Artificial intelligence

In life, nothing is certain but death, taxes… and getting stuck on a bus at rush hour. Could AI be the solution to urban planning and transit infrastructure? Researchers at ITMO’s Institute for Artificial Intelligence believe this to be the case. In 2025, they introduced us to ConnectPT, a system that can use minimal data to develop designs for urban networks in a variety of circumstances – and for any locale in the world.

Read more: A Better Way: ITMO Presents AI-Based Service for Public Transit Route Optimization

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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 participated in a new initiative that let them 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

Read also:

• ITMO Students Develop First Russian Free AI Service for People With Diabetes
• Rose or White: ITMO Researchers’ New Algorithm Uses Bubbles to Gauge Wine Quality and Glass Type
• ITMO Researchers Present Smart Assistant for Nanostructured Materials Design
• AI Tool to Facilitate Mineral Processing Developed at ITMO

Cosmic science

In everyday language, the idea of “quantum mechanics” has become almost synonymous with something incomprehensibly complex and, at times, fantastical. But in fact, the field, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2025, has already had a massive effect on our day-to-day. How? ITMO NEWS asked scientists to explain the impact of quantum mechanics on the internet, microelectronics, and medicine.

Read more: Maglev Trains, Smartphones, and Biochips: Biggest Breakthroughs in Quantum Mechanics

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Ask a person to name an important research subject of recent years and the chances are, they’ll say “the Higgs Boson.” Indeed, this elusive particle has been a big deal in the scientific world – but what’s next now that we’ve proven that it exists? And what effect, if any, will it have within our lifetimes? ITMO NEWS got the rundown from Dmitry Karlovets, a senior physics researcher at ITMO University.

Read more: Higgs Boson for People: How Fundamental Discoveries Transform Everyday Life and Where Physics Is Heading Now

Read also:

• Time-Optimal Transfer of Quantum State Achieved by ITMO Physicists
• We Have the Universe at Home: ITMO Scientists Suggest Way to Model a Galaxy in a Lab
• ITMO Researchers Discover New Type of Singularity – Exceptional Bound States in the Continuum
• ITMO Scientists Step Closer to Explaining How Pulsar Nebulas Form

Medicine and the body

AUXILIUM, a team of ITMO students, began small-batch production of their first two exoskeleton models. Relatively inexpensive and easily transportable, they are supposed to provide much-needed relief to construction crews, rescue teams, couriers, or even hikers.

Read more: Cost-Efficient Next-Gen Exoskeleton by ITMO Students Goes Into Production

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Even if you’ve not heard of the term itself, you’re doubtless already familiar with the “flow state” – the inebriating sensation of being “locked on” when working, creating, or performing something you’re good at. Or, in some cases, having a particularly good gaming session! 

But how does the flow state work and is it possible to deliberately enter one? Modern science has, if not all, then some answers to these questions. In our brain-centric feature, we examined the scientific secrets of being “in the zone.”

Read more: Find Your Flow: Insights From Brain Research

    Read also:

• Newest From ITMO: Software To Facilitate Regenerative Medicine Materials Development
• Lasers for Medicine: ITMO Alumna’s Startup Aims to Improve Cancer Treatment
• ITMO Researchers Succeed in Accelerating Development of Autoimmune Disease Treatments

Researchers

Among the names of 2026’s list of Optica Fellows, one name stands out to anyone familiar with ITMO’s Center for Nanophotonics and Metamaterials. For researcher Andrey Bogdanov, who will now join the prestigious optics and photonics association, this is not only an opportunity to contribute further to global research, but also a sign of recognition for his achievements in the study of bound states in the continuum. Before earning the title, any scientist must be recommended by a current fellow and pass a rigorous review process.

Read more: ITMO Scientist Elected 2026 Optica Fellow

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​​​​On this year’s list of the world’s most frequently cited researchers, there are only five Russian scientists – and one of them is Anton Korobeynikov, a bioinformatics expert from ITMO University. How does one achieve this status and how does the scientist himself feel about this high honor? ITMO NEWS spoke with him to find out.

Read more: ITMO Scientist Among Most Cited Researchers Worldwide

Campus

ITMO Highpark, our new campus-and-innovation-hub under construction in the south of St. Petersburg, was visited by St. Petersburg’s Vice Governor and received a total of 5 billion rubles in investments towards its very own techno valley.

Read more: ITMO Highpark Techno Valley Receives 5 Billion-Ruble Investment

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Science rocks, but it rocks even more when it tastes nice! ITMO and the major food retail chain VkusVill launched an R&D center where students will join scientists in developing all-new foods. Here, they’ll be able to flesh out each product’s concept, develop its production model, and deliver test batches to store shelves.

Read more: ITMO and VkusVill Launch Joint R&D Center for Foods of the Future

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These are just some of our favorite picks for this year’s science news from ITMO! For a full overview, follow the Science Roundup tag to see the week-by-week of our top achievements.