Search by tag «Research» 545 results
Citizen Science: How to Contribute to Research From the Comfort of Your Home
Citizen science is a global trend that has emerged in the recent decades. Today’s researchers often have to deal with the need to collect and process massive amounts of data. When machine learning algorithms can’t help, or when particularly thorough analysis is required, crowdsourcing comes to aid. And you don’t always need to be a specialist to take part: some projects are accessible to regular citizens or even children. In this article, we explore some of the ways you can contribute to scientific research from the comfort of your home.
15.04.2020
ITMO University Launches Laboratory of Quantum Processes and Measurements
ITMO University has recently launched a new unit that specializes in studying quantum processes. According to the founders of the new laboratory, they are planning to introduce breakthrough theoretical developments of fundamental physics into experimental science. ITMO.NEWS contacted Anton Kozubov, the head of the new laboratory’s theoretical department, in order to learn more about the tasks that the scientists have set for themselves, as well as why their completion can expand the horizons of modern physics.
14.04.2020
Researchers Demonstrate a Platform for Future Optical Transistors
Leading research groups in the field of nanophotonics are working toward developing optical transistors – key components for future optical computers. These devices will process information with photons instead of electrons, thus reducing the heat and increasing the operation speed. However, photons do not interact with each other well, which creates a big problem for microelectronics engineers. A group of researchers from ITMO University, together with colleagues, have come up with a new solution to this problem by creating a planar system where photons couple to other particles, which enables them to interact with each other. The principle demonstrated in their experiment can provide a platform for developing future optical transistors. The results of their work are published in Light: Science & Applications.
13.04.2020
Gaka-Chu: The Robot That Dreams of Being an Artist
“Everyone’s familiar with trying to make a living with art. I bet they’ve never known a robot with that dream,” says Gaka-Chu. A retired welding robot, it is working to be financially independent by creating art and selling it online. But what is it that makes its art real?
10.04.2020
Scientists from ITMO and S.N. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Complex Have Developed and Introduced New Laser Method for Cataract Surgery
Cataract is among the most widespread eye diseases. According to WHO, up to a third of all visual impairments have to do with cataract. The treatment methods are well-known but can sometimes be traumatizing. Scientists from ITMO and the S.N. Fyodorov Eye Microsurgery Complex spent over 20 years working on reducing the side effects of cataract surgery. As a result, they came up with a technology where a laser is used both to destroy the clouded eye lens and to stimulate the regeneration of adjacent tissue. The researchers gave a detailed description of their method in an article that has been recently published in Optical and Quantum Electronics.
08.04.2020
Quadcopter vs. Traffic Safety Inspectors: Researchers Test Drones for Traffic Road Accident Analysis
Robots are gradually permeating into more and more areas of our daily life: smart cars are at work on storage facilities and production sites, they test delivery services. Researchers in St. Petersburg are designing a mobile autorobotic inspector (MARTI) that will help the State Road Traffic Safety Inspection officers by documenting details of traffic road accidents and detecting traffic code violations. ITMO.NEWS got in touch with Professor Oleg Basov, deputy dean of ITMO’s Faculty of Infocommunication Technologies, to learn why one quadcopter can create a better accident plan than three inspectors, and how MARTI will be able to model traffic road accidents.
06.04.2020
How Statistics Can Skew Facts – and How We Can Learn to Trust It Again
Statistics is one of the key criteria in determining the authenticity of knowledge. But can we always trust statistical data? Does the obsession with excessive evidence hold back scientific progress? Anatoliy Karpov, a lead analyst at Mail.ru Group, author of data analysis MOOCs and lecturer at the Bioinformatics Institute and St. Petersburg State University, answered these and other questions during an open online lecture organized by ITMO University’s Center for Science Communication.
03.04.2020
ITMO Scientists Propose an Improved Technology for Detecting Ultra-Low Magnetic Fields
It is for several years now that ITMO University scientists have been working on the creation of supersensitive sensors for measuring ultra-low magnetic fields that occur, for example, in the brain. These sensors can be made from compact ceramic resonators and defect ensemble (NV centers) in a diamond. Recently, the physicists have published an article in the Review of Scientific Instruments journal, where they described a new, more efficient version of an antenna for such measuring devices. ITMO.NEWS spoke with the authors to find out why we should measure the magnetic field of the human brain, and how this is proposed to be done.
01.04.2020
Scientists Propose a Carbon Dot-Based Method for Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Cells and LED
An international group of scientists, including some from ITMO University, has proposed a method that allows for significantly increasing the efficiency of solar cells and light-emitting diodes. The scientists managed to achieve this result by augmenting the auxiliary layers of the devices responsible for electron transport rather than working with the main active layer. The work has been published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.
30.03.2020
A Tour of Testa Center, GE’s Biotech R&D Facility in Uppsala, Sweden
A voice recorder, a pen, some paper, and a smartphone: with all the journalistic essentials packed, we’re heading off for Sweden to learn about innovations in life sciences. What does it cost to create a molecule, how can mini-factories bring profit, and why do 3D-printers help accelerate production? Read on and find out.
24.03.2020