author of the Magnetospheric Reconstruction study

However, raw satellite data is not enough, says Skoltech professor Yuri Shprits. “One of the major difficulties in understanding space environment is that observations are limited to a particular point in space and time while applications require a global and continuous coverage”, explains Shprits. The method developed by him and his co-authors allows reconstruction of the entire radiation belts. Their findings, along with the method which made those possible, are published in two papers in the Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR), Space Physics (see links here and here).

“Our model works similar to a GPS navigation device like the one you use in cars,” says Shprits, “a navigation device assumes that when you are moving at a speed of, say, 70 kmph, in five seconds you are likely to be about a hundred meters away from the previous spot. When the tracker receives new data from satellites it blends this model with new data to calculate new coordinates. This requires the usage of a mathematical model of the moving vehicle. We analyze the evolution of the magnetosphere in a similar way but our model is much more sophisticated”.

The prominent feature of the new method is that it makes it possible to determine both the uncertainties of the physical model of near-space environment and uncertainties of the satellite observations in order to combine those in an optimal way to achieve reconstruction with guaranteed accuracy. “This method is applicable not only to the studies of the space environment, but also can be used for weather forecasting, in the studies of ocean dynamics, and for a number of studies that utilize large amounts of measurements,” adds Tatyana Podladchikova, a Skoltech postdoc and the first author on both of JGR publications. “The satellite data flow nowadays is so huge that development of new methods of handling it is as important as launching new satellites”.

By utilizing the new method authors plan to create an online service where the current state of the magnetosphere can be monitored in real time. They also intend to look through the archive satellite data in order to reconstruct the state of space weather in the past. Earlier Shprits’s group have managed to explain the unusual behavior of high-energy particles in the near-Earth space environment in August 2012, when the two well-known Van Allen radiation belts were joined by a temporary third one. The new method will allow to “replay” this and other unusual moments in the history of the magnetosphere over the past couple of decades.

Tatiana Podladchikova, Skoltech postdoc and the first author on both of JGR publications

* The Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) is a private graduate research university in Skolkovo, Russia, a suburb of Moscow. Established in 2011 in collaboration with MIT, Skoltech educates global leaders in innovation, advances scientific knowledge, and fosters new technologies to address critical issues facing Russia and the world. Applying international research and educational models, the university integrates the best Russian scientific traditions with twenty-first century entrepreneurship and innovation.

Russian Brain-Drain Reversed, One Researcher at a Time. First Stop: Cambridge, UK

05/06/2014

Russian expats in Cambridge meet memebers of Skoltech leadership team

Russian expats in Cambridge meet members of the Skoltech leadership team

Two dozen researchers and tech executives sat around the white Formica table, decorated with a handful of water bottles and a few ballpoint pens. Some women wore power suits, the men had ties on. The Russian-born expats have come to Cambridge to consider their cooperation options with Skoltech. The Moscow-based tech university, whose core mission includes deepening its ties with the Russian scientific diaspora, have sent two members of its leadership team to the English university town in order to convey a clear message to their target audience. There is one key to reversing Russia’s brain drain: you.

“People. We need people. Human capital is extremely important for a new university,” stressed Mikhail Myagkov, Vice-President for Academic Affairs and International Relations at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech), “The growth of our academic and intellectual potential must be parallel to the construction of the campus. Experience gained by young and successful innovation-oriented universities shows that the contribution of scientific is crucial. That is why we are here.”

Natalia Berloff, Skoltech’s Dean of Faculty, pointed out the university’s role as a multidisciplinary institute, a portal between industry and science, diaspora and homeland. “Bear in mind, we serve as a gateway for western companies who want to operate in Russia”.

The university’s representatives were hoping to extend Skoltech’s academic community and discuss opportunities for collaboration in education, research and innovation. Berloff presented the institute’s faculty, recruitment process and compensation packages offered. Myagkov discussed Skoltech’s masters and PhD programs and research opportunities.

But most of their time in Cambridge, where Berloff is Professor of Applied Mathematics, was invested in listening. Participants asked about Skoltech’s partnership with MIT, ties to the business community, students’ recruitment, visiting positions, postdoctoral programs, research funds and the structure of the university’s 15 Centers for Research, Education and Innovation (CREIs).

Dr. Oleg Kovalevskiy, a molecular biologist with the Gurdon Institute, University of Cambridge, said he was considering moving back to Russia after six years in the UK. “I am exploring all the different opportunities available. I have heard many different opinions about Skoltech, both positive and critical, and this round table discussion is a perfect chance to talk about all those matters.”

Russia’s pool of scientific talent is massive but not limitless. Despite being famed for its education system, the country has struggled to keep brilliant researchers at home ever since the collapse of the USSR. Reversing the brain-drain has become a top priority for Russia’s government – and Skoltech was designed with this goal in mind.

round table russian expats in cambridge edit3

Reversing the Russian brain drain is one of Skoltech’s core missions. Photo from a meeting between the institute’s team and Russian-born scientists and entrepreneurs living in the UK

Science Drive 2014: Winner announced – Anastasia Tyurnina

03/06/2014

When the face of Anastasia Tyurnina appeared on the giant screen at Startup Village’s main stage, her photo seemed to be beaming with pride. The young Russian physicist has an excellent reason to be content: Tyurnina is the winner of this year’s Science Drive. Dpozens of contenders huddled on the stage in Moscow, but Tyurnina received the news over Skype from France. Now she will be travelling to Manchester, UK, work for two years under the leadership of renowned physicist sir Andre Geim – then return to Moscow to work at Skoltech in September 2015.

Anastasia Tyurnina, winner of Science Drive

The selection was announced on the main stage at Startup Village 2014. An expert panel chose her from a list of candidates, all of whom researchers specialized in experimental condensed matter physics. Tyurnina completed her PhD titled “Carbon materials grown by PECVD: microdiamond crystals and nanodiamond film, forest of graphite flakes and graphite nanofilms, graphene; its transfer and characterization” at the Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). She holds a postdoc position at CEA/LITEN, Grenoble, France where she specializes in large scale graphene growth for TCF application.

The recently announced Science Drive program is aimed at supporting the professional development and research initiatives of talented young Russian scientists. Skoltech’s Center for Quantum Materials along with Skolkovo Open University (OpUS) and the Skolkovo Foundation coordinated the application and selection process.

Prof Natalia Berloff and Dmitry Kharzeev announce the winner for this year’s Science Drive at Startup Village’s main stage. In the background: the winner

Inside this strange-looking robot hides Anastasia Tyurnina, winner of Science Drive 2014. In fact it was just the organizers’ way to broadcast Tyurnina’s voice, as she spoke over Skype from France. The robot was manufactured by Wicron, a resident start up with Skolkovo (wicron.com)

When Art Meets Science: Students Final Projects Connect Lab with City

03/06/2014

Robots which tackle social problems. People who deal with parking troubles. And students who dig out of the Moscow ground a device which transmits existential questions. What does all that have to do with art and science? Everything, if you ask Stass Shpanin and his students. Here are their final projects.

Art and Science course. Photo Stass Shpanin

Science, Technology & Art is a survey course on the scientific and artistic collaborations of the last thirty years. Skoltech students of the Master of Science program have studied the most important intersections between science and art and the different cultural phenomena created

As a practical part of the course, students had created their own cultural and social projects where they have implemented their expertise in technology and science. Those projects range from social activism project dealing with hot topics of parking in Moscow, a survey of Moscovites who were asked to answer two questions (“to be or not to be?” and “are you happy?”) and all the way to robotics that illustrate social problems and electronic systems that connect several working environments.

Here are the 6 projects presented at the Hypercube to professors, guests and journalists.

Art and Science: Anna Dubovik presenting her final project “Life Clock”

Art and Science: Elvira Burganova and Dmitry Smirnov present 'Connected' - an installation which captures the intensity of students’ talking, shouting (or singing), and translates it into water disturbances (like bubbles) in tubes located at an adjacent building. The purpose is to strengthen trust between members of the Skoltech community

Elvira Burganova and Dmitry Smirnov present ‘Connected’ – an installation which captures the intensity of students’ talking, shouting (or singing), and translates it into water disturbances (like bubbles) in tubes located at an adjacent building. The purpose is to strengthen trust between members of the Skoltech community

Aidana Nurzhanova, Roman Prilepskiy and Sergei Ivanov present ‘Web Data News’ an analysis of how news spread through social networks.

Vladimir Zhuikov presents “Stand & Stare”: a specialized camera installed a few centimeters above a painting or picture analyzes a viewer’s eyes movements. Pretty obvious when it comes to a portrait, but what happens when someone looks at an abstract work by Jackson Pollock? (with Irina Zhelavskaya, Oleg Urzhumtsev, Bogdan Uzbekov)

Nikolay Shuyskiy (right) and Nikita Rodichenko: “Moscow Demands”. This device was allegedly dug out of the Moscow ground. The students plans to install terminals like this one around the city and create a feedback channel

Teacher Stass Shpanin: “In the 21 century a lot of artwork is made not in the studio but in a lab where artists and scientists work together, defining and redefining our culture through technology. “