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The 2024 National Awards of the Russian Federation in Science and Technology has been awarded to Maxim NIKITIN for the discovery of a fundamental mechanism for storing and transmitting information in low-affinity DNA/RNA interactions.
Maxim Nikitin was born on September 23, 1986 in Moscow. He holds a Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences degree and is a laureate of the 2017 Presidential Prize in Science and Innovation for Young Scientists. He serves as Senior Research Scientist and Head of the Laboratory at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University).
The laureate discovered a new fundamental mechanism for storing and transmitting information in living matter, termed “molecular commutation,” which expands and complements the widely accepted Watson-Crick theory of information storage and replication based on the strict complementarity of base pairs in DNA polymer chains within the famous double helix.
Maxim Nikitin proved the existence of another, more flexible pathway for transmitting information – including genetic information – through interactions between partially complementary or even entirely non-complementary nucleic acid chains.
The author utilised a unique property of molecular commutation – the ability to fine-tune molecular interactions even in mixtures containing thousands of different nucleic acid sequences – enabling information storage via weakly bound complexes. Experiments demonstrated that such complexes remain interconnected, and changes, for instance, in the concentration of one can transmit information to others, even indirectly, without direct interaction.
To advance his fundamental research, the laureate founded Abisense, a limited liability company specialising in the development and production of biotechnological research equipment. The LumoTrace® optical tomograph, the company’s flagship innovation, was used to measure molecular commutation reactions and is now supplied to leading Russian institutes.
The 2024 Russian Federation National Award for outstanding achievements in Science and Technology has been granted to Nikolai Kuznetsov for creating and developing a new scientific field, the theory of hidden oscillations.
Nikolai Kuznetsov was born in Leningrad (St Petersburg) on May 13, 1979. He holds a Doctor of Physics and Mathematics degree, and is a non-voting member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), a professor and department head at St Petersburg State University.
The theory of hidden oscillations represents a modern stage in the development of the theory of oscillations, originally formulated by Alexander Andronov, a full member of the RAS. Nikolai Kuznetsov introduced a new classification of self-exciting and hidden oscillations. The attraction domains of hidden oscillations are distinct from stationary regimes, which necessitates the creation and application of special analytical and numerical methods for identifying such oscillations and their attractors.
The theory of hidden oscillations has proven important for many theoretical and practical engineering problems where hidden oscillations and their presence/absence and location play a vital role. Identifying and analysing hidden oscillations is crucial for finding solutions to a number of mathematical problems, such as the 16th Hilbert problem, as well as practical engineering problems.
The theory of hidden oscillations has provided a fundamentally new approach to determining stability boundaries and identifying undesirable oscillations, thereby helping to prevent technological and man-made disasters.
The methods developed by Nikolai Kuznetsov within the framework of the theory of hidden oscillations have been secured through intellectual property certificates and are being used by industrial companies to design various control systems, including those for hydroelectric units and aircraft, phase-locking control elements for modern navigation systems and power supply systems for electric locomotives and emerging hybrid aircraft with electric motors, all aimed at enhancing reliability and improving performance.
The 2024 Russian Federation National Award for outstanding achievements in science and technology has been awarded to Nikolai Makarov for his contribution to studying the emergence of the Russian state and the early stages in the history of Rus from an archaeological perspective.
Born in Moscow on December 22, 1955, Nikolai Makarov holds a Doctor of Historical Sciences (PhD) degree and is a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He serves as Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences Institute of Archaeology.
An archaeologist and historian, Nikolai Makarov is a prominent expert in the Ancient Rus period. He has discovered and studied multiple archaeological sites and artefacts.
His studies have made a major contribution to research regarding the origins of Ancient Rus and its cultural identity, laying the foundation for a new vision of its unique civilisational role and place in world history. Through his research, he has demonstrated that archaeological monuments in northeastern Rus are an integral part of our country’s national cultural heritage. He has also worked tirelessly to create museums and archaeological parks to enable a wider public to discover these monuments.
In 2016, Nikolai Makarov headed a project to study the Moscow Kremlin. This was the first systematic archaeological effort to study this site as part of a research project. The dig produced several unique findings, including structures pertaining to the Chudov Monastery and the Prikazy (administrative) building, which hosted the central government institutions of the Russian state. Artefacts from these digs were transferred to museums and played an important role in inter-disciplinary studies on ancient materials, crafts, and technologies.
As a researcher, Nikolai Makarov has made a meaningful contribution to protecting archaeological sites across Russia and shaping an unbiased social narrative to explain the unique nature of Russia’s archaeological heritage and the importance of preserving it for future generations.
Nikolai Makarov has published hundreds of research papers on his studies and the solutions he developed, and his intellectual contributions have received extensive media coverage.