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Research and Study at PSU: Top 10 University Achievements in 2022

On 8 February, Perm State University celebrated the Day of Russian Science, recognizing the contribution of its scholars on the national and international scale in 2022:

1. PSU chemists have discovered a new substance that will help in the fight against tuberculosis.

PSU scientists have been developing a new type of antibiotic based on erogorgiaen, isolated from the sea coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. Not only it will allow the cells enter a persistent state of the drug, acquiring to its tolerance, but also reduce the recurrence of the disease.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria, which generally affects the lungs. In 2020, an estimated 10 million people developed active TB, resulting in 1.5 million deaths, making it the second leading cause of death from an infectious disease after COVID-19.

2. The “Photonics” NTI Competence Center at PSU has developed a new method for preventing emergency shutdowns of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

Commonly known as a drone, UAV is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew or passengers on board, involving a ground-based controller and a communication systems. Originally developed for military missions, UAVs are widely used in scientific research, agriculture, logistics, policing and hi-tech sports.  

PSU scholars urged to eliminate the possibility of a UAV system failure due to a sudden change in temperature. The results of the research, detecting the problem failure and improving the fiber-optic elements in UAV gyroscopes have been published in the Applied Sciences Journal.

3. The “Photonics” NTI Competence Center at PSU will help improve the safety of nuclear power plants

PSU scholars from the “Photonics” NTI Competence Center are developing new types of optical fibers resistant to radiation and other aggressive environments applicable in mines, nuclear power plants, as well as spacecraft and Earth orbit satellites. New fibers will speed up data transfer and reduce system response time in case of emergency situations.

4. PSU Professor in law becomes co-developer of CIS agreement on Internet copyright

Professor Anton Matveev, Department of Civil Law, PSU, joined the international lawyers group working on the Agreement allowing CIS member states to protect copyright and related rights on the Internet, establish common approaches to solving problems alike, including updates of national legislation.

The Agreement on Cooperation between the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), regarding copyright and processing information, including telecommunication networks was signed at a meeting of the Council of CIS State Leaders in November, 2021.

5. PSU expert in Adventure Travels crossed Chukotka, ascended the highest peak of the peninsula.

Andrey Korolev, Associate Professor of the Department of Tourism, PSU joined the “Pole of Inaccessibility” team comprising University alumni, in their ski expedition to Chukotka. The adventure travelers crossed the peninsula from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean, for the first time ever.

The route was dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the expedition of Baron Ferdinand von Wrangel (1796-1870), an explorer of the northeastern coast of the Arctic. For 25 walking days, the team traveled about 600km (373mi), covering the distance of 30km (16,5mi) daily, with an equipment of 50kg (110lb).

6. PSU Scholar discovered a rare species of mosquito in the Vishera Nature Reserve.

Andrey Krasheninnikov, Associate Professor of the Department of Invertebrate Zoology and Aquatic Ecology, PSU, discovered a unique species of mosquito in the territory of the Vishhersky Nature Reserve. The official name of the insect is Chaetocladius (Chaetocladius) crassisaetosus.

The Chironomidae family of mosquitoes (known as chironomids, nonbiting midges, or lake flies) comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. The name Chironomidae stems from the Ancient Greek word kheironómos, “a pantomimist”, due to characteristic behavior of the mosquito.

7. The technology for groundwater purification is developed by PSU scholars.

The Laboratory of Geology of Technogenic Processes, Natural Science Institute, PSU, in partnership with the Laboratory for Non-Destructive Testing developed a technology and a new bio product for cleaning groundwaters polluted with oil-affected elements.

The new technology is meant for those cases when concentration of pollution does not allow the use of traditional mechanical means of collection, as an alternative to pumping, bioreactors use or chemical reactions. It significantly reduces costs and efforts, and does not harm the environment. The technology has been patented and is ready for practical use.

8. Perm State Art Gallery to receive digital copies of its collection, provided by PSU scholars.

The team of the Center for Digital Humanities at PSU have been creating digital copies of wooden sculpture, typical of local Christian Orthodox believers, preserved at Perm State Art Gallery. The project contributes to 300 Perm City Anniversary.

Digital humanities (DH) is an area of scholarly activity at the junction of digital technologies serving as a an advanced system storage and analysis of humanities’ data, as well as their application. The Center for Digital Humanities had been established at PSU in 2016.

9. PSU geneticists explained the failures and successes of combatants in sports.

Research team led by Svetlana Boronnikova, Head of the Department of Botany and Plant Genetics, Faculty of Biology, PSU, identified genotypes and their influence upon people involved in a-cyclic sports, like martial arts, explaining estimating their failures and successes, publishing the survey results in the Genes Journal.

The results by PSU geneticists might be useful at estimating young athletes’ physical capacity – right at the stage of planning their career in sports. The scientists will help predict the body’s ‘durability’ to specific loads, allowing parents and their children to choose among types of most suited sports.

10. PSU geologists keep studying vertebrates of the Permian period in the south of the Perm Territory.

Geologist Galina Ponomareva and geochemist Ivan Khopta, accompanied by scholars from the Paleontological Institute of Russian Academy of Sciences and Lomonosov Moscow State University have been researching the age of the Kueda-Klyuchiki section, in the south of Perm Territory. The team did not come to a unified conclusion, yet managed to identify its unique features.

The Permian is a geologic period and stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years from the end of the Carboniferous Period 298.9 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.9 Mya. Permian marine deposits are rich in fossil mollusks, echinoderms, and brachiopods; terrestrial life included diverse plants, fungi, arthropods, and various types of tetrapods. Overall, Permian period served a vast variety of pre-historic species, including temnospondyli, lepospondyli and batrachosaurs.

Perm State University expresses words of sincere gratitude to its scholars, partners and research fellows for hard work, bold strive for experiment and exciting original projects – with wishes to continue further and achieve bigger impacts!

PSU to Renew Links with Indian Partners

Mr. Vadim Gataulin, head of the Department of International Relations at Perm State University (PSU) took part in the Executive Council Forum 2022 at Woxsen University (Hyderabad, India).

The Forum, titled “Defining Purpose in HighEd: From India to the World” took place on 20-21 December, 2022, uniting international partner universities, along with Indian corporate and government bodies.  

The Forum united experts and practicing professionals in higher education from Brazil, the UAE, the USA and Thailand. Perm State University (PSU) and the Institute of Business and Business Administration at the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration under the President of the Russian Federation (RANEPA) represented Russia.

The objective of the event was to pen down the immediate future steps in higher education ensuring a sustainable growth for all learners. The expected outcome became a joint call to action in the form of manifesto ensuring a set of outcome-driven guidelines that centralize the ground activities.

The Forum topics covered the future of lifelong education, as well as needs of learners in the nearest decade; the introduction of climate change topic into the classroom; the implementation of the knowledge learnt; entrepreneurship in education; digitalization; the relations of industry and academia.

“Our interest in India is driven by the fact it is both a promising market for the export of educational services, and a potential source for joint research,” says Vadim Gataulin, Head of the International Relations Department, PSU. “Woxsen University is a young and ambitious private university striving to reach top positions in the national rankings. The live communication with a new partner allows to better comprehend and take into account mutual interests, estimating the capacities of both parties.”

To remind, a memorandum of understanding and an academic agreement between PSU and Woxsen University were signed in January, 2022, followed by a supplement regulating the start of a center of excellence for the digital economy and blockchain technologies. In addition to the existing interaction in economic sciences, PSU has found mutual interest with Woxsen University School of Art and Design, with one of the students of the Faculty of Philosophy and Sociology, PSU, taking a study course there in 2022.   

Cooperation with India will also be performed by the Center for East Asian Studies, founded at the Faculty of Philology, PSU in January, 2023. The main goal of the Center is the development of East Asian studies in the field of linguistics, literary criticism and cultural studies, as well as teaching and providing  training, contributing to the overall research, study and personal progress of the students.  

For reference:

Woxsen University is a State Private University located in the state of Telangana, India. Established as Woxsen School of Business in 2014, today it is one of the leading educational institutes in India, spanning over 200-acre residential campus. The University consists of the School of Business, the School of Technology, the School of Art & Design, the School of Liberal Arts and Humanities, and the School of Architecture and Planning.

Hyderabad is the fourth-most populous city in India with a population of 6.9 million residents within the city limits, and has a population of 9.7 million residents in the metropolitan region, making it the sixth-most populous metropolitan area in India. With an output of US$74 billion, Hyderabad has the fifth-largest urban economy in India.

Center for East Asian Studies Launches at PSU

The PSU Academic Council has made a decision to launch a Center for East Asian Studies, as a part of the Faculty of Philology, PSU. The Center will be led by Dr. Boris Kondakov, a known researcher of Chinese literature and culture, and a Professor at Perm State University.

The Center will perform research in linguistics, literary criticism and cultural studies of East Asian region,  as a part of the Faculty of Philology; it will also run educational activity in those fields. The Center staff, who come from the Department of Theoretical and Applied Linguistics, and the Department of Russian Literature, PSU, have been already teaching Chinese and Japanese languages, and Eastern Oriental literature and culture. The Center plans to employ post-graduate students from Japan and China studying in Perm, as well as promote cooperation with Chinese and related Russian universities.

“The Center will focus primarily on the study of Chinese and Japanese languages, culture and literature. There will be several new master’s programs in Philology and Pedagogical Education. For masters’ we will also offer several programs which incorporate studying Chinese. This year, we are planning to open admissions for the new program “Chinese and Japanese Languages” within the core course in Linguistics. We are also about to obtain a license for running the “Oriental and African Studies” program, shares Dr. Boris Kondakov, Head of the Center for East Asian Studies.

The Center will continue teaching two popular bachelors’ programs in Pedagogical Education – “Russian as a Foreign Language and Chinese language” (available for Russian and other students in Russian), and “Management in Education” (for Chinese students in English). Preparations for the master’s program “Pedagogical Education”, implemented with universities from Anhui and Shandong provinces (China), are also being made.

A series of meetings and workshops by teachers and partners of the Center addressing both applicants and students from PSU and other universities, will start in February, 2023.

Vietnamese Scholar Upgrades as Candidate of Sciences, Led by PSU Adviser

Duong Thi Phuong Chi, PhD student at the Faculty of Philology, Perm State University (PSU) has successfully defended her PhD (Candidate of Sciences) thesis. The defense took place at Ural Federal University (UrFU) at the end of 2022.  

Five years ago, Duong Thi Phuong Chi came to Perm from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where she taught at the Library and Information Department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City. In 2018, she entered the graduate school led by Professor Vladimir Abashev, Head of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, PSU.

“Out of recommended universities from a dozen popular cities of Russia, I chose Perm State. What attracted me most was a post graduate course in Mass Media and Library Informational Science. The English version of PSU website also appeared an important factor – there I studied in detail the structure of admission and study plan. So, I thought it was a good university,” said Duong Thi Phuong Chi.

Drawing the example of academic libraries in Ho Chi Minh City, the scholar analyzed the libraries’ huge identity crisis, and proposed a strategy for solution, based on modern media communications. According to Duong Thi Phuong Chi, there are three key tools for a university library to win the Internet era race:

“Firstly, it is a complete digitalization of all library collections and their flexible division into thematic collections. Secondly, the library has to be included into international information exchange network – allowing researcher or student to access the necessary databases, at any time. Thirdly, it is a creative dialogue with users based on social networks. So, the library is no more a bookshelf, but rather a smart hub of information flows.”

PSU Philologists Discuss Language of Modern Science

The Faculty of Philology at Perm State University (PSU) has hosted for the 2nd All-Russian Scientific Conference “Language of Modern Science: Cross-Disciplinary Aspect” as part of the university-wide forum “Innovations and Technologies in Cross-Disciplinary Applications”. The Conference had been initiated and organized by the Department of Russian Language and Stylistics, PSU.

The Conference regarded the issues of expression and dissemination of scientific knowledge in the 21st century. Scholars from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Tyumen and Perm took part in the discussion, providing 14 reports in Russian and 7 reports in English within two days of the event.  

Maria Kotyurova, head of Perm Scientific School of Functional Stylistics, professor at PSU, spoke about the grounds for differentiating the stylistics of an academic text and speech science; Nadezhda Ryabtseva, Head of the Sector of Applied Linguistics at the Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences drew attention to the problem of translating scientific terms under the predominant position of English language in academic communication.

Cross-cultural differences in scientific speech have been discussed by Professor Nina Romanova from the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Professor Vera Tabanakova from Tyumen State University and Professor Lyudmila Kushnina from Perm National Research Polytechnic University.

In a number of reports, special attention was paid to assessment of scholars’ activity. Professor Valeria Chernyavskaya from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Professor Sergey Nefedov from Saint Petersburg State University and Associate Professor Natalya Solovieva from PSU shared their vision of the problem. Reports by Professor Sergei Grichin from Novosibirsk State Technical University, Professor Vladimir Medvedev from Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Professor Maria Shirinkina from PSU,  and Professor Natalia Kolesnikova from Novosibirsk State Technical University proved the cross-disciplinary study of the semantic structure of a modern scientific text to remain an urgent task in linguistics.

The Conference materials will be published in the “Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems” series by Springer, indexed in Scopus and be available electronically.

As Professor Elena Bazhenova, Chairman of the Conference Organizing Committee, Department of Russian Language and Stylistics, PSU has stated,

“the success of the annual Conference on the language of science comes from the fact it brings together researchers working in close areas of linguistics, beyond the functional stylistic direction. The problems associated with the study of various aspects of modern scientific communication help to meet like-minded experts, as well as identify the range of questions for further research.”

Mathematicians Discuss Future of Global Artificial Intellect

In October, 2022, the 8th All-Russian Scientific and Practical Conference “Artificial Intelligence at Solving Actual Social and Economic Problems of the 21st Century” united scholars from Perm, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Donetsk and Volgograd.

Alexander Losev, Head of the Institute of Mathematics and Information Technologies , Volgograd State University , analyzed the experience of using artificial intelligence in medical diagnostics. Lev Vorobyov, post-graduate student of Donetsk National Technical University, shared his ideas and plans of  solving the related tasks in linguistics.

Aleksey Mezentsev, lecturer at the Department of Information Security and Communication Systems, PSU, accompanied by Alexandra Silina, lecturer at Perm College of Industrial and Information Technologies regarded previously unknown properties of neural networks to assign regulations of technological parameters within production processes – ensuring minimal negative defects and maximum quality of manufactured products.

Andrey Kuznetsov, Dean of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics, PSU, provided a report on efficient introduction of artificial intelligence technologies and its prospects.

Andrei Rabchevsky, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Information Security and Communication Systems, PSU, revealed the capabilities of neural network when compared to the brain, while Yuri Lipin, Associate Professor at Perm National Research Polytechnic University proved those tasks incorporating image recognition might be quite successfully solved without the use of neural networks. The Conference participants also discussed the opportunities of using diagnostic neural networks in engine building, subsoil use and medicine.

The advanced research in artificial intelligence by Perm scientists has been praised by Vadim Borisov, President of the Russian Association of Artificial Intelligence, Professor of the Department of Management and Intelligent Technologies at National Research University “Moscow Power Engineering Institute”. According to Vadim Borisov, PSU scholars have been among the first ones to apply artificial intelligence methods in industry, economics, medicine, sociology, political science, forensics and sports.

The collection of conference materials is available here.

Scholars Discuss Challenges Faced by Geographical Sciences

In October, 2022, the Department of Geography of Perm State University (PSU) held a round table “Modern Research in Geographic Systems” as part of the “Science and Global Challenges in the 21st Century” university-wide Forum. The Conference was organized by the Department of Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology, PSU.

The Conference participants included university professors and staff from large Russian companies, with reports presented by teams of researchers from Perm, Saratov, Kirov and Moscow. The distinctive feature of the research activity had been its inter-disciplinary character, as the teams included mathematicians and philologists besides geographers.

The topics for reports have been urgent global issues requiring joint environmental, hydro-meteorological, and geography-based solutions. Anisya Lyadova, Associate Professor of the Department of Physical Geography and Landscape Ecology, PSU, spoke about the tools and opportunities of preserving and developing the industrial heritage of the Urals. A group of scientists led by Sergey Kostarev, Associate Professor of the Department of Biogeocenology and Nature Conservation, PSU, investigated the case of formation of industrial wastewater discharged into paleokarst deposits.

Tatyana Subbotina, Associate Professor of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography, PSU, along with her colleagues studied extractions of a large urban center with a million-plus population, using the specific example of the city of Perm, Russia.

Evgeny Konyshev, acting Head of the Department of Socio-Economic Geography in a group of PSU scholars and colleagues from Vyatka State University studied the perception of the tourist and recreational space of the territory using text data analysis.

Professor Elena Polyanskaya and her team from the Department of Meteorology and Climatology, Saratov Chernyshevsky State University presented the studies of long-term forecasting of seasonal hydro-meteorological phenomena and the interaction of circulation structures in the northern hemisphere.

Scholars from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics and M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University analyzed the intraday population dynamics in natural and anthropogenic risks studies, using the example of the city of Moscow, Russia.

A total of 10 reports were presented, using the English language. A video recording of the roundtable is available here.

The Conference materials had been double-blind peer-reviewed by international and Russian scholars, and checked for plagiarism according to the required standards, with further results to be published in the “Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems” series by Springer, indexed in Scopus.

PSU Scholars in History Discuss Innovations in Humanities, Joined by Colleagues from Australia 

The Faculty of History and Political Science, PSU, has hosted for an International Symposium “New Concepts and Research Technologies in Interdisciplinary Areas of History and Culture”. The Symposium was held under a wing of the university-wide Forum “Science and Global Challenges in the 21th Century”. The event was organized by the Scientific and Educational Center for Digital Humanities, PSU.

This year, the event took place in both on- and offline format, attended by scholars from Moscow, Kaliningrad, Omsk, Perm and other cities of Russia, as well as international partners.

Professor Paul Arthur from Edith Cowan University (Perth, Australia) presented his report “Open Research in the Humanities” at the plenary session. The Australian scholar spoke about current trends in open science based on open data, including free access to the research process and its outcomes. Professor Arthur mentioned open educational resources, showed trends within the growing amount of digital formats, tools, standards and effective research infrastructure.

As part of the English section regarding new concepts and technologies in interdisciplinary domains of history and culture, Daria Vershinina, Associate Professor at the Department of History and Archeology , PSU, presented reports on women’s agenda in political protests and social portraits of female parliamentaries. Viktor Vakhoneev, Head of the Scientific and Educational Center “Archaeological Research” at Sevastopol State University demoed the opportunities of innovative geophysical technologies used at building geographic information systems of underwater archaeological sites. Anna Kosmovskaya, Associate Professor at the Department of Interdisciplinary Historical Research, PSU, regarded the issue of poll tax debts of local provincial offices across the Kama territory (Urals, Russia) in the 18th century. Alina Ekhlakova, Assistant at the Department of Interdisciplinary Historical Research, PSU, shared the results of her research of the Siberian army image formed in periodical press.

The scholars paid special attention to the problems associated with the use of new technologies and innovations in the humanities, the preservation of historical and cultural heritage in the digital age and the digital transformation of education. Likewise, the report by Professor Oleg Syromyatnikov, Department of Russian Literature, PSU was devoted to fideistics and confessional literary criticism. Mikhail Pereskokov, Director of the “Kama Archaeological Expedition” Research Center, PSU, shared his experience of integrated use of statistical methods and GIS tools-spatial analysis at studying archaeological ceramics. Nadezhda Povroznik, Deputy Dean for Science, Head of the Scientific and Educational Center for Digital Humanities, PSU, spoke about the use of digital cultural heritage in science, education and creative industries.

“Academic communication is the key condition of any successful research. The Symposium raised multiple discussions on the progress of humanitie, and related application of information technologies. This year, the event was held in a hybrid format, which made it possible to combine the advantages of on- and offline interaction, the opportunity of remote participation and the joy of human communication,” admits Nadezhda Povroznik.

The expected result is a collection of papers, published and indexed in the Russian Research Citation Index (RSCI). Those reports presented in English language will be included in the “Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems” series by Springer, indexed in Scopus. For the Symposium reports, please see here.

PSU Biologists Explore Microbiology, Genetics and Biomedicine, Unite Scholars Global Wide

The Faculty of Biology at Perm State University (PSU) has run the 13th International Conference of Biologists “Symbiosis-Russia ’2022” as part of the “Science and Global Challenges in the 21st Century” Inter-University Forum. The Conference united scholars from Afghanistan, Australia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russia, Scotland, Slovenia, USA and Uzbekistan.

In total, the Conference participants presented more than 180 reports in microbiology, biotechnology, biomedicine, genetics, botany, zoology, plant physiology, soil science, ecology and nature management.

Key speakers included:

Other international participants included:

On behalf Perm State University, two PSU scholars spoke in the Springer section – Danila Apushkin, Senior Lecturer of the Department of Pharmacology and Evgenia Akhremenko, a researcher at the Laboratory of Experimental Pharmacology, Faculty of Chemistry, PSU.

“The geography of the Conference participants covered, with no exception, all regions of Russia, and over 45 cities: from Kaliningrad to the Far East, from Arkhangelsk and St. Petersburg to Rostov-on-Don and Pyatigorsk,” says Mikhail Lyamin, Deputy Dean for Research, Faculty of Biology, PSU.

18 reports in English have been presented at the Conference. Meeting the requirements of the publishers and related ethics, the speakers’ papers have been checked for plagiarism, double-blind peer reviewed by foreign and Russian scholars, and, keeping in mind their relevance, original character and impact – recommended for publishing in the “Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems” series at the SpringerLink digital library https://link.springer.com/, and indexed in Scopus https://www.scopus.com/.

PSU Scholars Regard Economics Under Uncertainty, Raise International Discussion

The 2nd International Scientific and Practical Conference GE-2022 “Economics in the Context of Global Challenges: Realities and Forecasts” by the Faculty of Economics, PSU, took place as a part of inter-university Forum “Science and Global Challenges in the 21st Century”.

The Сonference covered key aspects of modern economy facing the issue of global uncertainty – allowing speakers to share their vision of the challenge and extrapolate prospects on management, marketing, innovation, finance, forensic and audit, economic security and international integration, Big Data, cryptoeconomics and blockchain.

Tatyana Mirolyubova, Dean of the Faculty of Economics, PSU, accompanied by her colleague Dmitry Koshcheev from the Department of World and Regional Economics, Economic Theory, shared a systemic and agglomeration approach in interaction of an industrial cluster and a territory. Professor Tatyana Sheshukova regarded the impact of shadow economy on the integrated security of an enterprise.

PSU economists Mikhail Gorodilov, Tatyana Pashchenko and Tatyana Ketova presented their study “The Development of Production, Technology and Accounting: the Interconnection and Interdependence”. Galina Modorskaya and her colleagues reflected upon the growing popularity of distance learning among students in Russia under the COVID-19 pandemic, while Svetlana Zhukovskaya and Tatyana Pashchenko addressed the economic indicators of sustainable development update for an enterprise.

The Conference included a section on Marketing Transformation in a Globally Changing Economy, attended by leading Russian and international experts, including partners from Uzbekistan. For further info on this section, please see here. The Conference materials had been double-blind peer-reviewed by international and Russian scholars, and checked for plagiarism according to the required standards, with further results to be published by the Springer book series “Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems”, and placed in the digital library.

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