Research & Expertise news at HSE University

Researchers from the MIEM HSE Centre for Quantum Metamaterials, jointly with colleagues from Germany and the UK, have proposed an algorithm for the automated compression of arbitrary environments (ACE). It opens up exciting new possibilities for the precise calculation of the dynamics of quantum systems. According to the scientists, the new method can assist in the design of quantum computers and novel communication systems. The study findings are published in Nature Physics.

An international team of scientists including a HSE researcher have detected a rare optical emission from one of the most powerful gamma-ray bursts in the history of observation. The team measured the parameters of the environment, from which the emission originated, and proceeded to construct a model that simulates the behaviour of gamma-ray bursts. This contributes to our understanding of why such bursts are accompanied by electromagnetic radiation in the visible range. The findings have been published in Nature Astronomy.

Rogue waves, or killer waves, are abnormally high and deadly waves that can emerge unpredictably in open seas and along shorelines. They pose an imminent deadly threat to everyone from colossal liners and pleasure yachts to seafarers and vacationers. Scientists from the HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod Efim Pelinovsky and Ekaterina Didenkulova have assembled a catalogue of such phenomena that occurred in the World Ocean from 2011 to 2018, identifying the areas where they are frequently documented and inflict the most substantial damage.

Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl believed that the quest for meaning constitutes a fundamental and intrinsic motivation for all human beings. Some other authors suggest that the need for meaning or purpose only emerges at higher levels of personality development. According to a team of psychologists from HSE and the University of Paris Nanterre, individuals who have achieved higher levels of ego development are inclined to relinquish hedonistic motives in favour of cultivating mindfulness and embarking on a quest for meaning. These findings have been published in Frontiers in Psychology.

On June 8th, 2023, students from different faculties of HSE University who had participated in the project ‘Cross-cultural dialogue between the Arab Maghreb and France through the example of song and music traditions’ presented the results of their work. Irina Bilyk, head of the project, and Arina Tulebaeva, a second-year student of the Asian and African Studies programme at HSE University in Moscow, who was instrumental in organising it, spoke to us about the project.

People who are fluent in two or more languages are less susceptible to age-related mental disorders. They more quickly process information and make decisions, have better memories, and can even better identify emotions. Scientists from various countries discussed the influence of a second language on the processes of cognitive aging at the international symposium ‘Bilingualism: Proper Learning, Effective Communication, and Pleasant Old Age’ hosted by HSE University.

HSE University and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) have agreed to cooperate in the development of new technologies, the digital transformation of the economy, and the social development of the country. The agreement was signed by HSE University Rector Nikita Anisimov and ASI Director General Svetlana Chupsheva at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Researchers from the HSE Faculty of Social Sciences will study social processes in African countries, the issues and features of the continent’s demographic development, and problems related to the causes of separatism and decentralisation in particular African states during a multi-day scientific expedition that will be launched in June 2023.