The Results of the “UMNIK” Program were Announced. Сongratulations to the winners!

The Foundation for promoting innovation announced the results of the “UMNIK” program aimed at supporting commercially oriented scientific and technical projects of young researchers. Three projects of young researchers of the RUDN University received funding for 2020-2021.

Direction “New materials and chemical technologies”

The project of the 1st year student of the Institute of Biochemical Technology and Nanotechnology (IBTN) master’s program Oksana Khan is aimed at the development of multicomponent biopolymer fiber materials for environmental purposes. They can be used as sorbents of oil and petroleum products, since they are completely biodegradable systems that do not harm the environment. This solves the problem of widespread use of synthetic sorbents, which require an additional stage of utilization.

“The preparation for the competition was painstaking and took a lot of time. I sincerely want to thank the Director of IBTN Yaroslav Stanishevskiy, Professor IBTN Ivan Vasilenko, senior researcher of the Institute of Biochemical Physics named after N. M. Emanuel of RAS Anatoly Olkhov and post graduate students of IBTN Alexey Donskih. They helped me quickly resolve issues that arise in the process of preparing for the competition. Our joint efforts led to victory! Participation in the competition gave me the opportunity to demonstrate the practical significance of my work for modern ecology and green chemistry, as well as to gain experience that will be useful to me in life”, — Oksana Khan.

Andrey Vodyashkin, a 2-year post-graduate student at IBTN, develops packaging materials based on polystyrene nanoparticles and paper made from waste from the pulp industry.

When implementing the project, it plans to develop an anti-adhesive, that is, an anti-sticking material. The problem of creating it in a simple, universal, convenient, low-step and cheap way has not yet been solved.

The developed material will protect products from moisture and other influences, and is also perfect for sticky materials and products.

“While studying for a master’s degree, I was engaged in various ways of surface modification, and, in particular, their hydrophobization — to obtain a water-repellent effect. Even then, I noticed that an additional stage of processing the material can significantly improve its characteristics and resistance to external influences.

Then I became very interested in the field of packaging materials in the world. I noticed a trend towards creating eco-friendly, low-cost materials, outlined the main criteria for compliance, and started creating a material based on paper made from waste from the pulp industry. After developing several ways to modify paper and comparing them with world analogues that are currently used, I noticed a number of advantages of my project. After that, I decided to send an application for the ‘UMNIK’ contest.

The competition can allow you to look at your research from the point of view of its application and commercialization, as well as to get advice on development from leading scientists in your direction. This is very important.

‘UMNIK’ is a necessary start for every startup: you will not only understand your own project in detail, but also, if you win, you will receive initial investment for further promotion”, — Andrey Vodyashkin.

Direction “New devices and intelligent production technologies”

Alexander Vorobyov, a 2-year post-graduate student at the Academy of Engineering, is developing a stand for determining the deformation of the piston skirt of an internal combustion engine. This testbed is necessary for obtaining experimental data.

The developed modification considers the parameters of hydrodynamic lubrication of the working surface of the piston skirt and the deformation of the skirt profile from the acting loads. This will reduce mechanical losses, increase the resource of the internal combustion engine, as well as improve its energy characteristics and reduce the amount of harmful emissions.

RUDN University hosts the semifinal of the “UMNIK” competition at its site during the annual science festival. The opportunity for RUDN students to submit their projects to the expert Commission at their home University and receive a preliminary expert assessment before applying for the all-Russian competition is a significant step towards winning and competent project activities in the field of advanced scientific research.

View the results of the competition