AcoustoLab, a team of researchers from ITMO’s Faculty of Physics led by Andrey Bogdanov and Mihail Petrov, won a megagrant competition by RSF. Their project titled “New Materials and Devices Based on Metastructures” aims to establish a world-class acoustic laboratory, which will conduct advanced fundamental studies, train young engineers to create cutting-edge and applied solutions, and attract leading international researchers to their developments.
“At the new laboratory, we will focus on battling noise pollution and creating new tools for medical and industrial purposes. Cities are getting noisier, and existing noise-cancelling technologies are no longer up to the task: they are bulky, narrowly-specialized, and often inefficient for low frequencies, which are extremely difficult to eliminate. The need for reliable and energy-efficient solutions for sound and vibration analysis is indeed relevant for medicine and industry. So far, there are no convenient and accurate sensors that would allow us to monitor breath and heartbeat in real-time without medical assistance. Furthermore, we need to ensure that these smart detectors are automated – ideally, they should draw power directly from the environment or the human body, not batteries,” says Andrey Bogdanov, one of the laboratory’s leaders and an associate professor at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics.
Andrey Bogdanov. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS
Among the laboratory’s key fields of study are:
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Acoustic metastructures – artificial materials that do not simply suppress noise, like classic panels, but also absorb sound energy and convert it into electricity. These structures will underpin devices that can power autonomous sensors without having to replace batteries;
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Wearable real-time sensors for monitoring heart and lung function. With these sensors, medical specialists will be able to make diagnoses faster, and patients – to monitor their health outside a hospital, including through telemedicine;
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Acoustic tweezers for manipulating microscopic objects via sound waves. Medicine and biotechnology are experiencing a surge in such technologies – with such tweezers, specialists can accurately deliver drugs or control cells in laboratory conditions;
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Smart audio systems that can accurately detect the location of a sound – for example, a call for help or an accident – without relying on a human. The function can play a key role in safeguarding metro, tunnels, or productions.
“We will be collaborating with Russian companies Albes and ProVektor to build ultrathin noise-cancelling panels about 10-15 cm thick that will absorb sounds in a wide frequency band from 50 to 3,200 Hz. We expect a significant breakthrough in low frequencies noise-cancelling with state-of-the-art acoustic metamaterials that offer groundbreaking sound control solutions thanks to their unique microstructure. Such panels will be able to absorb both voice and man-made noise, as well as low frequency noise in residential or commercial buildings, transport, and industrial sites,” adds Mihail Petrov, one of the laboratory’s leaders at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics.
Mihail Petrov. Photo by Dmitry Grigoryev / ITMO NEWS
The laboratory will collaborate with Yong Li, one of the world’s leading experts in acoustics and the deputy head of the Physical Acoustics Committee of the Acoustical Society of China, as well as researchers from N.N. Andreyev Acoustics Institute. Within the project, the lab will be expanded and will shortly welcome new engineers, researchers, and PhD students in acoustics.
The RSF’s megagrant competition is designed to support fundamental and exploratory research. In 2025, the foundation received 230 applications from 127 scientific organizations in the fundamental track along with 27 applications in the applied track. As a result, 14 fundamental and three applied projects were ranked highest by the committee. Within five years, the winning teams will receive funding from the foundation: 20-50 million rubles per year for fundamental research and 30-80 million rubles – for applied research.
Read also:
ITMO Researchers Discover New Acoustic Force for More Accurate Shape-Based Sorting of Cells
A Quiet Place: ITMO Physicists Reduce Noise Tenfold With Metamaterial Structure
