Новости 27.04.2024
VYZOV: A Challenge for the Rest of the World
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Why does the VYZOV Prize for Future Technologies have no divisions for various scientific disciplines? What impact do scientific awards have on various spheres of life? What plans do the founders of the VYZOV Prize have for the future?
Find out in a new feature story by Kommersant.
VYZOV Prize Adds an International Category: Discovery
The call for applications is still open for the VYZOV National Prize for Future Technologies. This year, a new, international category titled ‘Discovery’ has been added to the existing categories such as ‘Vision,’ ‘Best Engineering Solution,’ ‘Breakthrough’ and ‘Scientist of the Year’. The new category is open for applications from scientists based in any country in the world, including Russian scientists residing abroad. Kommersant spoke with the founders and organizers of the VYZOV Prize and with some of its first laureates about how applications are coming in for the 2024 awards, how scientific awards influence the advancement of science, what significance the VYZOV Prize has, and what its prospects are.
Not Quite Like the Nobel Prize
The VYZOV National Prize for Future Technologies has been dubbed ‘Russia’s Nobel Prize’ by the media since its early days. Its Scientific Committee Chairman Artem Oganov argues against such a comparison.
"I would not compare the VYZOV Prize with any other prize, including the Nobel Prize," he told Kommersant in an interview. “We don't aim to establish a second Nobel Prize, or a second Sakharov Prize, or a second Breakthrough Prize. We want to create a unique award that would be unparalleled and be the best one in the world.
“In order for such an award to have value, it is very important that we evaluate applications with total objectivity, and that we generally administer the award taking into account other awards’ experience, as well as the modern realities and the future that the world is headed for. I believe we have been mindful of all that."
How is the VYZOV Prize unique? For example, applicants may nominate themselves for the award. A scientist may be nominated by their peers or by their research facility’s Scientific Council, but they are also free to nominate themselves.
The very name of the VYZOV Prize for Future Technologies tells us it is oriented towards the future. Hence, it recognizes research carried out within the past ten years, as well as findings and inventions whose potential is expected to reveal itself in the years to come.
Another notable feature of the award is that it has no divisions by scientific discipline. This actually makes sense, because you cannot really expect to have one important discovery in mathematics, one in physics and one in medicine every year. Besides, many breakthrough discoveries occur at the intersection of scientific disciplines. That is why, instead of having divisions by discipline, the VYZOV Prize is awarded in five categories: ‘Scientist of the Year’ (for Russian scientists with an outstanding record), ‘Breakthrough’ (for crucial achievements in science and technology), ‘Best Engineering Solution’ (for important inventions), ‘Vision’ (for scientists and research teams aged below 35, who have made a significant contribution to scientific or technological development) and ‘Discovery’ (for international applicants).
Artem Oganov, Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee
Photo: Photo bank of the VYZOV Foundation
Explaining why the award has added an international category, Artem Oganov says, "We want the VYZOV Prize to become one of the most prestigious scientific awards in Russia, and to be esteemed and renowned worldwide. Success is measured by demand, and demand appears when your work addresses some key necessities that people have. Now that the world is so divided, the need for unification is truly evident.
“Introducing an international category is what we can do to help build bridges between countries. Sooner or later, people will go back to communicating and collaborating with each other, and we will be at the forefront, because we are already working for that by unifying science.
“In addition, having an international category elevates the VYZOV Prize to a new status. Now our award is open for scientists from all over the world, and this is very important. This is a step in the right direction."
Science Is Not Political
The Scientific Committee Chairman also notes that it is crucially important to abide by the principle of impartiality when determining the laureates. “All other awards adhere to the same principle, but only on paper in most cases,” says Artem Oganov. “The world suffers an acute shortage of fairness, and that is why we in the Scientific Committee are setting ourselves a very high bar: Being regular people of flesh and blood, with our emotions and our personal preferences, we vow to put aside all of our emotions and our preferences and make decisions based on absolute fairness.”
Alexey Paevsky, member of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee, scientific journalist, Ambassador for the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia
Photo by Snezhana Shabanova
Alexey Paevsky, a scientific journalist, member of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee and Ambassador of Russia’s Decade of Science and Technology believes scientific awards remain less politicized today compared to literary awards or the Nobel Peace Prize. To cite an example, he points to the latest Nobel Prize in Chemistry, where one of the laureates was a Russian scientist working in the United States, who was awarded for a discovery made while living in the Soviet Union.
One example of a national award whose winner may be a scientist from any country is the UNESCO-Russia Mendeleev Prize in the Basic Sciences awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 2023, it was awarded to Dr. Irina Beletskaya, a Professor with the Moscow State University, and Dr. Klaus Alexander Müllen, Director of the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research.
Raul Gainetdinov, Laureate of the 2023 VYZOV Prize as Scientist of the Year, Director of the Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University
Photo: Photo bank of the VYZOV Foundation
“I believe science shouldn’t be limited by national borders,” says Raul Gainetdinov, Laureate of the 2023 VYZOV Prize as Scientist of the Year, Director of the Institute of Translational Biomedicine, St. Petersburg State University. “In general, the scientific community remains united, but some foreign scientists are now wary of cooperation with their peers in Russia. Our Chinese colleagues have a friendly attitude toward Russian scientists, and Italians have always been open for communication with us. The Americans have apparently gotten accustomed to the unrest in the world, so, as a rule, they also continue to collaborate with colleagues from all over the globe.
“To sum it up, I would say the scientific community remains international. Last year, I published two articles in collaboration with my American colleagues, one article with Belgians and Italians, and one with Germans. The other day, I got an invitation to speak in Japan. Although, I guess, a lot depends on personal contacts: I lived in the West for twenty years, and I have friends abroad whom I’ve known for 30 years. So many of them don’t care where I’m based, whether it’s in America, Italy, Russia or elsewhere.”
Artem Oganov says Chinese scientists have been very enthusiastic about the introduction of the international ‘Discovery’ category.
A Scientific International
Scientists may apply for the award till May 20th, 2024.
The largest number of applications so far have been submitted from Russia’s Central Federal District, particularly from Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Nizhny Novgorod Region, the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Novgorod Region.
The new international category, ‘Discovery,’ has received quite a few submissions from different countries, including some EU member states.
Submissions for the award represent a wide range of scientific disciplines, while most of them (53% to date) are related to either medicine, computer science or chemical technology. Technical sciences are strongly represented, and the Engineering Solution category has received a lot of submissions citing achievements in the field of mechanical engineering and metallurgical process improvement.
Most applicants to date come from universities, including research universities. The average age of applicants is 44, although that may vary depending on the category. Young scientists applying for the Vision award are aged 32 on average, while the average age of applicants for Scientist of the Year is 46, Engineering Solution, 38, and Discovery, 54 years old.
Science for Society, Business for Science
Scientific awards have a significant impact on various spheres of public life.
Awards are important for scientists. They serve as a powerful incentive that motivates them to carry on with their research, developing new, innovative technologies and expanding the boundaries of human knowledge.
Speaking at a recent conference titled ‘Science without Borders: Siberia Accepts the Challenge’ hosted by the Tomsk State University, VYZOV Prize’s Vision award laureate Ilya Semerikov said that being awarded is a token of trust extended to the scientist.
The VYZOV Prize comes with a considerable financial reward. In 2024, it has a prize fund of 50 mln rubles, 10 million for each of the five categories. But the very acknowledgement of a scientist’s achievements is equally important. It can contribute to their career, help them gain recognition from peers and boost their authority in their field of research.
Scientific awards play an important role for science in general, since they have a decisive impact on how research trajectories are shaped and how future research in various fields is incentivized.
“The VYZOV Prize is focused on future technologies, so it is important for us to enable an environment where our laureates’ achievements would be translated into technological development on a new level,” says Aleksey Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee. “We want the VYZOV Prize to give an impetus to scientific research and new engineering solutions, to reduce the lead time between getting a research result and seeing its real-world application.”
Aleksey Fedorov, Deputy Chairman of the VYZOV Prize Scientific Committee
Photo: Photo bank of the VYZOV Foundation
Scientific awards are also necessary and important for businesses. They influence the business community, especially in areas where performance relies on technology and innovation. Companies often use their association with prestigious scientific awards to promote their brand, attract the best talent and demonstrate their commitment to cutting-edge research and development. Sponsoring scientific awards allows businesses to partner up with leading researchers and institutions. This kind of cooperation promotes innovation, accelerates technological progress and stimulates economic growth.
“As a co-founder of the VYZOV Prize, we realize that investment in scientific research can deliver substantial returns for businesses, both in the short and long term: from creating new products and fostering new markets to having a significant impact on the development of society and of the national economy,” says Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Gazprombank.
“Large investors often underestimate the importance of supporting new research and development at an early stage because venture capital investment is a risky business. But investing in science can enable businesses to score a competitive advantage in their market, secure themselves access to unique knowledge and technology and build up their intellectual capital, which can serve as the basis for developing new business models and strategies.”
Dmitry Zauers, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Gazprombank
Photo: Photo bank of the VYZOV Foundation
Dmitry Zauers also notes that Gazprombank sees great potential in investing in high-tech research, as exemplified by quantum technology research: “We have supported high-tech startups, industrial enterprises and groups of scientists involved in trailblazing fundamental research for the past quarter-century. And we are willing to continue our active contribution to refining the infrastructure for transferring cutting-edge technology to the market, encouraging research and development and monetizing scientific ideas and research results.”
Finally, scientific awards are important for society. Promoting scientific awards and their laureates to the public arouses interest for the scientific profession among younger audiences. Scientific breakthroughs celebrated by prestigious awards often have far-reaching consequences for addressing global challenges, improving the quality of life and developing human knowledge.
An Award for the Future and the Future of the Award
Once the call for applications is closed, the Scientific Committee will have to do a lot of work to determine the winners. “It is of crucial importance for a scientific award to have two things. First, its Scientific Committee, who selects the laureates, must be of the highest caliber, and secondly, it must be absolutely impartial in making its decisions,” says Alexey Paevsky. “I believe the VYZOV Prize meets both of these criteria.”
The VYZOV Prize is organized by the VYZOV Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations. Its President Leonid Shlyakhover shared the organization’s future plans with us.
Leonid Shlyakhover, President of the VYZOV Foundation
Photo: Photo bank of the VYZOV Foundation
“The VYZOV Foundation sets ambitious goals for itself. We are now considering organizing a big international festival jointly with our partners, which would bring together laureates of esteemed scientific and artistic awards and hopefully foster a creative environment for launching new projects, such as movies, theatric plays, TV shows, podcasts, etc. Because it is through these media that a wider audience can learn about the most notable achievements of science,” says Leonid Shlyakhover.
“One of the objectives of the festival would be to enable young people to see avenues for development for themselves inside Russia by bringing them some of the real-life success stories.
“We realize that you cannot develop new technologies unless you have fundamental science. That is why we would like scientists to be role models in the eyes of younger people, the way artistic celebrities like stage or movie stars are today.
“The VYZOV Foundation also actively works to maintain a regular international dialogue among scientists. This year we successfully launched a new, international category for the VYZOV Prize titled ‘Discovery,’ and we have already received quite a few submissions from various countries, including some of the EU member states. It is an indicator of confidence: confidence in the award’s Scientific Committee and its expertise, confidence in the VYZOV Foundation, and confidence in our country.
“I would like to note that Russian nationals currently based abroad may also apply for the Discovery award. It is important for us to demonstrate that Russia has the necessary enabling environment for advancing science, and that scientific achievements are welcomed and acknowledged here.
“Following last year’s tradition, the VYZOV Prize award ceremony will take place at Moscow’s Manege Central Exhibition Hall on December 19th. It will be a big, festive event featuring prominent figures in the world of science, art, business and politics.”
The VYZOV National Prize for Future Technologies is organized and sponsored by the VYZOV Foundation for the Development of Scientific and Cultural Relations jointly with Gazprombank, in partnership with Rosatom State Corporation and Roscongress Foundation, and with support from the City Government of Moscow. The award was initially established to commemorate the Decade of Science and Technology announced in Russia in 2022, and is designed to celebrate breakthrough ideas and inventions that are changing the landscape of modern science and the life of every person.
