Translation. Region: Russian Federation –
Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
A press conference was held at the TASS press center in St. Petersburg to mark Russian Science Day and to highlight cutting-edge research from the city's leading engineering schools and support for scientists.
The press conference was attended by: Vladimir Knyaginin, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg; Andrey Rudskoy, Vice-President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Branch of the RAS, and Rector of SPbPU; Vadim Popkov, Head of the Laboratory of Materials and Processes for Hydrogen Energy at the A.F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, laureate of the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation; Pavel Novikov, Director of the Scientific and Educational Center for Mechanical Engineering Technologies and Materials at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering, Materials, and Transport at SPbPU; and Igor Furtat, Head of the Laboratory of Adaptive and Intelligent Control of Network and Distributed Systems at the Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
At the beginning of the event, Russian Minister of Science and Higher Education Valery Falkov addressed the press center guests via video link. He reminded everyone that the press conference was part of a joint project between the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the TASS news agency dedicated to Russian Science Day, and congratulated everyone on the upcoming holiday.
Vladimir Knyaginin began his speech by congratulating scientists and everyone involved in science.
"Twenty percent of the active workforce either works in science or studies at universities. Statistics show that 72,000 people are employed in the R&D sector, and its impact on the city's economy is enormous. We celebrate with everyone; for us, this is an opportunity to once again thank those who do complex, intellectually challenging, and important work," Vladimir Nikolaevich noted.
The Deputy Governor recalled that the Priority 2030 and Advanced Engineering Schools programs were reorganized in 2025, with the importance of industry ties increased. Vladimir Knyaginin also discussed the city government's support for scientific institutions and scientists, the progress of projects to create technology valleys, including the Polytech Technopolis, and cooperation with the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
This theme was further explored in his speech by Andrey Rudskoy, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He shared the results of the work of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which will celebrate its third anniversary in May 2026. He emphasized that the branch's relationship with the city and Leningrad Oblast governments has shifted from sporadic expert review to a systemic partnership and joint work on strategic documents and events. Cooperation agreements have been signed with the city and regional chambers of commerce and industry, and the integration of science and business is underway.
Our work is based on an interdisciplinary, fundamental approach. We have become the main intellectual headquarters not only of St. Petersburg but also of the Northwest. One of our goals is to expand the scientific community; today, we have 185 members of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the second-largest number among the departments," Andrei Ivanovich emphasized.
Andrey Rudskoy also congratulated the city's scientists on their professional holiday and specifically highlighted the outstanding developments of St. Petersburg's academic institutes. Vadim Popkov, Head of the Laboratory of Materials and Processes for Hydrogen Energy at the A.F. Ioffe Physical-Technical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and laureate of the Russian Presidential Prize, spoke about one of these developments—the creation of hydrogen fueling stations.
Pavel Novikov, Director of the Scientific and Educational Center for Mechanical Engineering Technologies and Materials at the Institute of Mechanical Engineering and Technology SPbPU, presented a multidisciplinary research project on the manufacture of hot gas path components for gas turbine engines for gas pumping units at a press conference.
"The Russian Federation has the largest gas transportation infrastructure in the world, so it's crucial to ensure import independence in this area," the scientist explained. "Together with Gazprom, we are developing and implementing technologies and products, such as nozzle assemblies and fuel injectors, into gas compressor units that deliver gas to various parts of our country and abroad. The multidisciplinary nature of our work means that, together with other institutes, we implement an end-to-end production and implementation cycle, from product design, the creation of new materials and equipment, to the manufacture of finished products. In other words, we are a fully-fledged, knowledge-intensive manufacturing company."
Pavel Novikov elaborated on the production of technologically advanced components, namely rotor blades: "We're taking a comprehensive approach to this issue, developing equipment, materials, and products. We've already produced prototypes, and they're currently undergoing testing. Thanks to our university's full-cycle equipment, from material synthesis to finished product synthesis, we're solving this problem quite effectively. Rotor blades are the quintessential component of gas turbine engine design, and they have the greatest impact on their efficiency and performance. We're implementing this project with support from the Priority 2030 program, using our own funds and those of our industrial partners—in other words, with the support of the real economy."
Igor Furtat, head of the Adaptive and Intelligent Control of Network and Distributed Systems laboratory at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute for Problems in Mechanical Engineering, also spoke at the TASS press center about projects.
At the end of the press conference, the guests answered questions from the audience.
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