On 27–30 September 2011, the Skolkovo Moscow School of Management held a training workshop on new structural and functional materials, organised by the Skolkovo Foundation Nuclear Technology Cluster and the Directorate for Scientific and Technical Complex of the Rosatom State Corporation.
The current situation and assessments of priority areas in developing new structural and functional materials (NSFM) were discussed at the workshop.
“The key goals of the event are to identify and establish the key areas in new structural and functional materials, as well as to predict the priority topics for the next 15–20 years,” noted Denis Kovalevich, the head of the workshop and executive director of the Skolkovo Foundation’s Nuclear Technology Cluster, in his keynote address. “In addition, we must discuss the existing global, national and corporate NSFM development competence centres.”
The following reports were delivered at the workshop’s opening ceremony:
– Assessing prospects for new material development and application (Sergei Salikhov, head of the Science Department at the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS))
– Foresight and roadmaps in the field of new materials: the experiences of the HSE (Konstantin Vishnevskiy, Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge at the Higher School of Economics)
– Nanotechnologies and nanomaterials for developing the nuclear and industrial complex: a roadmap (S.A. Dublyansky, Rusnano)
– A version of technological foresight methodology (Vladimir Knyaginin, director of the Foundation Center for Strategic Research North-West)
– Report of Vyacheslav Pershukov, D.Eng, deputy director general of the Rosatom State Corporation, director of Directorate for Scientific and Technical Complex, executive board member, professor and RANS Academician
On other days, representatives from major global technological companies that order new materials, as well as key players in the new material development market, and representatives of competence centres in the new material development field gave their reports.
Group discussions and speeches from participants were organised to follow the reports from invited experts.
The key participating organisations included units from the Rosatom State Corporation, leading technical universities, major international companies, institutes of the Academy of Sciences, representatives from top Russian technology corporations and development institutes, representatives from leading international research laboratories and universities, and participant companies, current and prospective, of the Skolkovo Foundation clusters dealing with NSFM.
Background information:
About the Rosatom Corporation
The State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom (State Corporation Rosatom) incorporates more than 250 enterprises and research institutes, including all of Russia’s civil nuclear companies, nuclear weapons complex facilities, research organisations and the world’s only nuclear-powered icebreaker fleet. Rosatom is the largest power generating utility in Russia, providing more than 40% of the electricity in the European part of the country. Rosatom holds leading positions in the world nuclear technologies market, holding first place globally in the number of nuclear power plants simultaneously under construction abroad; second in uranium reserves; fifth in uranium mining; and fourth in nuclear power generation, while providing 40% of the world’s uranium enrichment services and 17% of the world's nuclear fuel.
The State Corporation ensures the implementation of state policy and atomic energy management congruence, stable operations for nuclear power and nuclear weapons complexes, and nuclear and radiation safety. It is also responsible for fulfilling Russia's international obligations in the field of peaceful uses of atomic energy and nuclear non-proliferation. The establishment of Rosatom was intended to facilitate fulfilling the federal target program of nuclear industry development, create a favourable environment for developing nuclear power and bolster Russia's competitive advantage on the global market.
The director general of the State Corporation Rosatom is Sergey Kirienko.
About the Skolkovo Foundation
The Skolkovo Foundation for Development of the Centre of Research and Commercialising of New Technologies was created at the initiative of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in September 2010. Its goal is to mobilise Russia’s resources in modern applied research and create a favourable environment for academic pursuits in five key areas of technological development: energy and energy efficiency, space, biomedicine, nuclear technologies and IT. The project calls for establishing the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (SIST), research institutions, a business incubator, a technology transfer and commercialisation centre, representative offices of foreign companies and R&D centres, residential quarters and social infrastructure, as well as for eventually spreading the effective system to other innovation regions in Russia. Special laws governing Skolkovo give its residents special economic preferences.
Visit the Foundation's official web site at http://i-gorod.com