Scientific calendar. January 25, Day of Russian Studentship (Tatiana Day)

In 1755, Elizabet Petrovna, Empress of Russia, signed the decree establishing Moscow State University. Later the day of MSU foundation was celebrated as the holiday of the Russian studentship, and in 2005 the date was finally settled at the state level in the calendar of the Russian holidays as the Day of Russian Studentship.

Scientists are the core of science, especially young ones, since they determine the success of development of the scientific institutes and research areas in the long run. Considering this, the scientific organizations try hard to attract the talented students and compete for them as early as in school.

Catalysis is a hard to comprehend research area at the interface of chemistry and physics, and many adults who are not involved in science do not remember what catalysis is and what catalysts are for. Nevertheless, the importance of catalytic science is determined by its necessity for development of a great number of modern technologies, in particular, basic and crucial ones, without which today’s world cannot be imagined. It can be said that the level of development and scale of the use of catalytic processes determines the general technological level of the country. That’s why the students who come to work to Boreskov Institute of Catalysis are intelligent, brave, and progressive people.

Vladislav Butenko, 4th year student of Department of Natural Sciences of NSU, employee of Boreskov Institute of Catalysis

The doors to Boreskov Institute of Catalysis are open to the students of all years, but mostly the students of 2^nd and 3^rd years of study come to write their course papers and to undergo their pre-diploma practical training. In addition, there is a special program in effect concerning the employment of students in BIC. The main “suppliers” of the students in chemistry and physics for Boreskov Institute of Catalysis are the largest universities of Novosibirsk, NSU and NSTU. In the running academic year more than 70 students of different years carry their studies in BIC. In the last three years the general number of students in the perimeter of Boreskov Institute of Catalysis increased by one third.

Boreskov Institute of Catalysis holds annual competitions for scholarships aimed at attracting young talented scientists to the research in catalysis in the areas of priority for the Institute. Four Boreskov Zamaraev scholarships honoring two first directors of the Institute are given to the students of the Department of Natural Sciences and Department Physics NSU, respectively.

“I chose Boreskov Institute of Catalysis because it doesn’t focus at one problem but provides a wide range of various areas”, says Vladislav Butenko, 4th year student of DNS NSU, employee of Department of Materials Science and Functional Materials, one of the winners of the International Student Environmental Conference ISEC-21, the largest ecological student scientific conference in Russia and CIS. “I came to the Institute in my first year, after SESC (Specialized Educational Scientific Center NSU for school students), where we were told that the Institutes are open for the students of the first year. I scrutinized the web-sites, sent the inquiries to the laboratories, received answers, picked a lab. I think I got extremely lucky: the research area is great, we develop the efficient energy carriers for hydrogen energetics”.

“Hydrogen as fuel is unprecedentedly good due to its high energy capacity, ecological safety of the products of oxidation as well as to the possibility of its obtaining from water with the renewable energy sources, solar panels, windmills, etc.”, continues Vladislav. “The problem of its use is in that hydrogen is highly explosive and takes great volume without processing, and its storage in containers is inhibited by the tendency of hydrogen to embrittle metals. That is why it is a problem to store it in containers. We study the class of chemical compounds – hydrides, where the chemical fixation of hydrogen allows significant decrease of the volume taken by it. Our compounds can be used at various portable plants in hard-to-reach places, where obtaining other types of energy is impossible or very expensive: stations in the Polar territories, expeditions, far settlements for charging weather balloons, drones, telephones, household appliances, and other devices. It’s convenient, safe and absolutely environmentally friendly. At some point the humankind will switch to the renewable energy sources, and we make a step to the technologies of the future”.

We congratulate all students and wish successful studying, new discoveries, fresh ideas and bright events! Let your first steps on the way to science be in the right direction!