Yuri Oganessian:

"We need to finish what we have started"

On 20 September, elections of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences will be held, the governments have agreed on three candidates. Yuri Oganessian, the discoverer of several elements of Mendeleev's periodic system, Scientific Leader of the Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, shared his vision of the results of the work of the Russian Academy of Sciences over the past five years and its further prospects.

- Yuri Tsolakovich, candidates for the post of Head of the Academy are already known, they will be discussed at the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences on 19 September, before the secret ballot. Will you be at this meeting?

- I will, definitely. I consider the election of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences an important event in our scientific life and work. The Academy of Sciences has state status, the President accounts for all of us to the government. In his rank, he also represents the scientific face of our country in world science. And there are many, I would even say, a great many problems and issues, in the solution of which the President has the final word. In this regard, the personality of the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences plays an essential role.

As it has recently become known, the choice will be made from three academicians of the Russian Academy of Sciences: Gennady Krasnikov, Dmitry Markovich and the current President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeyev. The first two candidates are "newbies", they will present their programmes from scratch. Sergeyev has been working in this post for 5 years and is running for a second term. If in the first case we listen to scenarios for the future development of the RAS, then Sergeyev will have to report on the past 5 years, because the further development will follow the previously chosen course, of course, with some additions and amendments dictated by life.

In this regard, we will have to choose one or another option for the development of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the next 5 years. Without listening to the applicants at the General Meeting, I would not like to approve something in advance. One can only pay attention to the fact that any impulse to set new priorities (in fact, a new programme) is inevitably related to risks. And today is not the time to create new academic storms. From my point of view, it is reasonable to develop the programmes started. Fortunately, the results obtained in the past 5 years speak in favor of this option.

- One of the most important events having been taken place at the Academy in recent years is the RAS Professorship. How do you evaluate this idea and its practical implementation?

- This work deserves the most serious attention. The issue of rejuvenating the composition of the Russian Academy of Sciences was and is on the agenda today. Innovations in the election of members and corresponding members of the Russian Academy of Sciences in two age categories, although they got the matter off the ground, were far from sufficient in extent. The idea that young shoots should be trained not before the elections, but much earlier, having tested them in specific cases, belongs to the previous President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov. The implementation of these issues was destined for the current President Alexander Sergeyev. Over the past 5 years, the RAS Professorship has grown significantly and amounts to 714 people. Many of them hold leading positions in major scientific projects and almost all are active in scientific work. This is a great achievement of Academician Sergeyev and his colleagues, who have found the most efficient and valid way to solve the personnel problem of the Russian Academy of Sciences for many years to come.

This year, the final list of candidates included Academician-Secretary of the Department of Nanotechnology and Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Gennady Krasnikov, Director of the Institute of Thermophysics of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Markovich and the current President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeyev. From among the candidates approved by the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences in July, the Scientific Leader of the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences Robert Nigmatulin dropped out on decision of the Government.

- How efficient, in your opinion, is the new means of organizing scientific activity proposed by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education and Science - the competition for mega-grants?

- I am often asked how to create a creative climate in science in general and in each research team in particular. I honestly answer that I do not know and cannot even find an explanation for how it occurs. It is surprising, for example, that in the post-revolutionary period in the hungry and cold Petrograd, not only science, but also culture reached the heights and remained in history. One can only say that competitiveness, competition, striving for leadership have always accompanied the creative process. In an effort to intensify scientific work, it seems to me that it was very reasonable to carry out a competition of projects funded by the government, organized by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Education and Science, for up 3 years, with an announced programme and expected results. It proved to be extremely efficient. 367 applications were submitted for 41 projects, in all sciences. The result obtained showed not only the high potential level of the country's science, but also the great attractiveness of such competitions for enhancing scientific work, especially among young scientists. If we add to this the organization of 11 major world-class scientific centres in Russia, then we can see a certain progress of the RAS in this area of activity. Therefore, further work in this area, as well as the estimation of its efficiency also seems to me to be an urgent and priority matter.

- Sanctions pose new problems for Russian science. What, in your opinion, should be the policy of the Russian Academy of Sciences in international activities in current conditions?

- We often say that science is international. And it is not just words. If, let's say, I'm working on a problem and looking for ways to solve it, I will never go down that dead end path of another, for example, an Australian scientist, who has not succeeded. But I need to know in detail about it and only then for me, as for many others, the negative result of my distant colleague also becomes a valuable result.

Sanctions that limit our communication and collaboration certainly change regular scientific life. And it causes and will cause certain, sometimes considerable difficulties. It is all the more important as soon as possible to correctly imagine the nature and extent of these difficulties in each specific case in order to develop general decisions and strategies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

At the last General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergeyev himself raised this issue and showed everyone that the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences would seriously deal with this issue.

- How do you generally evaluate the work of the Russian Academy of Sciences and its leadership? And how do you see the future of the Academy?

- I am a full member of the RAS. Therefore, the work of the Academy of Sciences is also my work. I cannot evaluate it as an outside observer, let others evaluate it, who are not directly related to their activities and life with the Russian Academy of Sciences.

Now I'd rather say about Alexander Sergeyev. He will be elected for a second term. I perceive him as an excellent scientist and leader of science of a grand scale, as well as a Russian intellectual in the highest categories of this definition.

Last year we listened to his brilliant report on one of the key issues of contemporary physics in Dubna. No less impressive was his speech at a large forum at UNESCO in honor of the 150th anniversary of Mendeleev's discovery of the Periodic Law. With broad erudition, deep knowledge, a sense of great responsibility, the ability to hear and listen carefully, he earned great respect for himself in various circles of our society.

I speak about his merits, having no doubt that his electoral competitors are also worthy persons. After all, they are also members of our Academy. We simply know little about them yet and, of course, we would like to get to know about their opinions on the programme and strategy of our science in this difficult time. Unfortunately, there was no discussion of these important issues in the press for everyone and useless and stupid PR greatly interfered with this interesting discussion.

Alexander Sergeyev has spoken about the RAS programme and its future more than once and this time he will speak at the elective General Meeting, taking into account the latest trends of the times. Further movement in the started areas is expected.

As long as it works and there is a progress, this is justified. Therefore, now we need to go further and get the desired results. The past five years have shown that this task is up to the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

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