A quantum center of international level has opened in Russia. The Russian Quantum Center has found a new partner Get a job at the Russian Quantum Center
The grand opening of the laboratory complex of the Russian Quantum Center took place. Three laboratories: quantum optics, quantum simulation and advanced photonics have already been built and experiments are already underway.
The ribbon was cut by Sergey Belousov, Head of the RCC Board of Trustees and CEO of Acronis, Edward Crowley, Rector of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Alexei Komissarov, Minister of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of Moscow, and Ruslan Yunusov, CEO of the Russian Quantum Center.
The first vivid impression, however, from non-quantum technology is the “shoe-dresser”. You put your foot in the apparatus, and in a couple of seconds it covers the sole of the shoe with a film, protecting the laboratories from dirt. It turned out that such a thing costs about 30 thousand rubles and, perhaps, will soon appear where shoe covers are usually put on. “I also want one of these in Denmark,” says Professor Eugene Polzik cheerfully, who is well known to Polit.ru readers from interesting interviews and a public lecture. He had just returned from an hour-long broadcast on the radio, where he was talking about the RCC.
Professor of the Faculty of Physics of the University of Calgary (Canada), head of the Quantum Optics Laboratory of the RCC, Alexander Lvovsky, in a video commentary to Polit.ru, noted that their scientific group is engaged in quantum technologies of light: “Why light? Among the numerous systems that are of interest for quantum technologies, quantum information processing, light plays a special role, because it is the only possible communication agent. There are different systems, they have different advantages and disadvantages, but none of them, except for light, can be used to transmit information over long distances.”
The Laboratory is working on tomography of quantum processes
“Whatever future quantum computers are made of, there is no doubt that they will talk to each other through light, through photons. Well, the light is pretty a complex system. Many technologies that are very easy for other quantum objects are very difficult with light. Even such a thing as, say, the generation of new photons is not an easy task at all. Getting one atom or one ion or one quantum dot is easy, but getting one photon is not an easy task at all. And this is one of the tasks that we are trying to solve,” said Lvovsky.
Alexander Lvovsky (left) in his laboratory at the RCC
“If we talk about quantum technologies of light, then we can identify five tasks that need to be solved in order to say that light is a working quantum system for quantum information processing. These five tasks are synthesis, measurement, manipulation of quantum states, quantum memory for light, and bringing photons into interaction with each other. And here in this laboratory we, in fact, are trying to solve these problems,” he concluded.
Video commentary by A. Lvovsky
The laboratory of Alexander Lvovsky employs: Ilya Fedorov, a graduate of the Phystech, who began work at the RCC as a graduate student, Yuri Kurochnik, who completed his postgraduate studies at the Phystech last year and came to the RCC as a postdoc. In addition, Dmitry Mylnikov, a graduate student, Alexei Fedorov, a student, and Arseniy Bozhenko, an engineer, are participating in the research.
The creators of the RCC note that now there are six scientific groups operating at the center, experiments are already underway in five, and there are plans to bring this number to ten. Work is underway to create new laboratories.
Head of the Executive Committee of the RCC, professor of physics at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) Eugene Polzik noted that the RCC laboratories began to be built about a year ago and now they are “fully functioning laboratories in which amazing experiments are being carried out.”
He said that “in the laboratory of quantum optics, experiments are being carried out with single photons and all sorts of tricky entangled states of light, and this is probably a wonderful fundamental science, and, secondly, it can be useful from the point of view of communications, which will have absolute safety because they can't be intercepted. The laws of quantum mechanics do not allow interception without being noticed.”
“I am very pleased to be in this laboratory, because I remember well how in April 2012 my colleagues John Doyle, Mikhail Lukin and Vladimir Shalaev and I arrived in Moscow in order to choose a suitable location for the Russian Quantum Center. We really liked it here on the -1st floor of the Skolkovo Technopark. There was nothing here but bare walls, but it was clear that there was good potential for work, and as you can see, everything developed absolutely wonderfully.
“These laboratories are staffed by permanent group leaders of the Russian Quantum Center, as well as visiting professors who work here part of the time, and part of the time in other universities around the world,” said Eugene Polzik.
“The center, of course, is still under construction. Fundamental center of science to build in in full, even with all the money, impossible faster than 5-7-10 years. Scientists love stability, long-term prospects, and in Russia these parameters are beginning to develop slowly, but we, as the International Advisory Committee of the RCC, very much hope that the work of the center will continue successfully. And Russia will not forget about its amazing traditions of fundamental science and will not forget that a country like Russia is simply obliged to develop fundamental science,” Professor Polzik said.
Answering the question of whether RCC research can be called innovations, Eugene Polzik emphasized that he likes to think that “the science she is engaged in, quantum physics and quantum technologies, on the one hand, is absolutely fundamental science, and on the other - this, with all due respect, is not astrophysics. “It is quite obvious here that all modern devices that exist around us, all conveniences, would not exist if quantum physics had not been discovered 100 years ago, and semiconductors, superconducting and composite materials had not been made on its basis. Look wherever you want, but without quantum physics we would live the way we did in the 19th century.”
“And now quantum physics is experiencing a second revolution, this is due to the fact that it has begun to merge with the theory and practice of information technology. As we all well know, the most important thing is the exchange and storage of information, and this exchange and storage is now moving to a new, qualitative level - quantum information. Quantum information, merging with quantum physics, opens up absolutely wonderful doors for us,” said Eugene Polzik.
Video commentary by Eugene Polzik
Continuing the tour of the RCC, Professor Polzik also noted that "in the laboratory, located next to the laboratory of quantum optics, a laser light source was built, which is quite unique and allows the use of laser radiation, for example, for biological samples." During the autumn, an infrared laser, unique on a world scale, was put into operation, producing ultrashort radiation pulses with a power of up to 400 GW.
“And finally, in another laboratory they are working with absolutely wonderful things - cold atoms, which in the near future will be used to model materials that cannot be calculated on a computer,” Polzik said.
Professor Polzik also said that the laboratory under construction will be working on metamaterials, i.e. new construction materials unique properties, using quantum technologies.
“Is there any certainty that the RCC will develop in the future? Are there any problems with financing?”, I asked CEO Ruslan Yunusova. “There are always difficulties with financing in Russia,” he replied. “However, we still have a five-year grant, which is still 3.5 years away. In this horizon, we believe that everything will be fine with us. Of course, we are working on attracting various other sources of funding. We apply for grants from the Ministry of Education and other structures. Now we are preparing to enter the European market. There are several programs in Europe that are ready to finance joint research between Russia and Europe. We have partners in Europe who are ready to cooperate with us.”
“Today we employ about 70 people. Three laboratories were launched in the Skolkovo Technopark and three more joint laboratories: at Moscow State University, FIAN and Chernogolovka. These are the laboratories where experiments are already underway.”
“What are you most proud of that you have already created?” I asked. Let me remind you that the center was founded 3 years ago, on December 14, 2010. “Today itself, that it took place. Because there were warehouses in these premises a year ago, and in a year we managed to overcome a path that is unusually fast even for foreigners. Foreign scientists who came to us here in the summer were surprised by our pace. And, of course, it is very nice to see that the results of our work have already been implemented in life, in experiments, in research. And for this we had to overcome quite a lot: from the preparation of premises and the entire infrastructure to the purchase and installation of equipment.”
“Is it possible to say that in your center scientists receive as close as possible to Western conditions, or are they still far from it?” I asked. “Yes, yes, the main idea of building our center is to take the Western model and, according to the Western model, on the terms of an open international competition, attract the strongest scientists and launch research. The key point is an open international competition, and in order for this competition to receive strong applications, it is necessary to have sufficiently authoritative governing bodies. Such are our Executive Board, Advisory Board and Board of Trustees, including two Nobel laureates (“Polit.ru” - Wolfgang Ketterle (2001) and David Gross (2003))”.
Video commentary by Ruslan Yunusov
“We managed to collect a fairly serious number of applications, and nine have already been selected based on the results of the competition. Experiments are already underway in five groups. And we try to bring the working conditions as close as possible to Western ones,” said Yunusov, a graduate of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University and the Academy of National Economy and Public Administration.
“And what problems still remain or do you not want to talk about them on the opening day?” “There are always a lot of problems. The question is that we are guided not by how many problems we have and how difficult it is for us to live, but by how quickly, as efficiently as possible, to develop. We set the bar high for ourselves. And we try not to drop it,” concluded the general director of the RCC.
It was dark in one of the laboratories, only the light from video cameras interrupted the darkness. Alexei Zheltikov, head of the Advanced Photonics laboratory, professor at Moscow State University and Texas A&M University, told reporters about how work in his group was going.
“Good experiments love peace and quiet,” he said. “Key people working on some important experiment are working around the clock. The head works all the time. There are many talented people around me in this lab. And their talent is constantly working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that their part of the experiment turns out in the best way.
Alexey Zheltikov talks about his research
“You can come here at any time, day or night. This is a big advantage. Not all domestic scientific institutions work in this way,” Alexey emphasized. “This is what a scientist gets used to when he starts working in foreign institutions. … My task is to do scientific research around the clock and try to explain what I do to the general public.”
Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Lyubov Amitonova works as a junior researcher at the Laboratory of Neurophotonics at the Kurchatov Center (in the group of Konstantin Anokhin) and a researcher at the RCC with Alexei Zheltikov, having the opportunity to develop and apply new research methods. “We are developing new optical methods to solve problems in neuroscience. At the Quantum Center and Moscow State University, we are developing new methods of fiber-optic microscopy that allow us to work with living, freely moving animals. And at the Kurchatov Center we have a unique opportunity to try these methods on animals and get involved in neuroscience research.”
"The secrets of the brain will be revealed by the methods of quantum optics?". "Together! This is such a complex object that new methods are needed, all possibilities must be used. And quantum optics gives those opportunities that modern biology did not have,” Lyubov believes.
Video commentary by Lyubov Amitonova
“What are the advantages of your work in the RCC? Why do you like to come here, work here?” I continued to ask. “There is modern equipment here, which is hard to find anywhere else. And a unique opportunity to come here at any time when required. Evening, night, morning. Very comfortably".
However, the problems of the Center remain. Here is the general unstable situation in the country and around Skolkovo, which worries scientists. In addition, there are difficulties with the purchase of equipment. So, Professor Lvovsky said that if in Canada it takes 1-2 days to order some necessary microcircuit, here, with the most energetic efforts, it takes a month. Yes, Skolkovo has reduced the tax burden and no customs fees, but this does not mean that there is less bureaucracy here. If you buy something, then you not only fill out a customs declaration, but also must prove in writing that you need the equipment for research.
“What is better here than in Canada?” I asked Alexander Lvovsky. “Very good students, graduate students and staff. Compared to Calgary, it's heaven and earth."
On July 15, the Russian Quantum Center (RCC) officially began its work. And although the institution does not yet have premises, an approved funding scheme and a staffed staff, we found out what the new scientific organization is and what scientists plan to do within its walls.
The organization is officially called the International Center for Quantum Optics and Quantum Technologies. Its creation was initiated by Mikhail Lukin, a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, now a professor at Harvard. He managed to gather around him a cohort of Russian and foreign scientists involved in and willing to raise Russian science to a new level.
Many countries have specialized centers where scientists are engaged in research in the field of quantum optics, nanophotonics, quantum materials, quantum information processing, and quantum engineering. For example, in Germany, the Institutes of Quantum Optics (Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik) and the Physics of Light (Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts) operate as part of the Max Planck Society, the Institute of Photonics operates in Barcelona, and there is a quantum center in Canada. University of Waterloo. What can we say about the USA. Even in tiny Singapore, a separate structure for the study of quantum technologies has been created, in which $ 100 million has been invested.
It should be noted that the main direction of work of the above-mentioned foreign centers is fundamental research. And from this point of view, their experience can be regarded as successful: they have authority in the scientific world, have many prestigious publications and a high citation index.
In Russia, scientists involved in quantum physics are scattered across the institutes throughout the country (for example, there are several laboratories of the corresponding profile at the Faculty of Physics and at the Faculty of the VMK of Lomonosov Moscow State University) and do not have enough contact with their foreign colleagues. These specialists also mainly conduct fundamental research.
"In theoretical physics there is known fact: if you are faced with a problem, then the Russians most likely already solved it forty years ago, ”the MIPT website quotes Tommaso Calarco (pictured) (photo by Alexander Lotsmanov).
Alexander Lvovsky, a graduate of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, now a professor at the University of Calgary, who is also a member of the steering committee of the RCC, explained to our publication how the new center will differ in this regard from existing universities, research institutes and departments of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
“Of course, today Russian scientists can participate in international conferences, travel abroad with reports, collaborate with colleagues, send students for internships, and so on. However, the level of integration in world science is much higher.
First, a typical modern scientific career consists of several stages, which almost always take place in different scientific institutions and very often in different countries.
For example, a person can grow up in Germany, do a dissertation in the USA, then become a postdoc in France or Japan... There is nothing like this in Russia: a graduate of an institute becomes a researcher at some research institute and then makes a career there.
He has the opportunity to go abroad. But to accept a foreign employee for a position, say, a postdoc or professor, providing him with conditions similar to those in the West, Russia, as a rule, does not have either financial or administrative ones.
This is where the brain drain comes in. Our task is to reverse this situation so that the leakage is compensated by the inflow of more best brains from other countries.
Secondly, joint research projects should be funded jointly. Now, when carrying out such projects, a Russian scientist, as a rule, is left at the mercy of a foreign partner. The RCC will also have the opportunity to finance international cooperation on an equal footing with partners from abroad, thus ensuring equality of the parties.
Thirdly, we will have the opportunity to invite leading foreign physicists on short-term and long-term visits and pay for these visits. Our guests will be able to read lecture courses, give seminars. That is, the employees of the center, employees and students of universities affiliated with it, and all Russian scientists who wish will be able to stay abreast of the problems being solved at the forefront of world science, establish acquaintances and connections, exchange ideas - in a word, become part of the global “scientific web”.
The creators of the center believe that the next scientific revolution will take place precisely thanks to quantum physics (photo by RCC).
It is assumed that at the International Center for Quantum Optics and Quantum Technologies, scientists will combine fundamental research activities with the solution of applied problems, that is, the RQC sets itself more ambitious goals than foreign colleagues.
Evgeny Demler, professor of physics at Harvard and member of the advisory board of the RCC, believes that the center will produce many technologies suitable for commercialization and build the foundation for Russia's global leadership in high technologies.
The conference was attended by dozens of eminent scientists from all over the world (in particular, from Harvard, Yale and Oxford) and even Nobel laureates. The picture shows Alexei Ustinov, director of the German Institute of Technology in Karlsruhe (KIT), and Evgeny Demler (photo by RCC).
Let's explain. Even in such a mysterious field of science for many ordinary people as quantum physics, research can give a result that “can be touched”. For example, they will help in the development of high-performance, electrical networks that do not waste energy on losses, secure communication networks (meaning quantum cryptography), new materials with specified physical and chemical properties, medical technologies and alternative sources energy.
In addition, the center will train qualified personnel who will be able to work in this field of science in the future.
By the way, about frames. The creators of the RCC want the center to create all the conditions for the best minds from all over the world to work. This also applies to salaries, among other things. So, Alexander Lvovsky said in an interview with STRF.ru that scientists at the RCC will be offered higher salaries than at leading foreign institutions. As an example, Alexander cites the rates of his own university in Calgary: a graduate student receives $ 2,000 per month, a postdoc - $ 3-4 thousand, a young professor - $ 6 thousand, a leading professor - even more.
True, it is not yet clear who will still be able to lure, since in addition to salary and funding for work, a lot of other factors can influence the choice of a scientist. It was originally planned that interviews with possible candidates would be held during the International Conference on Quantum Technologies, which was held in Moscow from 13 to 17 July 2011.
But, as Lvovsky explained, the latest documents regarding the financing of the project and the premises of the Center have not yet been signed, and therefore the recruitment of employees is still not being conducted. Only informal conversations took place at the conference.
The Skolkovo project was conceived as an analogue of Silicon Valley, where research and technology companies could grow their business. To finance these studies, a fund of the same name was created, which in 2012 signed a grant for a record amount of 1.31 billion rubles with the Russian Quantum Center (RKC). For two years it seemed that the tandem worked together, but in 2015 Skolkovo froze grant payments.
Why the work of the largest resident ceased to suit Skolkovo, whether an independent scientific center can exist in Russia, and how researchers can make money on their research, Lenta.ru learned from Ruslan Yunusov, General Director of the Russian Quantum Center.
Why did Skolkovo freeze payments?
The Foundation insists that we join Skoltech (Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology - approx. "Tapes.ru"). But we are afraid that this will reduce the efficiency of our work. In the event of a transition, we will lose our administrative structure, which was built with such great difficulty. Skoltech has a common structure for several research centers, that is, it will not be able to respond so quickly and flexibly to the requests of scientists, which means that researchers will lose motivation to work.
Today there is an impression that Skolkovo and Skoltech are developing more slowly than planned. Three years ago, Skoltech launched a competition to create 15 world-class research centers with the active involvement of Western scientists. Despite the selected winners, large-scale activities have not yet been launched. Perhaps this is due to the backlog in the construction of infrastructure. Perhaps - with organizational issues related to the hiring of foreign scientists on a permanent basis. However, in our context, the result is not yet fully debugged internal processes and, accordingly, the unwillingness to accept an already really working structure.
At the same time, the infrastructure was established in the RCC at about the same time, research work was launched, and the first commercial projects - start-ups - were formed.
Integration with Skoltech was in the initial conditions for receiving a grant?
No, according to the original agreement, Skolkovo only required co-financing to receive a grant. That is, residents must find a portion, usually about a third of the funds, in non-state sources, usually from commercial companies, to show the industry's interest in their research and development.
Initially, we participated in the Skolkovo project as a resident - we received working space and access to infrastructure. In 2012, the RCC signed a grant agreement with the fund for 5 years, according to which the total amount of funding should be 1.31 billion rubles, including 850 million rubles from Skolkovo. The condition for the annual receipt of the Fund's funds was to find appropriate co-financing for approximately half of this amount - 460 million rubles for the entire period.
Last year, uncertainty appeared in relations with Skolkovo, and the annual grant was obtained with great difficulty. In 2015, we have not yet received part of the grant from Skolkovo, although we have already attracted co-financing. The private partner turned out to be more reliable than Skolkovo. Moreover, the amount received from Gazprombank is the largest investment in Russia by a private corporation in a scientific organization over the past ten years - 230 million rubles!
In some objective parameters can you express your achievements?
In a year and a half, we built five of our own laboratories "from scratch", three more - together with partners, and created 10 scientific groups headed by leading physicists. 12 projects have been prepared, which are now on different stages technological readiness, 5 of them have already been launched as startups, for two of which we expect an engineering sample next year.
In 2.5 years, we have written more than 100 articles in leading scientific journals, including one in Science, 5 in the Nature group, 12 in Physical Review Letters. Compared to Russian research institutes, our impact factor per scientist is 2-6 times higher, and we are only 20 percent behind the Barcelona and Singapore quantum centers. We are more at their level than at the Russian level.
However, neither successful co-financing nor scientific progress has so far allowed us to receive a grant for this year. Although investments from the bank so far cover our current needs, they will not be able to ensure our existence in the long term.
How realistic is it to repeat the experience of receiving co-investment from a private structure?
The easiest way to find funding is among people who understand what you do, and among leaders Russian companies a lot of people have physical education. They can also be people associated with information technology, they usually follow the topic of quantum computing and data protection, they understand what impact they can have on the industry.
From the outside, one might get the impression that our history of large co-financing is accidental. But we are actively working with entrepreneurs and the industry to convince them to invest in us, as our research will lead to the creation of custom and enterprise products. For example, our research will launch a project for Gazprombank to create a secure communication channel.
Formally, for its investment, Gazprombank received a share of 25 to 50 percent in all RCC projects for the production of final products. However, the investments received are not just a payment for a service, but also a form of social responsibility. Thus, the company helps to organize scientific work in Russia in the advanced field of physics and involves researchers in the international community.
Companies need to make a profit, why should they pay for scientific research?
All major companies have their own research laboratories: Google, IBM, Microsoft. Investing in science is a way for companies to get up-to-date information about the state of science in their field of activity.
A good example is the purchase of the D-Wave quantum computer by Google. Although the capabilities of this device are still very limited, the American corporation will be able to keep abreast of it so as not to miss a new technological breakthrough. As experience shows, recreating a technology from scratch requires an order of magnitude more resources than the results of regular research.
Initially, you were going to be funded by a trust fund set up with donations. Why didn't it work?
So far, no one in Russia has managed to raise a full-fledged endowment (a trust fund, usually collected from private donations) for research, although the situation is now better than it was, say, ten years ago. More and more people understand that it is necessary to invest in the future, set long-term goals and support "long" projects. I would like to hope that after some time the existence of an independent research organization in our country will become real.
What other sources of funding can research centers have?
In science, now there is an opportunity to earn money - funding for this area has improved dramatically. For example, our experience of working with NSU (Novosibirsk State University) showed that the average salary of employees in research institutes of the local Akademgorodok is about 70 thousand rubles, and this is a very good figure for the region.
Now the project approach is becoming more pronounced - grants and orders from the economy imply the achievement of specific goals. Of course, the biggest player in this area is the military-industrial complex (MIC), which lends money, for example, through the Advanced Research Foundation (FPI), with which we work. More and more grants are available from the Ministry of Education, the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) and other foundations.
For example, we won a grant of 75 million rubles from the Russian Science Foundation, found an external co-investor interested in the product being developed, and set up a new laboratory with this money.
It seems to me that the reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences was not in vain. Many institutions were created for specific tasks that were solved long ago, but the institutions remained. Scientists in them can do their job perfectly, but the topics are outdated by some thirty years!
Venture funding is another way to attract money to science, although this applies mainly to applied disciplines. As I said above, we have 12 technological projects at different stages of completion. We plan to bring some of them to commercial use in the next 2-3 years. For example, we are making a secure communication system for Gazprombank. The financial organization is going to use the device directly in their work.
But this approach is good for applied research, but what about fundamental research, the value of which is not immediately obvious?
In order not to miss promising areas of research, we have formed an advisory board of international scientists. They do not receive money for participating in it and are responsible for the results with their reputation. This adds objectivity to the process. In return, they receive ample opportunities to attract students to work together, which ensures the international integration of scientists.
Again, the project approach to work is important. It seems to me that at the age of 80, academicians no longer want to take on tasks that they may not see realized. In the West, it is considered normal practice when, upon reaching a certain age, professors retire from management and carry out advisory functions. This is true for institutions and corporations alike.
For our country, the problem of age in science is one of the priorities. We now need courage in science, we need enthusiasts. For example, Alexey Zheltikov, scientific director of the RCC, is 50 years old. I know 60-year-old academicians and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences who would make good leaders of research institutes. In any case, not only motivation is important, but also the energy, the forces that the employee is ready to put into achieving goals.
The situation is complicated by the fact that we have a bad management staff. A successful scientist is not always a good manager. In institutes and universities, it is customary for the administrative leadership to simultaneously engage in science and teach. But then, due to lack of focus and lack of time, business processes begin to suffer.
In the RCC, the administrative team is the support staff, that is, it performs a supporting function. Her task is to create a comfortable environment for creativity. In Russia, it was difficult to create such a team, it was necessary to collect everyone “one by one”, especially in the project office, where specialists are needed not only with a physical education, but also with experience in the industry. For example, I graduated from the physics department of Moscow State University and have a second economic education.
How does the crisis affect the work of scientific centers?
Now the crisis and sanctions complicate international scientific cooperation. For example, foreign scientists are less willing to attend our conference on quantum technologies. There is a possibility that this year there will be no Nobel laureates, although at the previous two we had speakers of this level.
But the crisis has clearly shown that not all technologies can be bought. It turns out now it is impossible to order construction abroad modern factory or a drilling rig, pay money, and then come, cut the ribbon and quietly exploit. There is now a recognized need for own technologies. And this is not only engineering efforts, but also a powerful layer of scientific research. For us, the main thing is to use this window of opportunity in the next 3-5 years.
In the process of turning research into development, there is a problem of interaction: scientists and industry speak different languages. Because of this, scientific results, patents created at institutes and universities are not of interest to corporations, and technology transfer does not actually occur. There is a great potential for development here, since on the one hand, Russia has managed to maintain a huge intellectual potential, and on the other hand, the economy now has a great demand for development.
To resolve this issue, it is necessary to teach researchers and corporations to speak the same language or find intermediaries who will conduct the so-called technology brokering. We need more platforms where scientists and business will intersect - these are technological valleys, and clusters, and various targeted federal development programs, and joint conferences. In general, this is the development of an innovation ecosystem in the country.
For our part, we will hold a business day within the framework of the international conference, where we will consider the problem of the gap between science and industry, and discuss how to solve it.
If you project person, then someday you will leave the RCC. Under what conditions and what will you do?
The P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has become a new partner of the Russian Quantum Center. Today, a memorandum on cooperation in the field of science, technology and education was signed between the largest research center in Russia - the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Quantum Center, funded by Skolkovo.
FIAN will serve as a personnel base for the RCC: it is planned that several leading scientists in the field of quantum technologies of FIAN will become employees of the RCC. In turn, for FIAN, such cooperation will allow integrating the developments of domestic fundamental science into the international field and will enable the best graduates of one of the country's leading technical centers to carry out continuous research activities. In the near future, a decision will be made to establish a joint laboratory between FIAN and RCC.
The main goals of cooperation between the parties are the joint implementation of scientific projects in the field of quantum technologies and the training of highly qualified Russian specialists. First of all, FIAN and RCC will jointly carry out exploratory research and development in the field of quantum technologies, namely, in quantum optics, quantum information processing and quantum design; research in the field of using quantum properties to develop various devices and devices.
The Russian Quantum Center (http://icqt.org/) is already collaborating with Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov, St. Petersburg state university, Academic University, Russian State Technological University. K.E. Tsiolkovsky and Novosibirsk State University.
Gennady Mesyats, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Director of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR and the Russian Federation: “The Russian Quantum Center is a very promising and significant project of fundamental science for our country. As for the P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, RCC is a new breath for it.”
Sergey Belousov, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Russian Quantum Center, Senior Partner of the Runa Capital venture fund: “We hope that FIAN scientists will make a significant contribution to the development scientific directions Russian Quantum Center. This memorandum will strengthen our cooperation, in the near future joint laboratories of the RCC and FIAN will be created. The emergence of the RCC is a factor that keeps the best young scientists in our country and gives them a unique opportunity to continue world-class research while staying in Russia. I am sure that the RCC will give new life and the oldest international institution in our country”.
Reference Information:
Russian Quantum Center
The world's leading scientists have joined forces to make Russia one of the world's leaders in the field of quantum technologies and to restore our country's status as a world scientific and technical power. For this, the Russian Quantum Center is being created - a new outpost in the development of quantum frontiers by leading domestic and foreign scientists. RCC's partnership with the world's leading institutions and companies will create the necessary conditions for the integration of Russian and international scientific communities, will allow educating a new generation of scientists in a combination of the glorious scientific traditions of Russia with the realities of modern science. To date, the Advisory and Board of Trustees of the RCC includes Nobel laureates
Wolfgang Ketterle (Director of the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms) and David Gross (discoverer of asymptotic freedom in the theory of strong interactions). The members of the advisory board of the RCC are such world-famous physicists as Mikhail Lukin (co-director of the Harvard-MIT Center for Ultracold Atoms), Tommaso Calarco (Professor at the University of Ulm, coordinator European projects on quantum information), Alexei Kitaev (professor at the California Institute of Technology, inventor of the topological quantum computer), John Doyle (director of the Center for Quantum Optics at Harvard University), Arthur Eckert (director of the Center for Quantum Technologies in Singapore), etc.
The result of RCC activities will be secure data transmission networks, new materials with desired properties, submicron optical transistors and high-frequency optical electronics, new systems for ultrasensitive brain tomography, compact and accurate clocks for navigation systems. http://icqt.org/
FIAN
The P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN) is one of the largest and oldest research centers in Russia. His scientific topics cover almost all major areas of physics. As a modern polyphysical institute, it was founded by the outstanding optical physicist and organizer of science Academician S.I. Vavilov in 1934. research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Contacts:
Russian Quantum Center
Drokova Maria
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The Russian Quantum Center (RKC) is an organization that actively promotes quantum developments. The fundamental principles of quantum science are an integral part of reality, and their widespread use is far from uncommon - cellular communications, the operation of solar cells, semiconductor optoelectronics - all this "works" on quantum principles. It is quantum phenomena that create the rapidly developing world of nanotechnology, but not only it. Scientists and developers from the Russian Quantum Center gathered to talk about this at the International Conference on Quantum Technologies taking place these days in the Ukraine Hotel. According to the organizers, this is the world's largest quantum forum.
Quantum technologies today are a rapidly developing area of interaction between science and technology. Quantum cryptography is becoming a practical tool for banks and large companies - today the question is no longer whether it works or not, but how long the communication line served by this technology can be. The photo shows two spools of fiber optic wire, representing lines 50 km and 25 km long (foreground). Lines with a length of 25-30 km are already working confidently today, but work on a line with a length of 50 km is the immediate technical task of the developers.
The technical embodiments of quantum ideas today are distinguished by unconditional novelty - researchers are traversing the complex quantum relief of reality, choosing for this special devices and tools. One of the areas in which quantum stalkers are actively moving forward is the field of sensor technology. Vladimir Belotelov, Head of the Magneto-Optics, Plasmonics and Nanophotonics Group of the RCC, spoke about the new sensors:
The lack of communication between scientists and industrial structures is an acute problem, which was noted by almost all speakers at the opening of the conference. The representative of the Ministry of Education and Science, Deputy Minister Sergei Salikhov, answered a number of pressing questions, in particular regarding the assessment of the scientists themselves:
The structure of the RCC is relatively new and independent. I talked about the difficulties of growing and establishing the Ecolife structure with the director of the quantum center - Ruslan Yunusov:
Good afternoon, Ruslan! Scientists work in the quantum center, but what about practical applications? -
It was hard for scientists to reorient themselves to technological applications, because the language is slightly different, the worldview is different. And in this sense, we actively helped them. We have a special project office that helps to make start-ups from the idea, let's say.
It seems that this is the task of Skolkovo - to make startups out of ideas?
We are geographically located in Skolkovo, and we received a grant from Skolkovo. But we ourselves are an independent center. Yes, in a sense, the ideology is similar. But the devil is always in the details and in the implementation of such ideas.
That is, you have chosen your own way of implementation - from an idea to a device? What did you encounter?
It turned out quite a lot of problems, so unexpected, in different planes. For example, the problem is that if you have an independent center, then there is a problem with the Ministry of Education and Science - automatically they do not have direct funding mechanisms, and other government agencies have the same thing! Most institutes - research institutes of the Academy of Sciences live on the concept of state orders, basic funding, because the system is built that way.
Because they are under the jurisdiction of FASO?
Yes, some are FASO, others are the university line, etc. Practically everywhere there are already proven mechanisms. And for such a new center as ours, there are no basic mechanisms. You have to spin quite actively and it's hard work.
How do you get out of the situation, how do you solve the financial problem?
We started with a Skolkovo grant, then we are actively looking for co-investors, patrons, etc. We started winning scientific grants. But the situation is not easy. For example, last year, when we won a fairly large grant from the Russian Science Foundation for 75 million, we were the only non-state structure, the only LLC that received a grant from the Russian Science Foundation. This means that all the same, the mechanisms are still slowly found, although it is difficult to go through them for the first time. Now we have a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, we have a grant from the Russian Science Foundation.
Are there, perhaps, analogues of your work? Take, for example, the Skolkovo Foundation…
Still, the Skolkovo Foundation itself should not conduct research or development, it should stimulate, issue grants, support in another way. Therefore, comparing us with the Skolkovo Foundation would be completely wrong, incorrect. They have other tasks, global tasks. If we talk about the format, we may be somewhere closer to the institutions within Skoltech. The six centers that were launched at Skoltech are a kind of similar format.
There are some estimates that the Skolkovo Foundation is greatly hindered by bureaucracy. What are your problems? What are you fighting right now? Which project is close to being released, and what is stopping it?
It is still wrong to talk about what is close to the exit. It can be said that venture financing is actively developing in the country now.
But it has been developing for 10 years already. Are you satisfied with venture logic?
Yes. In the first 10 years, the process does not stand still, there is indeed a dynamic. Venture money can be found. But our developments are not a venture stage. This is the pre-venture stage.
Venture logic is understandable and it suits us, but this is a little bit not about us. In the early stages… We are too early for venture funds. This is where business angels should be, pre-venture, seed funds, etc. Such funds that invest at these stages, this area is less developed now. It's not talked about much, but VCs usually want to look at the finished product, and only then start helping to promote it on the market.
Still, which side are you going from - starting from global scientific problems or from the presence of local technical niches for your developments?
On the one hand, we really do have some focus on such global tasks like a quantum computer, and here the state helps us through various kinds of grants. And if we are talking about startups, then just one global view is not enough to launch a project in the form of a startup. We must understand what specific product we are making and what its niche in the market is. If there is no understanding of the product and the market, then the project will not be launched. Maybe it has very interesting research results, but we will not launch it as a commercial project within ourselves.
How many iterations do you spend in order to launch the project?
Here the question is not entirely correct, because all these things are an internal process. In this sense, iterations are not always clear. That is, people from the project office and scientists sit down together, sit down together, write an investment memorandum for someone outside. How many iterations have passed inside? No one knows.
When are teams formalized?
When they receive funding, at that moment there is a clear allocation, that is, a clear business plan, binding to someone in a place, mail spawns, that is, everything is as it should be. For example, quantum cryptography, it split off from the quantum option group. It exists as a separate project with a separate leader.
Are they localized in Skolkovo?
Yes, but not in that Skolkovo. There is always confusion. We all sit together, 7 out of 10 laboratories, the main center is in Skolkovo. This is a Moscow school, subordinated. And that innovation center Skolkovo, about which everyone is talking, we have not yet moved there, because neither a technopark nor laboratories have yet been built there. Technopark moved, but moved to an office building. And the main technopark is under construction, I see that the roof has already been erected there. Maybe by the end of the year, maybe at the beginning of next.
Today we talked about information elevators or connections, about problems in information interaction. Do you celebrate that you lack interaction, understanding of some kind with the industry or with those people who could become investors?
I am a supporter of the fact that one should not expect that someone will come. We do not take a reactive, but an active position. We ourselves go, we look who can be there on the market. Who might be interested. We go and tell ourselves. Without this, nowhere at all, in our current state, in which the country is, these things are being formed and we are engaged in the formation of the atmosphere and everything else. Yes, we are small, but we believe that we are making a passive contribution to this. Well, people just don't come.
Any experience of successful negotiations?
We spoke with Gazprombank, for example, we are going to do quantum cryptography for them. And on sensors, we are doing one of the projects together with the Bakulev Cardio Center - about it in. We find and look for partners.
Thanks Ruslan! We wish you and RCC success!