Research

What do optical computers need most? Naturally, more light! This is a gross oversimplification, of course, but it speaks to a real challenge in computer science and photonics – the development of powerful and compact light sources. And researchers at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics have made a breakthrough in the field: they’ve produced a metasurface that boosts that light-emitting properties of silicon by 10,000 times.

Read more: ITMO Scientists Create World’s Smallest Silicon Light Source

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Curiously, this isn’t the only time this month that something’s been made 10,000 times better! Researchers at the university’s Infochemistry Scientific Center have come out with a new type of composite material that amplifies the strength of Raman spectroscopy signals. This invention solves a key issue related to the assessment of chemical materials and their composition. In practical terms, the material can be applied in production of engine oils and pharmaceutical products.

Read more: ITMO Researchers' New Composite Material Offers 10,000x Amplification of Raman Spectroscopy Signal

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As more businesses begin to embed AI systems in their internal and external processes, cybersecurity experts face a new category of vulnerabilities and exploits. To patch some of these faults in new tech, a group of Master’s students from ITMO University have established a startup called HiveTrace. Their self-titled product is the first Russian-made system capable of protecting AI systems from 70% of the most common threats. Pilot testing of the software is expected to commence in the near future.

Read more: ITMO Master’s Students Develop Russia’s First Monitoring and Cyberprotection System for AI

University

Sometimes, the best way to tackle the issue of AI usage in academia is… to let students use it freely. Final-year humanities students at ITMO can now opt to participate in a new initiative that allows them to complete their theses with the help of LLMs, tasking the models with analyzing sources, visualizing data, and crafting text. The first run of this initiative concluded this summer; a student survey showed insightful results, with graduates’ experiences differing greatly as to the impact made by their “co-authors” on the final product.

Read more: ITMO Humanities Students Participate in AI Thesis Initiative

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Together with a prominent AI development lab, ITMO graduate Alan Gazzaev has achieved what many of his fellow computer scientists aspire to: he is now the developer of Cotype Nano, an acclaimed compact neural network. The system, which runs on smartphones and doesn't requires an internet connection, is a versatile helper for businesses.

Read more: ITMO Graduate Alan Gazzaev: From Student Startup to AI Project for MTS