Search by tag «ITMO Fellowship» 78 results
Chilean Researcher Ivan Martinez – on “Serious Russians,” Loving Chemistry, and Traveling for Science
After graduating from university in his native Chile, Ivan Martinez decided to dive straight into science. Today, he’s developing technologies that would allow us to easily, cheaply, and quickly desalinate seawater – a problem that’s relevant to not just Latin America, but the whole world. According to the WHO, more than 2 billion people have no access to safe drinking water. In order to unlock new opportunities for his work, Ivan has journeyed across the world to Russia. Here at ITMO University, he conducts research with local scientists and delivers lectures to students. Speaking to ITMO NEWS, he explained why we need desalination technologies, what he finds fascinating about chemistry, and why Russians aren’t as serious as they might seem.
26.09.2025
Urban Planner Ali Alraouf on Arab Megalopolises, Beauty of St. Petersburg, and Cities of the Future
Ali Alraouf is an architect, urban planner, jury member of the master plan competition for Sirius Federal Territory, and UN expert on sustainable development. He has been designing cities for over 40 years and his portfolio includes concepts for tourist and cultural areas in his native Egypt, as well as urban designs for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. By invitation of ITMO’s Institute of Design and Urban Studies, Dr. Alraouf has joined the ITMO Fellowship program and conducted a series of lectures for the university’s students and staff. During the course, he explained the current changes occurring in megapolises of the Arab world; speaking to ITMO.NEWS, he shares his prospects for cities of the future, what impressed him about St. Petersburg, and how a city can combine its historical legacy with modernity.
20.08.2025
Health Data Scientist Yuri Rykov on Early Diabetes Diagnostics and AI in Medicine
In 2024, over 5.5 million cases of diabetes were registered in Russia, the majority of which (5.1 million) were type 2 diabetes. This is a tricky disease: for a long time, it can be almost asymptomatic, with many patients failing to notice that anything's amiss. Complications and even disability can be avoided with early diagnostics. Yuri Rykov, a health data scientist who has recently joined the ITMO Fellowship program, is working on a new system that will help detect pre-diabetes symptoms and stop the disease in its tracks. We spoke with Dr. Rykov about his project and the future of AI in medicine.
12.05.2025
Bright Innovations: Professor Andrey Dunaev on the Future of Biomedical Photonics
Fitness trackers, smartwatches, heartbeat monitors, and non-invasive glucometers – what do they all have in common? All these gadgets use the power of light to monitor our health metrics. They’re also the simplest examples of biomedical photonics – an interdisciplinary field that is helping medical specialists diagnose the most dangerous diseases. How does it all work, what are scientists working on these days, and what should we expect in the future? We spoke to Dr. Andrey Dunaev, a leading researcher at the Research and Development Center of Biomedical Photonics at Orel State University.
18.02.2025
Always Calculate: Physicist Ivan Terekhov on Fundamental Studies and Scientific Anecdotes
Ivan Terekhov has been passionate about science since childhood: in primary school, he wanted to build his own laser and studied the imaginary unit; in fifth grade, he was already solving university-level problems. This passion has colored his whole life, taking him to universities in the UK, Germany, and Australia. Recently, he has joined the team of ITMO’s School of Physics and Engineering, where he performs calibrations that can help increase optic-fiber traffic capacity and studies electron interactions in 2D materials. In this interview, he shares where to look for inspiration in fundamental research and why experienced researchers should keep working with students.
03.02.2025
ITMO Fellow Alena Kulakova on Merging Chemistry and Physics
As a child, Alena Kulakova used to dream of becoming a doctor, but ended up pursuing chemistry at university. Since then, she’s completed a double PhD degree in France and Russia, moved from Moscow to St. Petersburg, and authored several projects. Now, she’s one of the few chemists at ITMO’s Faculty of Physics, where she is part of the team designing metal-organic frameworks – sorbents used for fast, durable sensors and drug delivery systems. In this interview, she shares her journey in academia with ITMO.NEWS.
13.01.2025
Science Through Art: Marcelo Velasco and Ignacio Nieto on Latin American Art & Science and Working at ITMO
Marcelo Velasco may be a biologist by education, but for more than 15 years, he and his colleague Ignacio Nieto have been developing the field of science art in Chile. Together, they study how contemporary art could affect science – and how scientists and artists can create interdisciplinary works that are both educational and accessible to the public. Recently, as part of the ITMO Fellowship program, they hosted an in-person course for Master’s students at ITMO and supported the study of a vine plant that mimics other flora. In this interview with ITMO.NEWS, they discuss the prospects of science art in Latin America, which topics fascinate Chilean artists the most, and whether plants can "see" the world through photosensitivity.
20.11.2024
ITMO Fellowship Program Anniversary: Highlights From a Fellows Meet-Up
This year marks the tenth anniversary of the launch of the ITMO Fellowship program, an initiative that allows researchers from all over the world to work alongside their Russian and international colleagues. Recently, the current ITMO Fellows came together for a meet-up – learn about their discussion in this article.
12.11.2024
Virtual Power Plants, Real Electricity: Tanzanian Researcher Jackson J. Justo on Artificial Intelligence and Future of Power Industry
Jackson J. Justo came to St. Petersburg from Tanzania. In his home country, he had graduated with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering; then, he worked and continued his studies in the universities of South Korea, South Africa, Germany, Indonesia, and Sweden. Recently, he joined ITMO University as a participant of the ITMO Fellowship program. His work in St. Petersburg concerns a project that aims to enable a more sustainable integration of green energy into the conventional power supply infrastructures. What are virtual power plants and how does AI benefit electrical engineers? Find out in this ITMO.NEWS interview with Jackson J. Justo.
08.10.2024
Truly More Than a University: ITMO Fellow Tamer El-Messery on Foodtech and Working in Russia
Throughout his career, Tamer El-Messery has had the opportunity to work at universities in Spain, China, the UK, Turkey, and Egypt. But for the past two years, he has been collaborating with researchers at ITMO. Here, Dr. El-Messery is developing new, more efficient delivery systems for active natural components, such as vitamins and phytonutrients, to ensure that they are better absorbed by the human body. In this interview, he talks about his studies and his experiences – at times surprising – with Russian students.
15.08.2024