'My Goal Is to Become a Tenured Professor'

Mikhail Samatov focuses on the theoretical study of perovskite solar cells. In this interview for the HSE Young Scientists project, he talks about working on HSE University’s supercomputer, collaborating with Peking University, and making furniture.

When I Started in Science

In the second year of my bachelor’s programme, and quite by accident. I had heard that HSE University encourages one-on-one work between teachers and students, and I thought, 'Why not give it a try?' So, I approached a lecturer I liked for his way of engaging with students—Andrey Vasenko. He invited me to a seminar. I listened but didn’t understand much of what was being discussed, yet I found it interesting. I was given several articles and spent a couple of weeks working through one of them, trying to get to the bottom of it...

Even when the first research paper with me as a co-author was published in my fourth year, I still didn’t really understand what kind of science I was doing or why. Yes, I had solved a problem, obtained an elegant result, and we published it, meaning that the result was recognised by the community. But it wasn’t clear how it concerned me.

Then I was invited to join a biology project, where I handled the mathematical analysis. Another paper was published, significant enough to make it to a top-quartile journal. But it was only later that I found my focus and have been pursuing it for the past few years. Now understand why I need to do this, what science is, and how I can make friends with it.

The Focus of My Research

I focus on perovskites—a class of minerals first discovered in the Urals in 1839. It has since become clear that they are highly promising for use in solar energy. Perovskite solar cells can be more efficient than conventional silicon-based ones. Perovskites' optoelectronic properties are unique and the cost of producing such panels is much lower, since silicon technology requires extremely pure silicon, which is expensive to refine. Thus, it is no longer science for its own sake—research driven simply by the hope of discovering something new—but science aimed at creating a specific product. In China, for example, they have already begun building an entire solar power plant based on perovskites. As a theorist, I focus on describing the mechanisms and processes that occur within these materials.

My Working Tool

HSE University's cHARISMa supercomputer. It allows us to run all kinds of simulations of perovskite structures—for example, how a structure with many grain boundaries (essentially the seams that hold small crystals together) behaves, and how this affects the properties of solar panels. All of this can be described mathematically and modelled in advance. Then, based on the results, we can carry out further calculations—analysing atomic displacements, diffusion, and other processes—to understand exactly what will happen and how it will affect the solar panels' performance.

How I Choose Topics for My Articles

I look for theoretical explanations of phenomena that have already been confirmed experimentally. For example, it is known that grain boundaries in a material reduce the efficiency of solar panels. However, it is one thing to observe this experimentally and quite another to understand why it happens. To address this, we build mathematical models, study how the material’s structure evolves, and analyse how atoms shift and what occurs at the microscopic level.

It turns out that bromine atoms begin to migrate, vacancies appear, and the number of free electrons decreases. As a result, the efficiency of converting solar energy into electrical energy is reduced. This is precisely what my first article on ion migration was about.

What I Take Pride In

My results in the field of perovskites. Before that, my research focused on superconductivity and biology—also novel and important areas, but without immediate practical applications. In the case of perovskites, however, there is a concrete product that can be improved. I perform calculations, propose solutions, and obtain results. I have already published several papers with proposals for improving perovskite solar cells.

We are currently collaborating with China, which is especially important for me because our perovskite research group is quite small. The team includes my academic supervisor, myself as a doctoral student and senior lecturer, several students who are just beginning to engage with the work, and a researcher from China who joined us as a postdoc. He worked with us for two years and decided to extend his stay.

Despite the small size of our group, we are already collaborating with Peking University, and the entire institute is talking about it. It all started with my supervisor saying, 'We want to collaborate.' The HSE rector then went to Beijing to sign the agreement. And then, during Xi Jinping’s visit to Russia for the Victory Day celebrations last year, one of the signed documents was an agreement on cooperation between HSE University and Peking University. I understand that our group contributed to making this possible.

Where Perovskite Batteries Can Be Used

Our latest research is not focused on everyday applications, but rather on their use in space satellites. Silicon solar panels are rigid and must remain flat, whereas perovskite-based ones can be bent in almost any way. At the same time, their efficiency can be higher, which makes them particularly well suited for space applications.

Satellites are powered by solar panels, which supply energy to cameras, communication systems, and the engines that adjust a spacecraft’s course. It is thanks to these satellites that we can see images of the Earth on maps and receive meteorological data.

And if a spacecraft is sent farther out—for example, to Jupiter—solar panels become even more critical. They capture photons of light and convert them into electricity, powering the entire satellite.

But an immediate question arises: how do these materials behave under cosmic radiation and in a vacuum? What happens at the structural level? While the term 'radiation' is broad, we often distinguish it from direct particle impacts—such as collisions with protons and other high-energy particles. Space is full of them, and they can travel at extremely high speeds. When such a proton strikes a solar panel, it can damage the material’s structure and reduce its efficiency.

This may not be critical on a small scale, but as damage accumulates across a large panel, the losses become significant. There is also the concept of self-healing, where minor structural defects can be compensated over time: atoms shift and return to more stable positions. However, how effectively this works in perovskite solar panels remains an open question.

Satellites Launched by HSE University

HSE University has its own satellites, so once we develop a solar panel, it can be passed on for installation. At present, HSE satellites are already orbiting above us, collecting various types of data. However, we have not yet launched a satellite equipped with perovskite panels—we are currently working on the preparations. We need to engage closely with experimentalists. There are not many of them yet, but the team is gradually taking shape. I believe that over time, HSE University will develop full-fledged experimental laboratories for perovskites. For now, such facilities are available at Skoltech and Moscow State University.

My Ambitions

To obtain a permanent contract and the freedom to work on topics of my choosing for as long as I wish. HSE University has tenured professors with indefinite contracts—three of them at MIEM. This is a goal worth striving for, as it provides greater freedom and broader opportunities in research. One of my immediate goals is to obtain grants from the Russian Science Foundation. This is not only a form of financial support, but also a recognition of scientific achievement. Previously, my goal was to receive a presidential grant, and by the end of my doctoral programme, I succeeded in doing so.

Working Abroad

I do not want to relocate permanently to another country. I would prefer to work here and periodically visit Peking University for two weeks or a month at a time. This format allows me to stay involved in both academic environments. When researchers are based in different countries and rarely meet in person, effective collaboration becomes much more of a challenge.

Travel is really valuable—it provides motivation, new ideas, and fresh objectives. That is largely why scientists attend conferences: to listen to colleagues, discuss their research, and identify new areas to explore.

I liked China, although the approach to science there is different from ours. It is very publication-oriented: papers are expected to be produced almost every month. It may seem almost extreme, but at the same time it leads to a very high output of results.

A Thousand Citations

The goal of any scientist is to publish a paper that receives a thousand or more citations. Such articles are considered world-class contributions and can place a researcher among the scientific elite.

For example, Steve Plimpton developed the LAMMPS software package, which I use for my calculations. The paper describing this program has received around 17,000 citations. LAMMPS is now one of the key tools in molecular dynamics, and it is constantly evolving. It can be used to model the behaviour of atoms: you run a simulation and observe how particles move within a structure. The underlying equations existed before, but an efficient numerical implementation has now been developed that allows results to be obtained not in years, but in two weeks.

If I Hadn't Become a Scientist

There were two turning points where I had to make a choice. After school, I could have studied to become a medical doctor—we have many doctors in our family: my father, my grandfather, and my grandfather’s brothers. Alternatively, I could choose an engineering field, which is what I ultimately did.

The second turning point came when I was already working at MIEM: whether to stay in applied electronics or move into science. At that time, I was more interested in software development—writing code and creating programs. I was actively engaged in this area but in the end, I chose science.

If I had chosen medicine, I would most likely have become a surgeon—my family believes I had all the necessary abilities for it. Blood does not scare me at all, nor does the complexity of the human body and its inner processes.

Who I Would Like to Meet

Richard Feynman. He was often described as a man who knew everything about physics. A Nobel Prize laureate and recipient of many other awards, Feynman worked at leading universities, travelled around the world, and gave lectures. I would like to ask him how he spent his entire life pursuing science without ever losing interest in it, remaining motivated and achieving outstanding results. Perhaps he was a genius, perhaps he simply loved science that much, or maybe there is another, less obvious explanation.

Another reason he interests me is that he is closer to our time than the classical great scientists. One could mention Albert Einstein or other outstanding researchers, but they worked in a very different scientific and historical era. Feynman, however, worked under conditions much closer to those of modern science, and his approach is in many ways similar to how scientists work today.

A Typical Day for Me

I am a morning person and try to do my most important work in the morning. I tackle the most difficult tasks before three or four o’clock in the afternoon and then move on to other activities. I may read papers or work with data and charts. It is a long process and sometimes even a bit tedious—at times, you even need to carefully choose colours so that the figures look good in a paper. I reserve meetings, seminars, presentations, and conversations with friends and colleagues for the afternoon. The evening is my personal time, when I rest and recharge.

Whether I Have Experienced Burnout

I am fortunate to work in theoretical science, where I can set up calculations that take two weeks or so. If I ever feel burnout approaching, I can switch to complex, time-consuming computations and fully immerse myself in the work. After about a week, I usually find that I have recovered and can continue working productively. In addition, talking with colleagues, participating in seminars, or attending conferences can further increase my motivation.

My Interests Besides Science

I enjoy working with my hands—with wood and metal. I can make furniture, even a wooden clock. I renovated my apartment myself; I can replace tiles and assemble cabinets, which I prefer not to buy ready-made but to build from scratch.

What I Have Been Reading and Watching Lately

My reading is mostly work-related: after working with research papers, letters tend to blur in front of my eyes, making any other reading difficult. As for films, I like Guy Ritchie’s movies. Occasionally, I also watch Russian TV series. The Vampires of Central Russia with Yuri Stoyanov is a really good one.

Advice for Aspiring Scientists

Be patient. It is impossible to achieve results quickly, especially at the beginning of your journey. It often takes years to study a topic and gradually work toward new results. Sometimes it may feel as if you are stuck, even though in reality you are gaining experience.

While your academic supervisor provides guidance, meaningful results still take time. In some cases, it can take from six months to a year to prepare a high-quality paper. Therefore, it is important for an early-career scientist to understand that this is a long-term process.

It took me about three years to write my first research paper, where I was a co-author. I performed the core calculations, while the text and part of the results were prepared by other contributors. This first paper gave me an important understanding of how scientific work actually functions. After that, you begin to feel that you are truly a scientist.

My Favourite Place in Moscow

VDNKh, the All-Russian Exhibition Centre. It is close to Dolgoprudny, where I live, and I used to go there often—especially when the monorail was still in operation. There are always many exhibitions at VDNKh, and a large ice rink in winter. Overall, it is a spacious recreational park not far from my home.