NSU Scientists Delivered Lectures for Senior Students of “Gornostay”

On September 1, the annual festive lecture series took place at MAOU OC “Gornostay,” with participation from NSU staff and students. This year, the lectures were held at nine educational venues of the gymnasium. Specialists in the fields of science, law, and art spoke to the students.

Among others, lectures for gymnasium students were given by a Candidate of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, head of the FDNS Laboratory (Note: Functional Diagnostics of Low-Dimensional Structures) at the Physics Department, and senior lecturer at NSU. Pavel Geidt, Candidate of Chemical Sciences, Senior Researcher at ICHTTM SB RAS and CKP “SKIF”, Senior Lecturer at NSU Denis Rychkov, as well as students of the Institute of Philosophy and Law of NSU Mikhail Syomin and Magdalena Syomina. Denis Rychkov gave a lecture titled “Computational Methods in Chemistry, Biology, and Medicine,” and Pavel Geidt spoke about nanotechnologies and microelectronics.

Lecture Pavel Geidt “Nanotechnology and microelectronics: where they exist and what they are needed for?” was designed for 9th-grade students specializing in mathematics and physics. Together with the students, the scientist explored the scales of objects – from familiar meters and millimeters to the microworld and nanometers, and also talked about modern technologies and devices that surround us in everyday life.

— I enjoyed this interaction with the guys; they were focused and attentive, which is nice for 9th grade., — noted Pavel.

The students were especially interested in the visual materials and the opportunity to see real samples of microelectronics. The scientist brought to the class a 20-centimeter diameter silicon wafer with processor chips made according to the 90-nanometer technology node, as well as handouts from the recently held international forum on technological development “Technoprom-2026.”

— I am sure that it is important for young people to experience real science and high technology—not just virtually from television or the internet, but to actually touch it with their own hands in the classroom. — said a lecturer from NSU.

The students actively participated in the discussion: during almost an hour and a half lecture, they asked questions including about modern microelectronics technologies and their development in Russia. According to Pavel, the number of questions from the audience was greater than sometimes happens in university classes. Some gymnasium students were already familiar with the topic and independently followed materials on nanotechnologies.

To prepare for the lecture, the teacher reworked several presentations, adding more visual materials as well as animation that helped explain how the perception of object sizes changes with zooming. According to him, the ability to explain complex scientific concepts in simple and clear language is useful not only for schoolchildren but also for the teacher himself:

— If you learn to present this to schoolchildren, it becomes easier to quickly convey your thoughts to any new colleague, as well as to speak at scientific conferences.

Pavel also emphasized that such meetings help schoolchildren gain an understanding of the real scientific and technological environment even before entering university. In his opinion, familiarizing with modern research can help kids make more conscious choices about their future fields of study and professional development.

Lectures by NSU professors at “Gornostay” take place within the framework of the “Intellectual Patronage” program. Annual meetings of scientists with schoolchildren on September 1 have already become a tradition at the gymnasium.

— I also consider such forms of work to be successful: not only for scientists to come to schoolchildren, but also for young gymnasium students with their teachers to come to laboratories and university and institute departments, to enterprises, and to see science and living scientists in real conditions, — Pavel noted.