Июнь 2006 г.

Российская наука и мир (по материалам зарубежной электронной прессы)

CONTENTS / ОГЛАВЛЕНИЕ


• Un nouvel élément découvert par les Russes
• How to forecast a tsunami?
• Russia launches clinical trials for bird flu vaccines
• Russia opens new nanotech centre with FEI tools
• Going to Mars with New Technologies
• Measuring the Hidden Cost of a Pay Raise
• Des "villes scientifiques"
• Russian scientists ready to study Holy Fire
• Russia to launch unique space observatory
• Champ magnétique maximum de l'univers : un positronium chamboule les cordes
• IBM opens first development laboratory in Russia
• Internationally Acclaimed Soil Scientists to Receive Awards

Планируемое повышение зарплаты российским ученым может отрицательно сказаться на долгосрочных научных проектах, считают руководители институтов РАН.

MOSCOW - A mandate to increase Russian researchers' pay could have a disastrous impact on long-term science programs, according to institute directors at the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS). The pay mandate, issued by the government in May and made retroactive to January, aims to boost core salaries in RAS to an average of $1000 per month. But because the government has not provided a commensurate funding boost, RAS institutes are trying to balance the books with economy measures, including a 2-year moratorium on new equipment purchases. "The recent decision just ruins the development of science," says academician Boris Ioffe, a nuclear physicist at the non-RAS Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics in Moscow.
RAS Vice President Alexander Nekipelov announced in May that the academy will cut research staff from 53,000 to 44,000 by 2008, beginning with a 5% reduction this year. This will help pay for some salary increases; for example, a junior researcher's pay may climb from $150 to $300 per month. But the government also placed an indefinite freeze on bonus payments that often go to active researchers in recognition of factors such as scholarly achievement and high-risk work.
The net result is that some top scientists will see their pay decline.
"I'm glad that some people working in the academy will get substantially bigger salaries," says Erik Galimov, director of the RAS Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry. But he says this will "not solve" the main problem: the declining influx of youthful researchers. His students at Moscow State University often take part-time jobs at the institute, but "when it comes to graduation, they choose jobs with salaries dozens of times higher" than the institute pays. And the mandatory salary boost does not cover engineers, office workers, or financial staff; Galimov predicts that they will become more difficult to retain. If they leave, it would "paralyze the work of the institute," he says.
Ioffe estimates that "the only way" an RAS institute director can implement the new salary order is to severely slash spending in nonsalary areas. "But you can't do science for nothing," he says. "You have to buy materials, new equipment."
Leonid Bezrukov, deputy head of the RAS Institute for Nuclear Research, regards the equipment purchase moratorium as the main threat. "Modern, expensive facilities are vital for us. You cannot build them on the relatively small funds available from outside the government budget", he told Science. He thinks that his institute will be at a growing disadvantage against laboratories in the West: "We need funds dozens of times more than we have now." There's a risk that the institute may just "drop out," Bezrukov says. His own pay will be reduced by the salary changes; he notes that "all of our active researchers have found themselves in the same situation."

Российские наукограды - прошлое, настоящее и возможное будущее.

Après le marasme qui, pour la science soviétique, a suivi la dissolution de l'URSS, "la recherche est redevenue une priorité de l'État", assure le ministère russe de l'éducation et de la science. Pour accompagner cette relance, un statut de "ville scientifique" a été créé. À la clé, le financement d'infrastructures et des facilités fiscales pour les entreprises. Les maîtres mots sont désormais innovation et valorisation. "Avant, nous ne nous préoccupions que de recherche fondamentale. Maintenant, le gouvernement veut des résultats", commente un chercheur.
Dubna a été l'une des premières villes à recevoir, en 2001, le nouveau label. Connue jusqu'ici pour son Institut nucléaire, elle espère l'être, demain, pour son centre de technologies de l'information. Sur un site de 600 hectares arraché aux herbes sauvages se dressera en 2015, annonce le maire, Valery Prokh, une cité de 30 000 personnes, dont 10 000 ingénieurs high-tech.
Koltsovo, près de Novossibirsk (Sibérie occidentale), croit aussi à un avenir meilleur. La vie de ce lotissement de 12 000 habitants, planté voilà un quart de siècle au milieu de la taïga, est tout entière organisée autour du centre de virologie Vector, qui recèle l'une des deux grandes collections mondiales de virus, avec celle d'Atlanta aux États-Unis.
Les biotechnologies sont au coeur d'un ambitieux projet d'incubateur d'entreprises. "Entre recherche fondamentale, applications technologiques et production industrielle, il y a un continuum", pense Anna Gouninia, adjointe au maire.
Pushchino, au sud de Moscou, nourrit des desseins plus modestes. Labélisée de fraîche date, elle subit encore les effets de la "crise", s'attriste son maire, Anatoli Afanaskine. II rêve de construire un immeuble où loger une centaine de familles de chercheurs. Et d'équiper sa commune d'un générateur d'électricité, pour éviter la panne générale qui, voilà peu, l'a paralysée.

Российские ученые собираются измерить температуру Благодатного огня, который ежегодно, в канун православной Пасхи, возгорается в храме Гроба Господня в Иерусалиме.
Об этом сообщил инициатор создания и председатель рабочей группы по исследованию чудесных знамений, происходящих в православной церкви, профессор кафедры литологии Российского государственного университета нефти и газа им. И.М.Губкина Павел Флоренский. По его словам, существует серия записывающих термометров, благодаря которым можно проследить температурные изменения вещества. Согласно многочисленным свидетельствам, огонь в первые минуты после схождения не обжигает.

Moscow, June 15, Interfax - The Russian scientists intend to measure the temperature of the Holy Fire that descends in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on the eve of Orthodox Easter every year.
"We hope to begin our studies within the next couple years. Technical equipment allows to do it, but there is no money", chairman of the working group for miraculous sings in the Russian Orthodox church Rev. Pavel Florensky said at the news conference in Moscow on Thursday.
According to him, there are thermometers that register the temperature an allow monitoring its changes in the fire.
There are many testimonies to the fact that Holy Fire does not burn at the first minutes after descent.
The scientists remarked that different religions are known for miracles, but "it takes miracle witnesses for the miracle to exist." "One can believe or not to believe in it. We take it for the truth," Florensky said and warned against confusing a miracle and God's grace with medical treatment.
He said it was a miracle to have the right hand of St. John the Baptist in Moscow. Another miracle in his view is an immediate and mass turning to church.

В 2010 году, в рамках реализации Федеральной космической программы (ФКП 2006-2015), в России планируется вывод на орбиту обсерватории "Спектр-УФ" для наблюдений в ультрафиолетовом диапазоне. Идея создания подобной обсерватории появилась еще в конце 1980-х годов и окончательно сформировалась в 1993, но так и не была реализована.

Russia is to launch the Spektr-UF ultraviolet observatory, also known as the World Space Observatory, into a highly elliptical orbit in 2010 under the 2006-2015 federal space program. The spacecraft's optical telescope will feature a 1.7-meter main mirror as well as high- and low-resolution spectrographs for photographing and recording the entire visible electromagnetic spectrum.
Scientists will therefore be able to obtain top-quality images of a diverse range of objects in the visible Universe and conduct the most in-depth observations to date. Experts have said the World Space Observatory (Spektr-UF) could become one of the most significant space projects of the next decade.
Russian project manager and Professor of Physics and Mathematics Boris Shustov, who heads the Institute of Astronomy at the Russian Academy of Sciences, said the observatory's huge potential would make it possible to obtain unique results in such areas as the physics of the early Universe, the evolutionary interdependence of galaxies and the intergalactic environment, the physics of hot stellar atmospheres, and the physics and chemistry of planetary atmospheres. "One should particularly emphasize the observatory's role in detecting the so-called dark matter of the Universe and unlocking its secrets because such dark matter can only be seen by large ultraviolet telescopes," said Shustov.
It should be noted in this connection that the Soviet Union had planned to implement a series of Spektr astrophysical projects in the 1990s. The Spektr-R (Radioastron) satellite was to have conducted radio-wave observations; the Spektr-RG was designed for X-Ray and gamma ray observations; and the Spektr-UF ultraviolet observatory was scheduled to lift off in 1997. Had this program been implemented, Russian science would have outpaced other countries in the field of extra-atmospheric research. Unfortunately, the Spektr-UF project was stalled because of the new Russian government's decision to reduce appropriations for science.
However, the situation has begun to improve in the last several years; notably, space science received 33% more money last year compared with 2004. The aforementioned three projects can be implemented because space science appropriations are to increase even more in 2006.
Work is proceeding apace to complete the Radioastron observatory and launch it next year. The Spektr-RG spacecraft is to lift off in 2008-2009 under the Russia-EU project Spektr-RG/eROSSITA/Lobster. And the Spektr-UF ultraviolet observatory will be launched in 2010.
NPO Lavochkin, a leading Russian space-probe manufacturer, is now developing the Navigator modular space platform for the three astrophysical projects. The new platform will weigh three times less than the 2,500 kg versatile instrument-laden Spektr observatory, which was created in the 1990s, and which could only lift off atop heavy and expensive Proton launch vehicles. Navigator-type platforms will be launched by the considerably cheaper Soyuz-2 medium-size rockets.
Soviet scientists had decided to develop the Spektr-UF ultraviolet observatory in the late 1980s, and an ultraviolet orbital telescope with an 80-centimeter main mirror operated successfully in near-Earth orbit between 1983 and 1989. The relevant experience made it possible to develop a prototype Spektr-UF observatory by 1993. This delayed project, intended to accomplish more sophisticated scientific objectives, will feature state-of-the-art technology. The Spektr-UF project has become more relevant due to the expected increase in demand for ultraviolet observations in the next decade and the lack of the required space platforms.
The $6 billion NASA Hubble Space Telescope, the most powerful and expensive extra-atmospheric ultraviolet observatory to date, loses about 50% of observation time due to its near-Earth orbit. The Russian telescope, however, will either be placed in an extremely elongated orbit with an apogee of 300,000 km or at the so-called libration point, which is the point of Earth-Sun gravitational equilibrium about 1.5 million km from the Earth. Consequently, it would become possible to minimize terrestrial and lunar interference during observations.
Moreover, the Hubble Space Telescope cannot conduct UHF observations due to a structural defect. But the Russian telescope, which is just as good as Hubble, would obtain spectrum bands for objects 20 times weaker than those being observed by the NASA telescope.
The Russian telescope is to play a unique role because the Hubble Space Telescope is expected to stop functioning in the next two years and because the United States does not plan to launch its Space Ultraviolet Observatory (SUVO) before 2020. Other countries have no intention of launching large ultraviolet telescopes either. In this situation, the world's astronomical community considers the Spektr-UF project to be a real godsend which would help eliminate gaps in ultraviolet astronomical observation [that appeared in the 1990s].
International project managers deserve special mention. This project will doubtless involve Germany, which is developing high-resolution spectrographs for the Spektr-UF observatory together with Russia. In addition, Spain and the Republic of South Africa are ready to contribute their antennas, transmitters and other ground infrastructure elements. The People's Republic of China, which has offered to launch the observatory, would like to receive a certain amount of observation time in return. This sounds like a good proposal because launch costs account for 20% of the project's total price estimate.
Experts at the European Space Agency recognize the value of this project, while U.S. scientists, who have also assessed it positively, have openly said that they cannot take part in the project because it vies with national research programs. It seems, however, that they will not be allowed to participate anyway.
Yury Zaitsev is an expert with the Space Research Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences.

Согласно расчетам физиков-теоретиков из России и Израиля, максимальная величина магнитного поля, допустимая в нашей Вселенной, составляет 10⁴² Гс, на 9 порядков меньше, чем предсказанный ранее предел. Такие результаты могут привести к пересмотру теории суперпроводящих космических струн и магнитного монополя. Новая величина была вычислена доктором Анатолием Шабадом из ФИАН им. Лебедева и доктором Владимиром Усовым из Института Вейсмана (Израиль). Исследователи получили свои результаты на основе квантовой электродинамики, применив так называемое уравнение Бете-Салпетера.

Champ magnétique terrestre : 1 Gauss (G). Champ dans l'espace (trous noirs, naines blanches et autres étoiles à neutrons…) : 10¹⁷ G. Limite théorique admise pour l'univers jusqu'à présent : 10⁵² G. Un nouveau chiffre avancé par deux physiciens russes établirait le maximum à "seulement" 10⁴² Gauss, avec au passage la remise en question de la théorie des cordes cosmiques et de l'existence supposée d'objets très étranges.
Dans l'univers, de la simple planète à l'objet le plus énigmatique, chacun se jauge à l'aune de son champ magnétique, une grandeur qui trouve son importance jusque dans la théorie d'unification des interactions fondamentales. Les cordes cosmiques, sortes de défauts topologiques de l'espace sensés avoir été créés juste après le Big Bang, étaient supposées recéler des champs magnétiques très élevés : jusqu'à 10⁴⁷ G ou 10⁴⁸ G. La nouvelle valeur obtenue par les théoriciens Anatoly Shabad (Lebedev Physics Institute) à Moscou et Vladimir Usov (Weizmann Institute of Sciences) à Rehovot en Israël, modifie la donne (1) et fixe le plafond à 10⁴² G.
Le duo de physiciens a effectué son calcul en cherchant à savoir quel pourrait être le maximum de champ en électrodynamique quantique, cette théorie qui permet de décrire l'interaction électromagnétique des particules chargées et d'expliquer les forces en jeu. Ils ont pour ce faire appliqué l'équation de Bethe-Salpeter, un outil de la physique des hautes énergies utilisé pour travailler sur les états d'énergie de particules chargées qui interagissent. L'équation a été résolue dans le cas de l'atome "exotique" de positronium : un positron plus un électron (période de demi-vie : 100 nanosecondes).
Un positronium qui s'effondre sur lui-même
Ils ont placé de façon théorique le positronium dans un champ magnétique très élevé : celui-ci accentue l'attraction entre électron et positron. Faisant croître la valeur du champ, ils ont determiné le seuil où le positronium s'effondre en quelque sorte sur lui-même, électron et positron s'annihilant en laissant place au vide. Hauteur de ce seuil : 10⁴² G.
Selon les chercheurs, le champ dans l'univers ne peut pas dépasser ce chiffre. "C'est la valeur maximale du champ magnétique qui permet de compenser la masse au repos du positronium par la disparition du gap énergétique séparant le système électron-positron du vide" résument-ils dans la revue Physical Review Letters. Autrement dit, ce champ détermine la limite au-delà de laquelle le vide pourrait redonner naissance à un positronium à partir d'une séparation entre électron et positron, si c'était possible...
La grande surprise de cette nouvelle valeur est double. D'une part elle remet en question l'hypothèse des cordes cosmiques qui établissait le champ magnétique à leur voisinage à 10⁴⁷ G. D'autre part, elle élimine la précédente limite des 10⁵² G, qui de toute façon avait pour inconvénient majeur de nécessiter l'existence d'objets purement hypothétiques baptisés "monopôles magnétiques"…

Корпорация IBM открывает первую лабораторию в России. К концу 2008 года компания собирается вложить в нее около $40 млн и увеличить количество сотрудников с 40 до 200 человек.Предполагается, что лаборатория будет использовать опыт российских инженеров для разработки технологий мэйнфреймов (высокопроизводительные компьютеры со значительным объемом оперативной и внешней памяти). В России много лет разрабатывается система ЕС-ЭВМ - аналог универсальной компьютерной системы IBM Sistem/360, и в корпорации IBM ожидают, что российские специалисты смогут внести значительный вклад в развитие этих технологий.

On Tuesday, IBM opened its first Russian Systems and Technology Laboratory in Moscow, which will focus on mainframe technology development. IBM has earmarked $40m (€31.7m) for this facility and plans to increase staff from the current 40 people to 200 by the end of 2008. Projects include work on the operating system for the System z mainframe, the Data Facility Storage Management Systems, and development and testing for the next generation of BladeCenter systems.
As part of IBM's strategy to tap into the global pool of talent - preferably in high-growth regions - this is the fourth major development facility IBM has opened in recent months. Its establishment follows the set-up of a Linux Technology Centre in Sao Paulo (Brazil), a Solutions and Technology Centre in Bangalore (India), and a mainframe development laboratory in Shanghai (China). IBM's recently announced investment plans for India - with $6bn (€4.8bn) earmarked by 2008 - also hit the headlines. Compared to this, the investment in the Russian facility seems modest.
However, there are good reasons to turn to Russia, where IBM has been present since 1974. Economic prospects are good, with expected growth rates of around 6% between now and 2008, fuelled by high prices for oil, gas and raw materials. Inspired by Bangalore's success, Russia's president Vladimir Putin developed a taste for government-backed technology parks and other forms of state support for IT development, promoted by the newly created Ministry for IT and Communications. During 2006/07 we will see the set-up of special economic zones that will initially host five production sites and five high-tech parks, which will, among others, take advantage of significant tax relief.
Another reason for turning to Russia is its technological know-how. After all, it was Russia that put man into space and launched the first satellite!
According to RUSSOFT, Russia's association of software development companies, as of November last year, Russia ranked number three in the number of scientists and engineers per capita worldwide. Russian universities churn out a fair number of engineering and science graduates - in 2004 alone there were 46,000 engineering graduates and 22,000 maths and physics graduates.
IBM's new facility will profit from Russia's advanced mainframe skills and technical expertise, built up over decades through the development of the ES-EVM - a clone of the IBM System/360 mainframe. This should be felt particularly in the development of IBM System z technology. In addition, the new lab will also help promote IBM's presence in the Russian market where it has a number of mainframe customers, including the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, Russian Railways, and the oil & gas company Surgutneftegaz.

Объявлены лауреаты наград, присуждаемых ученым всего мира за выдающиеся научные работы и открытия в области почвоведения. Вручение наград будет проводиться на Всемирном съезде почвоведов - 13 июля 2006 года (США, Филадельфия).

Four award recipients and nine honorary members of the International Union of Soil Sciences (IUSS) will be honored for their achievements in soil science research during the World Congress of Soil Science, July 9-15 in Philadelphia. These prestigious awards are presented every four years in conjunction with the World Congress of Soil Science. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, July 13 from 7:00 to 11:00 p.m. when the following awards will be presented:
2006 Dokuchaev Basic Soil Science Award - Victor Targulian, Institute of Geography, Moscow
In memory of Russian geographer Vasily Vasili'evich Dokuchaev (1846-1903), the Dokuchaev Basic Soil Science Award honors major accomplishments resulting from basic soil science research. The award consists of an engraved medal and $1,000 honorarium. The 2006 honoree is Victor Targulian of the Institute of Geography, Moscow, Russia. Dr. Targulian has spent his 50-year scientific career developing a pedology model as a basic Earth and biosphere science.
2006 Liebig Applied Soil Science Award - Rattan Lal, The Ohio State University
In memory of German scientist Justus von Liebig (1803-1873) - known as the "father of the fertilizer industry" - the award recognizes outstanding contributions in applied soil science research, resulting in new discoveries, techniques, inventions, or materials. The Liebig Applied Soil Science Award consists of an engraved medal and $1,000 honorarium and is presented in 2006 to Rattan Lal of The Ohio State University. Dr. Lal is professor of soil physics in the School of Environment and Natural Resources, and director of the Carbon Management and Sequestration Center at The Ohio State University. Since joining OSU in 1987, he has worked on soils and climate change, soil degradation, and global food security.
2006 Kubiëna Medal - Herman Mücher, University of Amsterdam
In memory of German soil scientist Walter L. Kubiëna (1897-1970), the Kubiëna Medal is awarded for outstanding and sustained contribution in the discipline of soil micromorphology. The award consists of an engraved medal and $1,000 honorarium and is presented in 2006 to Herman Mücher, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Dr. Mücher was unanimously awarded this medal for his outstanding research combining meticulous observations in the field, in the laboratory, and in thin sections. During his early career, he founded the micromorphological laboratory at the University of Amsterdam, greatly improving preparation techniques. Recently, he has directed his research towards palaeosols, a theme that Kubiëna also probed. During his career at the University of Amsterdam, Mücher trained many graduate and postgraduate students, and was involved in all the Erasmus intensive courses on micromorphology until his retirement.
2006 Kubiëna Medal Posthumous Award - A. Jongerius, Dutch Soil Survey Institute
In memory of German soil scientist Walter L. Kubiëna (1897-1970), the Kubiëna Medal is presented in 2006 posthumously to A. Jongerius, former Head of the Department of Micropedology and Mineralogy of the Dutch Soil Survey Institute (Stiboka) in Wageningen, the Netherlands. The award honors his memory and is an expression of appreciation for his outstanding and pioneering contribution to soil micromorphology. Dr. Jongerius passed away in mid-life, shortly after the establishment of the Kubiëna Medal. The awards committee noted that had Dr. Jongerius been nominated, he would have proved an outstanding candidate.
Honorary Membership to the International Union of Soil Sciences
This recognition is for soil scientists of distinction and international reputation who have given service to the international Soil Service Society and/or International Union of Soil Services.

Larry P. Wilding is professor emeritus, Soil and Crop Sciences Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in 1962 and served as a pedologist on the faculty of The Ohio State University from 1962-1976, as visiting professor at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, from 1971-1972, and as professor of pedology at Texas A&M University from 1976 until his retirement in 2003. He has more than 40 years of teaching and research experience in near surface geoscience processes, soil diversity, soil micromorphology, hydric soils, soil classification, Vertisol genesis, soil carbonate enrichment, soil carbon sequestration, surface mine reclamation, and international agriculture land use and development. He served as president of the Soil Science Society of America, was a charter member of the U.S. National Committee on Soil Science, and has served on numerous committees at soil science societies. He is a registered Professional Soil Scientist and Professional Agronomist with ARCPACS, Soil Science Society of America, and a Professional Licensed Geoscientist in Texas.

© 2006 Newswise. All Rights Reserved.

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