Scientific adviser of INBIKST –
President of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute",
Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences,
Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor
Kovalchuk Mikhail Valentinovich

Director of INBIKST - chief
Scientific Secretary
NRC "Kurchatov Institute",
Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences
Forsh Pavel Anatolievich

The most amazing and most breakthrough discoveries of recent years occur at the intersection of different sciences - physics and medicine, computer science and biology. To successfully conduct complex interdisciplinary research, specialists of a new type are needed.

The Institute of Nano-, Bio-, Information, Cognitive and Socio-Humanitarian Sciences and Technologies (INBIKST) on the basis of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" for the first time implements an interdisciplinary system for training such specialists.

Departments of the Institute represent a single educational complex that teaches general education and special disciplines of the institute, faculty and basic cycles:

Department of NBIC-technologies;

Department of Physics and Physical Materials Science;

Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Methods of Physics;

Department of Informatics and Computer Networks;

Department of Humanities.

The staff of the departments are prominent scientists who combine scientific work And teaching activities. The faculty is taught by specialists from the Kurchatov Institute, institutes Russian Academy sciences, employees of the National research university Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov and other leading universities in Moscow.

INBIKST prepares bachelors, masters and postgraduate students in the field of nano-, bio-, cognitive and socio-humanitarian sciences and technologies.

Syllabus undergraduate includes fundamental general education courses in physics, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, biology, a block of humanitarian disciplines, as well as a number of interdisciplinary courses: biophysics, biochemistry, methods for obtaining and studying nanosystems, fundamentals of cognitive sciences, physics of condensed matter.

IN magistracy students get acquainted with modern scientific achievements, mastering special interdisciplinary courses: physics of nanosystems, molecular electronics, multilevel modeling, molecular biology, neurocognitive technologies, protein engineering, supramolecular chemistry, fundamentals of biotechnology, medical genetics.

Directions of study in undergraduate studies:

03.03.01 - "Applied mathematics and physics"

Directions of study in the magistracy:

01.04.02 - "Applied Mathematics and Informatics"

04/03/01 - "Applied mathematics and physics"

Entrance tests for admission to the first year:

On the direction 03.03.01 entrance examinations in mathematics, physics and the Russian language.

Budget places in 2020:

In the direction of 03.03.01 - 39 budget places.

Practical classes are held in the Kurchatov complex of NBICS technologies.

Research base includes:

• Resource centers in various directions:

X-RAY (laboratory x-ray methods),

NANOPROBE (probe and electron microscopy),

OPTICS (optical microscopy and spectroscopy),

ELECTROPHYSICS (electrophysical methods),

POLYMER (organic and hybrid materials),

COGNIMED (nuclear physics methods),

MOLBIOTEKH (molecular and cellular biology),

NEURON (neurocognitive research);

• Students take advantage of opportunitiesKurchatov supercomputer for mathematical modeling of physical processes, parallel high-performance computing, processing of large data arrays, visualization of measurement results and calculations.

Research and technological platforms of the Kurchatov complex of NBICS technologies :

• Biomedicine. Development of medical products, medicines.
• Bionic robotics. Creation of brain-machine interfaces, hybrid sensory systems.
• Bioradiation. Study of the influence of radiation on living systems.
• Genome. Development of genomic medical technologies for personalized medicine and ethnogenetics.
• Hybrid. Development of hybrid materials and systems - combination of nanobiotechnologies with microelectronics.
• Drug design. Drug design and delivery.
• Isotope. Development of nuclear medicine technologies and production of radiopharmaceuticals.
• Brain. Synthesis of neurophysiology, cognitive and socio-humanitarian sciences.
• Superconductivity. Development of physical and technological foundations for the creation of multilayer superconductors.
• Synchrotron-neutron diagnostics. Diagnostics of materials and systems using synchrotron and neutron radiation.
• Supercomp. Multilevel computer modeling and design.
• Energotech. Development of promising energy technologies: generation and consumption.

NRC "Kurchatov Institute" regularly holds competitions for scholarships named after I.V. Kurchatov for young scientists and named after A.P. Alexandrova for students studying full-time in the basic educational structures of the Center. Competition is held annually I.V. Kurchatov in the nominations "Works of Young Researchers and Research Engineers" and "Student Works". Preliminary selection of works is carried out by the basic departments.

Place of study:

• Moscow, st. Maksimova, 4 (metro station Schukinskaya)
• Moscow, pl. Academician Kurchatova d. 1, National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" (m. Oktyabrskoye pole, m. Schukinskaya)
• Dolgoprudny - MIPT

At the moment, scientific and technological progress has accelerated dramatically and we are able to observe whole waves of discoveries that overlap in time. Since the 1980s, there has been a scientific and technological revolution in the field of information technology and communications, followed by an explosion of discoveries in the field of biotechnology, and lately everyone is talking about the beginning of a revolution in the field of nanotechnology. Cognitive science has also developed rapidly in the last decade.

Of extreme interest is mutual influence all these sciences on each other. This phenomenon has received its own name - NBIC convergence (according to the first letters of the regions: N - nano; B - bio; I - info; C - cogno). It was introduced by William Benbridge and Michael Roko, who wrote the highly significant Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance report in 2002. The report pointed out the importance and peculiarity of the NBIC convergence, its significance in the development of civilization and the formation of modern culture. Of the four described areas (nano-, bio-, info-, cogno-), the most developed (information and communication technologies), which is used in all other areas. In particular, for modeling various processes. Biotechnology is widely used in nanotechnology and cognitive science and the development of computer technology.

The interaction of nano- and biotechnologies is bilateral. Biological systems have given a number of tools for the construction of nanostructures (for example, special DNA sequences have been created that cause the synthesized DNA molecule to fold into two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures of any configuration).

Nanotechnology will lead to the emergence and development of a new industry, nanomedicine: a set of technologies that allow you to control biological processes at the molecular level.

In general, the relationship between nano- and bio-fields of science and technology is fundamental. When considering living (biological) structures at the molecular level, their chemical nature becomes obvious, and we can say that at the micro level, the difference between living and non-living is not obvious.

Nanotechnologies and cognitive science are the most distant from each other, since at this stage in the development of science, the possibilities for interaction between them are limited, in addition, these areas began to develop actively later than others. But from the prospects being viewed now, first of all, it is necessary to single out the use of nanotools for studying the brain, as well as its computer modeling. Existing external methods of brain scanning do not provide sufficient depth and resolution. Of course, there is a huge potential for improving their characteristics, but robots up to 100 nm in size (nanorobots) being developed in many leading laboratories seem to be the most technically simple way studying the activity of individual neurons and even their intracellular structures. Cognitive science will become the basis for improving the mental activity of the brain, and nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technologies will be used for this. Nanotechnology will play a special role. The manipulation of atoms will make it possible to produce a nanorevolution both in production and in society.

Taking into account the interrelationships, as well as the generally interdisciplinary nature of modern science, one can even talk about the expected merger of NBIC areas into a single scientific and technological field of knowledge.

Such an area will include in the subject of its study and action almost all levels of the organization of matter: from the molecular nature of matter (nano), to the nature of life (bio), the nature of the mind (cogno) and information exchange processes (info). As J. Horgan notes, in the context of the history of science, the emergence of such a meta-field of knowledge will mean the “beginning of the end” of science, approaching its final stages.

In general, we can say that the phenomenon of NBIC convergence, which is developing before our eyes, represents a radically new stage in scientific and technological progress. By their own possible consequences NBIC-convergence is the most important evolutionary-determining factor and marks the beginning of transhumanistic transformations, when, in itself, the evolution of man, presumably, will come under his own reasonable control. The features of NBIC convergence are: 1) intensive interaction between scientific and technological fields; 2) the breadth of consideration and influence - from the atomic level of matter to intelligent systems; 3) technological perspective of the growth of human development opportunities.

4) - a significant synergistic effect;

As a result of convergence, new areas have already emerged: nanomedicine, nanodrugs, nanobiology, nanosociety. Cognitive science (or cognitology) also arose - this is a new science of the human mind. It combines the achievements of cognitive psychology, pedagogy, research in the field of artificial intelligence, neurobiology, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, linguistics, mathematical logic, neurology, philosophy, and other sciences. It should be emphasized that cognitology is now converging, like information technology, into many other sciences.

Figure "Map of intersections of the latest technologies" from the article
Technology convergence as a factor in evolution

The phenomenon of NBIC convergence is
a radically new stage of scientific and technological progress.
In terms of its possible consequences, NBIC convergence
is the most important evolutionary determining factor
and marks the beginning of transhumanist
transformations, when in itself the evolution of man,
presumably come under his own reasonable control.”
Valeria Pride, D.A. Medvedev

“Finally, the understanding has come that nanotechnology is
interdisciplinary field of science and technology, where
interests of chemistry, physics and biology converge. And, perhaps,
The main mission of nanotechnology is to
unite the widely divergent natural sciences
and return to us a complete picture of the world"
Heinrich Erlich

"According to the theory of technological patterns, the most
the advanced countries of the world are now experiencing their sixth wave.
The main areas of development there are bio- and
nanotechnology, laser technology, energy saving
and robotics"

"Understanding mind and brain will enable the creation of new species
intelligent machine systems that can generate
economic wealth on a scale hitherto unimaginable.
This is an opportunity for the eradication of poverty and the entry of all
humanity in a golden age

“We are what we are, and our civilization is bad
or good - such because we have such a brain.
All that we have done on this planet, and that we
let's do it - because we have such a brain. We get to know the world
we see it like this, we have such a picture of the world,
because we have such a brain"
T. Chernigovskaya, deputy. Director of the Kurchatov NBIC Center

NBIC convergence refers to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress due to mutual influence on each other various areas Science - Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information and Cognitive Technologies (NBIC acronym: N -nano; B -bio; I -info; C -cogno). Convergence (from the English convergence - convergence at one point) means not only mutual influence, but also the interpenetration of technologies, when the boundaries between individual technologies are erased. The term was introduced in 2002 by American nanoscientist Dr. Mihail C. Roco and American sociologist Dr. William Sims Bainbridge, authors of the Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance report. The work was devoted to revealing the features of NBIC convergence, its significance in general course technological development world civilization, as well as its evolutionary significance.
Of the four described areas (nano-, bio-, info-, cogno-), the most developed (information and communication technologies), which is used in all other areas. In particular, for modeling various processes. Biotechnology is widely used in nanotechnology and cognitive science, and the development of computer technology.
Cognitive science will become the basis for improving the mental activity of the brain, and nanotechnology, biotechnology, and information technologies will be used for this. Nanotechnology will play a special role. The manipulation of atoms will make it possible to produce a nanorevolution both in production and in society.
Features of NBIC convergence are:
1) intensive interaction between scientific and technological fields;
2) the breadth of consideration and influence - from the atomic level of matter to intelligent systems;
3) technological perspective of the growth of human development opportunities.

The figure below shows the interpenetration of NBIC technologies.
As a result of convergence, new areas have already emerged: nanomedicine, nanodrugs, nanobiology, nanosociety. Cognitive science (or cognitology) also arose - this is a new science of the human mind. It combines the achievements of cognitive psychology, pedagogy, research in the field of artificial intelligence, neurobiology, neuropsychology, neurophysiology, linguistics, mathematical logic, neurology, philosophy, and other sciences. It should be emphasized that cognitology is now converging, like information technology, into many other sciences. One can even argue about the "cognitive explosion" that is happening in our time. Achievements in neuroscience and nanotechnology make it possible to put on scientific basis psychology, sociology, politics, pedagogy, economics, management, art, etc. (applied neurosciences).
A new type of convergence has emerged at the Kurchatov Institute - NBIKS convergence, where "C" stands for social humanitarian technologies. The NBIC Center was also opened there, deputy. Russian biologist, linguist and psychologist, professor of St. Petersburg University Tatyana Chernigovskaya, a world-famous scientist, became the director there.
P.s. Great attention is paid in developed countries to NBIC convergence, and considerable funds are invested in it, especially in the United States. A lot has been written about her in science and journalism. It is important to just remember this abbreviation - it will come in handy. According to forecasts, the era of NBIC convergence will come in 2018. So far, no one can definitely say whether a great blessing awaits us, or real destruction.

See also:
1. NBIC - Technology Convergence as methodological basis forecasting and evaluating future projects (lecture)
http://www.slideshare.net/danila/nbic
2. Lecture 5. NBIC convergence
3. Convergence of sciences and technologies is the basis of a new technological order. (lecture)
(http://expert.ru/2010/12/2/ril_021210/)
4. NBIC convergence
(http://www.t-generation.ru/117_nbic.html)
5. Technology convergence as a factor in evolution
6. Nanosociety
7. Nanodrugs
8. Convergence of sciences and technologies - a breakthrough into the future of BN!
9. NBIC Convergence Phenomenon: Reality and Expectations
(http://www.transhumanism-russia.ru/content/view/498/116/)
10. NBIC-Health
http://www.nanonewsnet.ru/taxonomy/term/241/all
11. Kovalchuk interferes in the affairs of the creator 2009-06-24
(http://www.ng.ru/science/2009-06-24/10_Kovalchyk.html)
Director of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", Corresponding Member RAS Mikhail Kovalchuk at a press conference at the ITAR-TASS news agency spoke about the opening of a new faculty of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology - the NBIK faculty.
12. Nanobioinfocognotechnologists will be trained in Kurchatnik
Interdisciplinary "scientists of the future" will be trained by the newly created NBIK department of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology together with the Kurchatov Institute. The faculty has five departments: physics, mathematics, NBIC, informatics and humanities
The task of the faculty is the education of interdisciplinary formations of scientists of the future, who own nano-, bio-, information technologies and cognitive sciences - the sciences of consciousness.
NBIC technologies are based on the principle of combining technological capabilities with the knowledge of wildlife. “The NBIK technology product will increase the share of science in the final product up to 70%,” the RRC “Kurchatov Institute” said.
13. A laboratory of the 21st century was opened at the Kurchatov Institute (http://www.izvestia.ru/science/article3130998)
14. Faculty of Nano-, Bio-, Information and Cognitive Technologies (FNBIK) MIPT
(http://www.fnti.kiae.ru/)
15. O.V. Rudensky, O.P. Fisherman. Innovative civilization of the 21st century: convergence and synergy of NBIC technologies. Trends and forecasts for 2015–2030
(http://www.csrs.ru/inform/IAB/inf3_2010.pdf)
16. Mikhail Kovalchuk. "Nanotechnology gives our country a chance to become a leader"
The nanotechnological revolution is developing on the basis of synergy and mutual enrichment of various technologies, which brings to life many new discoveries and concepts.
The development of nanotechnologies will also have serious economic consequences. For example, this can lead to an increase in unemployment.
17. Quotes from the genome, or Genetic constructor
American geneticist Craig Venter wrote quotes from the works of world-famous authors into the bacterial genome he created. DNA is now beginning to be seen as a carrier of information outside of biological systems. Advantages: recording and rewriting accuracy, molecular dimensions and corresponding information density and durability. A genome is a long chain of DNA made up of a sequence of four different elements. They are commonly referred to as A, T, G, C. Genes are those sections of DNA that code for proteins. They usually occupy only a small part of the genome in length, and its main part is sequences, the function of which is not completely clear at the moment. The Venter Institute is engaged in the creation of artificial organisms in which the genome is a human-assembled construct. Purpose: the genome of such an organism could be designed in computer programs ah, and this operation itself would resemble the assembly of a constructor.

18. Heinrich Ehrlich. Strength through destruction // "Chemistry and Life" No. 7, 2011
Finally, the understanding came that nanotechnology is an interdisciplinary field of science and technology, where the interests of chemistry, physics and biology converge. And perhaps the main mission of nanotechnologies is to unite the natural sciences that have diverged so much and return to us a holistic picture of the world.

19. M.V. Kovalchuk. Convergence of sciences and technologies - a breakthrough into the future
In pursuit of comfort, mankind has turned on the industrial machine for the destruction of resources, which is gaining momentum year by year. Provided that this machine will serve the golden billion "of the earth's civilization, it will last for a long time. But as soon as at least one giant third world country, for example, India or China, reaches the level of energy consumption that was in the United States in 1960, the resource collapse will actually come, which we are already seeing today.
Technologically, we must become part of nature, live at the expense of fundamentally new, inexhaustible resources and technologies created on the model of living nature, but using the most advanced technological achievements.
in the face of information technology, for the first time, a technology appeared that had an OVERindustrial character. Today it is obvious that there is no progress in any of the well-known industries without the use of information technologies - this is telemedicine, and distance learning, and numerically controlled machine tools, an automatic piloting system for cars, aircraft, ships, etc. Thus, information technology has become a kind of "hoop" that unites all sciences and technologies (Fig. 4). Information technologies have become fundamentally new from a methodological point of view - they have not been added as another link to existing range disciplines, but united them, becoming their common methodological base.
Nanotechnology is a fundamental modernization of all existing disciplines and technologies at the atomic level (Fig. 5). Nanotechnologies change the principle of creating materials, their properties, that is, the foundation for the development of all sectors of the economy of a post-industrial society without exception.
Today we have approached technological solutions based on the basic principles of wildlife - a new stage of development begins, when we are ready to move from technical, model copying of the “human device” based on relatively simple inorganic materials to reproducing wildlife systems based on nanobiotechnology ( Fig. 11).
NBIC: N is nano, a new approach to the design of materials "on order" by atomic-molecular design, B is bio, which will allow introducing a biological part into the design of inorganic materials and thus obtaining hybrid materials, I - information technologies that will give the possibility of “planting” an integrated circuit into such a hybrid material or system and, as a result, obtaining a fundamentally new intellectual system, and K are cognitive technologies based on the study of consciousness, cognition, the thought process, the behavior of living beings, and of a person in the first place, as with neurophysiological and molecular biological points of view, and with the help of humanitarian approaches. The addition of cognitive technologies will make it possible, based on the study of brain functions, the mechanisms of consciousness, the behavior of living beings, to develop algorithms that will actually “animate” the systems we create, endowing them with some kind of mental functions.
The involvement of humanitarian technologies gives us the right to talk about the creation of a new convergent NBICS technology, where "C" is social humanitarian technologies.
Wildlife itself is a very “economical” user of energy, it is properly self-organized, and it is more than enough for the “low-power energy of photosynthesis”. In our modern life, we use artificially created machines and mechanisms that consume an enormous amount of energy. For their energy supply, in principle, the possibilities of economical, “nature-like” energy technologies cannot be enough.
Along with the development and improvement of existing technologies, humanity faces a complex and ambitious task - the creation of fundamentally new technologies and systems for the use of energy, that is, the replacement of today's final energy consumer with systems that reproduce objects of wildlife.
20. Toys with artificial intelligence According to the theory of technological patterns, the most advanced countries in the world are now experiencing their sixth wave. The main areas of development there are bio- and nanotechnologies, laser technology, energy saving and robotics.

21. Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance
NANOTECHNOLOGY, BIOTECHNOLOGY, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND COGNITIVE SCIENCE
Understanding the mind and brain will enable the creation of new kinds of intelligent machine systems that can generate economic wealth on a scale hitherto unimaginable. Within half a century, intelligent machines could create the wealth needed to provide food, clothing, housing, education, health care, a clean environment, and physical and financial security for the entire population of the world. Intelligent machines can eventually create productive capacities to support shared prosperity and financial security for all human beings. Therefore, the engineering mind is much more than the pursuit of scientific curiosity. This is even more than a monumental technological challenge. It is an opportunity to eradicate poverty and bring everything
humanity in a golden age.

22. Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance en. WIKI

23. How will brain research change life in the 21st century?
Lecture by Professor Tatiana Chernigovskaya in Washington
The NBIC Center was opened at the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow. NBIC (NanoBioInfoCogno) is an abbreviation that means the combination of nano and bioengineering technologies, information and computer technologies, as well as cognitive resources aimed at artificial intelligence in one chain. Russian biologist, linguist and psychologist, professor of St. Petersburg University Tatyana Chernigovskaya became the Deputy Director of the Center.
Cognitive science is an interdisciplinary scientific direction that combines psychology, linguistics, theory of knowledge, theory of artificial intelligence, and neurophysiology. The goal of cognitive science is to unravel and describe how a person thinks, why he speaks, how he understands what others say, and what happens in the brain at that time.
“We are who we are, and our civilization, good or bad, is the way it is because we have such a brain. All that we have done on this planet, and what we will do, is because we have such a brain. We cognize the world, we see it this way, we have such a picture of the world, because we have such a brain” T. Chernigovskaya, Deputy. Director of the NBIC Center. The Italian scientist Giacomo Risolatti made a discovery (1996) - he discovered "mirror" neurons. Mirror systems are the ability to mentally take the position of another person. The ability to mentally stand on the position of another person (Mental ability to stand on the position of another person) This is the basis of society. Music has the same structure as the syntax of language. The brain is a very complex musical instrument. The child has genetic foundations, special mechanisms that allow the child to learn the language, bypassing teachers, rules and textbooks.

24. The Great Cognitive Revolution
(http://expert.ru/russian_reporter/2010/41/mozg_pc/)
Now the future is connected with "nano-", "bio-", "info-" and "cogno-". At the same time, all four directions should develop in a tight bundle. “Nano- and biotechnologies create the body, while info- and cogno- animate it,” explains Mikhail Kovalchuk, director of the Kurchatov Institute.
Nano- and biotechnologies create the body, while info- and cogno-animate it,” explains Mikhail Kovalchuk, director of the Kurchatov Institute. At the institute, which traditionally created nuclear submarines and reactors, a humanitarian department, which brings together "specialists in animation" - structural linguists, sociologists, psychologists. Within the framework of Kurchatnik, the Institute for Cognitive Research appears.

25. Applied neurosciences
()

1. Neurobiology (Neuroscience) (Neurobiology)
2. Neuropsychology (Neuro psychology)
3. Neuropsychotherapy (Neuropsychotherapy)
4. Neurocoaching -
5. Neuropedagogy (Neuropedagogy)
6. Neuromanagement
7. Neuromarketing (Neuromarketing)
8. Neuroeconomics
9. Neurosociology
10. Neurophilosophy
11. Neurodemocracy
12. Neuroaesthetics
13. Neurokino (Neurofilm)
14. Neural computing
15. Cognitive neuroscience
16. Neuroculture
17. Neuroethics en.
18. Neurotheology en.
19. Neuropolitics
20. Neurolaw
21. Neuromedicine
22. Neurophilosophy

26. Emerging technologies en. WIKI
Acronyms
NBIC, an acronym for Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology and Cognitive science, is currently the most popular term for emerging and converging technologies, and was introduced into public discourse through the publication of Converging Technologies for Improving Human Performance, a report sponsored in part by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
Emerging technologies en. WIKI
Acronyms
New technological fields may be due to the technological convergence of different systems developing towards similar goals. Convergence brings previously separate technologies such as voice (and telephony features), data (and office applications) and video so that they share resources and interact with each other, creating new efficiencies.
New technologies are those technical innovations that represent progressive developments in an area for competitive advantage; converging technologies present earlier The various fields who are in some way moving in the direction of strong targets between communications and similar ones. However, opinions about the degree of impact, status and economic viability of several emerging and convergent technologies vary.
Abbreviations [edit]
NBIC is an acronym. Currently the most popular term for new and convergent technologies, and was introduced into the public discourse by the publication of Converging Technologies to Improve Human Performance, a report sponsored in part by the US National Science Foundation.

27 Synthetic Biology
Synthetic Biology (synbio) is an emerging field of natural science, which, however, is based on the principles of engineering. At its core, synthetic biology is concerned with the design or reverse engineering of biological systems or their components and their creation by encoding the DNA of the desired system or component. Synthetic biology provides efficient technologies for reproducing natural organisms and creating "synthetic" biological material that does not exist in nature. Synthetic biology can be used to revolutionize the field natural sciences and their applications in health care, energy and many other sectors, but this context also raises a number of serious ethical and biosecurity issues.

28. Revolution in the field of synthetic biology: prospects and risks (http://ria.ru/science/20131126/979860591.html)
John Craig Venter, along with experts from his company, started with DNA and built a genetic sequence of nucleotides that exceeds one million bits of information. Seven years ago, Venter became the first scientist in the world to create a biological object based on the available genetic information.
Venter's group created an artificial bacterial cell by inserting artificially synthesized DNA into it, after which scientists began to observe how the bacterial cells move, feed, and reproduce themselves. My new technology Venter called "synthetic genomics", which "will appear first in the digital computer world on the basis of digital biology, and then learn how to create new modifications of DNA for very specific purposes. … This may mean that as the knowledge of the laws of existence various forms life, a person will be able to create self-learning robotic and computing systems.
Synthetic genomics, combined with another breakthrough area in biology - the so-called neomorphic mutation studies (or as they are also called gain-of-function mutations or GOF studies) - not only opens up a huge number of new perspectives, but at the same time raises many difficult questions and creates threats. for national security.

Some are already calling Venter's work on creating new artificial bacteria "4-D printing." Let me remind you that 2-D printing is the most common printing process that starts after pressing the “Print” key on the keyboard, as a result of which the most ordinary printer gives you a printed article, etc. However, industrial companies, design bureaus and other consumers are already moving to 3-D printing - in this case, the signal is sent to devices containing all sorts of materials such as plastic, graphite, and even food, and we get three-dimensional products at the output. In the case of 4-D printing, two important operations are added: self-assembly and self-reproduction. First, the idea is formalized and enters the computer, then it is sent to a 3-D printer, and as a result we get the final product that can copy and transform itself. Venter and several hundred other synthetic biologists argue that 4D printing is particularly well suited for constructing living objects using the building blocks that make up living objects themselves, that is, DNA.
Synthetic genomics, combined with another breakthrough area in biology - the so-called neomorphic mutation studies (or as they are also called gain-of-function mutations or GOF studies) - not only opens up a huge number of new perspectives, but at the same time raises many difficult questions and creates threats. for national security.
Now the biologist has become an engineer who programs new forms of life as he pleases. Biologists are now increasingly able to control evolution, i.e. we are witnessing the “end of Darwinism”. Once informational macromolecules are able to inherit beneficial mutations through self-sustaining Darwinian evolution, they can begin to generate new forms of life.”
Synthetic biology in the near future will give rise to an economic and technological boom, as did the Internet and social media technologies at the very beginning of this century.
Genetic engineering of existing life forms in nature and creating new ones is the cutting edge of biology.

Venter had no doubt that synthetic biology, which is a "very powerful set of tools," would lead to a vaccine against the flu, and possibly against AIDS. And the day is not far off when microorganisms capable of consuming carbon dioxide and releasing energy will create a safe alternative to traditional fossil fuels. Now that synthetic biology is beginning to take root, our challenge is to ensure that future generations see it as a boon rather than a curse.

What is synthetic biology?
Synthetic biology is a new direction in genetic engineering. The term Synthetic Biology has long been used to describe approaches in biology that seek to integrate different areas of research in order to create a more holistic approach to understanding the concept of life. Recently, the term "synthetic biology" has been used in a different sense, signaling a new field of study that combines science and engineering to design and build new (non-existent in nature) biological functions and systems.

NBIC technologies

and directions of their development in the USA

A.V. Frolov

k. e. in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of World Economy, Faculty of Economics

Moscow State University M.V. Lomonosov [email protected], [email protected]

The role of radical innovations as a basis is determined further development US national innovation system. The role of public-private partnership in activating NBIC-innovations (nano, bio, new information and cognitive technologies, new energy) and forms of their convergence is shown. Such directions of activating the development of radical innovations in the USA as NBIC-Initiatives, STEM-education, creation of the National Network of Innovation Institutions (Bioeconomy and additive technologies) are highlighted.

Keywords: radical innovation, NBIC revolution, NBIC convergence, US government innovation initiatives.

Among the factors determining modern development the world economy and the US economy, in particular, are called: the economic crisis of 2008-09, the innovation crisis, the reform of national innovation systems (NIS). How to analyze these processes, explain the logic of their relationship?

From the whole variety of approaches to the analysis of crisis and post-crisis processes in the global economy special attention deserves the theory of long cycles of conjuncture N.D. Kondratiev and its subsequent developments within the framework of the "technological" theory economic development, whose supporters were J. Schumpeter, G. Mensch, S. Kuznets, K. Freeman, P. Romer, D. Yutti and others.

A significant contribution to the development of innovation theory can be considered the development by Russian economists of the concept of technological modes as a group of technological sets operating on the basis of similar scientific and technical principles. The concept of technological order was introduced into scientific circulation by S.Yu. Glazyev.

The change of cycles is defined in the economic literature in different ways: as a change in technological patterns, as a change in technological paradigms (systems) - K. Freeman, as a transition from one technological stalemate to another (G. Mensch) or from one innovation pause to another (V. Polterovich).

Based on the theory of long market waves, J. Schumpeter substantiated the possibility of bringing the production system out of the crisis, which is associated not with an increase in the scale of activity, with a reduction in costs or an increase in the price of old products, but with a change in the economic process due to the creation and implementation of innovations. J. Schumpeter considered innovation precisely as a means of overcoming economic crises.

But the root cause of turning points in long-term development is not just innovation, but development.

radical innovations, which are the main criterion for the formation of priority areas of technological development, and which ultimately determine the direction of structural changes and economic recovery.

Based on the findings of these theories, many economists agree that a feature of the 2008-09 crisis. in the United States is the imposition of economic and innovation crises caused by the need to change technological modes (TS), and requiring both a large-scale structural restructuring of the economy as a whole and reforming the US national innovation system.

The established technological level of production is gradually exhausting itself and at a certain stage requires radical innovations (on a downward wave of large K-cycles), which becomes a “trigger” for the formation of “clusters of basic innovations”, which, in turn, form a new “technological order” social production.

In the studies of leading experts, it is argued that the fifth TS, which dominates the structure of the economy of the most developed countries, is close to the limits of its growth, the final phase of its life cycle, and has largely exhausted its potential as a pillar of economic growth. At the same time, the reproductive system of the newest, sixth TS is being formed, the formation and growth of which ^ will determine global economic development ^ in the next three to four decades. As a result, various approaches are put forward, including the above-mentioned innovation pause hypothesis, which explain the main causes, features, and mechanisms of the current crisis and allow us to outline the transition strategy to a new long< волну экономического роста . §

The main conclusion that the researchers come to is that the premise of the output

Yes, from the crisis is the large-scale generation, implementation and commercialization of technological innovations (radical technologies, technologies of wide application, basic technologies or fundamental innovations) of the core of the sixth TS and the formation on this basis of the reproduction contour of a new technological order in the world economy. Such innovations are applicable in many sectors of the economy, can be combined with other technologies, significantly increasing their efficiency, fundamentally change the technological structure and reproductive capabilities of the economy, preventing the decline in the returns of production factors and thereby supporting economic growth.

The concept of "radical innovation" is not unambiguous in modern economic literature, besides it, a variety of concepts are used to characterize innovations that determine the change of technical specifications: technologies of wide application (GPT), radical, basic and revolutionary innovations, breakthrough innovations, key and fundamental innovations, subversive and genuine innovation, iconic and new wave innovation.

J. Schumpeter showed that in the course of a dynamic process, innovations promote economic development, in which new technologies replace old ones, calling this process “creative destruction”. He used the terms "radical" and "incremental" innovation. From Schumpeter's point of view, radical innovations generate large-scale revolutionary changes, while improving, incremental innovations gradually move forward the process of change. J. Schumpeter adhered to the point of view that radical innovations determine a new quality of the technological foundation of the system and generate impulses for structural changes in the entire model of social development.

In the 1990s American scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University have developed and enriched the concepts of incremental and radical innovations with the concept of so-called "architectural" and "modulated" innovations. They came to the conclusion that there are more diverse and ambiguous combinations of elements of technology (architecture), modified (or

unchanging) elements of this architecture, which in reality have a very significant impact on the competitiveness of companies and entire industries. Below is the model they proposed (Scheme 1).

If we adhere to this approach, then the way out of the crisis of 2008-09. associated with radical innovation. As can be seen from the diagram, they most radically update both the elements of technologies themselves and the connections between these elements within the framework of the system of technological concepts (that is, they are the most revolutionary and “destructive” in all parameters of this matrix). All other types of innovations only allow us to survive in the conditions of the completion of the technological order that is fading into the past. For individual corporations, this is quite a lot, because there are no new, more promising forms of business yet. Of course, only architectural and/or modular innovations in the conditions of changing technical conditions will not be able to provide the entire economy with stable growth of the proper scale.

Each of the above concepts of innovation in its own way successfully draws attention to actually one phenomenon - a change in technological structures or economic cycles, the depth of changes introduced into the economic system. Therefore, they can be considered as the same type, interchangeable concepts.

The frequently used terms “disruptive”, “breakthrough” innovations are distinguished by a different criterion. These concepts characterize the degree of economic benefit from the radical nature of innovative products on the market. This approach is important for corporations, individual industries, as well as for US government agencies responsible for stimulating the production of knowledge-intensive products, their exports and maintaining the global competitiveness of the US economy.

From this perspective, the introduction of revolutionary innovations to the market is very different from the introduction of current changes. Of course, continuous product improvements are necessary, but such minor (tuning) changes do not ensure the conquest of new markets. Nor do they guarantee the survival of companies and industries. In the 1997 book "The Innovator's Dilemma" (The Innovator's Dilemma), the American economist K. Christensen highlights "support-

Links between key technology concepts and components

Key Technology Concepts

Reinforced Rebuilt

Immutable Incremental innovations Modulated (changed) innovations

Changed Architectural innovations Radical innovations

Scheme 1. Henderson-Clark model

Source: Henderson R.M., Clark K.B. Architectural Innovation: The Reconfiguration of Existing Product Technologies and the Failure of Established Firms.

"disruptive" technologies, which improve an existing product, and "disruptive" technologies, which initially have poorer returns. In his view, even the most sophisticated supporting technologies rarely increase a company's competitiveness in the marketplace. A change of leaders in some industry occurs when, sometimes, an unknown company delivers a fundamentally new "disruptive" technology to the market.

In the 2003 book The Innovator's Solution, K. Christensen continued to develop his theory, but reformulated the central concept of disruptive technologies into the concept of disruptive innovation to reflect the fact that it is not technology in itself, and their use is disruptive.

In addition to driving existing products out of the market, disruptive technologies have features that attract many new customers: they are usually cheaper, easier to use, and therefore more popular. The transistor was such a "disruptive" technology for the vacuum tube industry in the 1950s, and the US health organization forced the American health insurance company out of the market in the 90s. The most disruptive technology, without a doubt, is the personal computer. Considered at first only as a toy, it easily captured the market, displacing even the positions of IBM itself. In the very near future, industrial innovations in the field of robotics and space technologies are expected.

The terms disruptive and supporting innovations, due to a different criterion for their selection, characterize the change in technological patterns or economic cycles, the depth of changes introduced into the economic system only partially. And in this case, they cannot be considered as systemically generalizing categories.

Of the entire list of terms and combinations of their combination in describing economic crises and NIS, the development of US innovation policy, the most successful is the concept of radical innovation. This term helps to strengthen the accents and better emphasize the meaning of the processes that it characterizes. He helps:

More specifically, point to a change in the entire technological order, designed to eventually lead to a new long upward wave of economic growth;

Comprehensively emphasize the inevitable need for revolutionary technological and corresponding revolutionary market

changes, creation of new markets and industries, development of new innovation clusters;

It is better to note the fundamental differences between new innovations and evolutionary improvements in existing products, processes and services;

It is more emphasized to show that progress in the development of innovations is accompanied by social and institutional changes.

The idea of ​​the development of innovation as an internal process for the economy, the process of the emergence of radical innovations, the gradual exhaustion of the possibilities of old innovations and their replacement - determines the general approach to explaining the deep cause of the economic crisis of 200809. The innovation crisis in the United States, associated with the aging of innovations of the 5th order, created the prerequisites for a deep economic crisis. The fifth industrial revolution, which began in America in the late 1980s, will last no more than 20-30 years, and the United States is now at the stage of the decline of the innovation wave.

The US economy, like the world economy as a whole, is entering a phase of recession or recession, i.e., is on the downward wave of the fifth big Kondratieff cycle. There is a huge overaccumulation of capital, which manifests itself in an unprecedented increase in speculation in the stock market, a mortgage crisis, and an increase in the US budget deficit. All these are manifestations of the same process - the entry of the world economy into a recession phase, after which, according to experts' forecasts, after 2012-2015. followed by a phase of depression.

At this stage, if you follow only the laws of the market, only “pseudo-innovations” are introduced. It is impossible to expect new technologies in a ready-made market form at this stage of innovative development if non-market forms of stimulating radical innovations are not used: innovation policy, the NIS mechanism.

Taking into account the endogenous patterns of technological development, trends in the development of innovations, right now it is important to intensify the efforts of NIS to develop and introduce new technologies to the market. When the sixth TR comes, the US may lose its leadership in new industries due to the fact that the American NIS has not shown due activity to prepare a new “spurt”. Most radical innovations today can be launched outside the US (Asia, Europe, other new centers of the world economy). Sufficient prerequisites have already been formed for this.

Innovations of the 5th technological mode (computer and Internet technologies, primarily) originated in the United States, spread to the rest of the world, and were the first to lose their economic efficiency in the United States. It is no coincidence that the United States, as the most innovative and, at the same time, large, complex, self-sufficient economy, has become

take care of radical innovations before others. Thus, the Nanoinitiative in the USA has been implemented for at least 10-15 years (officially since 2001). The concern for new energy and other radical innovations is similar.

The radical changes underlying the emerging sixth TR will have a high potential for market penetration. But it is necessary to prepare for this in advance within the framework of the entire NIS. The introduction of radical innovations, as J. Schumpeter was the first to show, will provide entrepreneurs with additional profit. But in the modern global world, there are no guarantees that this profit will be received by American corporations. Companies from other countries are already competing and are increasingly leading in new industries. In nanotechnologies, for example, Germany and France are active. Thus, in 2007, the following patents were obtained for the use of nanotechnologies in the automotive industry: USA - 100; Germany - 70, Japan - 35, England - 10 patents. In biotechnology, the leadership of such Asian countries as Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong and China is becoming stronger; Information technologies are developing more and more actively in India, Finland and a number of other Asian and European countries. The US NIS may end up in the “tail” of the NIS of other countries, and this trend is already beginning to materialize on a global scale.

The development of previous radical innovations, primarily information technology, has led to noticeable structural changes in national economies and the global economy. Thus, new types of Internet services have dynamically penetrated the sphere of business (e-business), finance (e-finance), distance education(e-leaming), government controlled(e-government), mass media (e-media). Several generations of Americans have already changed - "generation tech", accustomed to live and work "online". And now, among the immediate tasks of the United States in the innovation sphere, President B. Obama calls the development of broadband Internet, cost reduction and more active use of Internet conferences, the widespread use of high-speed Internet, i.e., the development of IT technologies that have already been mastered by business.

As you know, the information age based on computers and the Internet began in the United States. The efficiency of IT technologies grew on the basis of the so-called Mohr's law - that is, doubling the density of accumulation and transmission of information in transistors and networks every two years. New industries emerged and rapid economic growth was ensured.

Now, new, radical innovations include nano, biotechnologies and genetic engineering, information and communication technologies of a new generation (quantum, optical and DNA computers; laser TVs, screenless displays, etc.) and cognitive technologies. They received common name NBIC technologies. In addition, along with

NBIC technologies, radical innovations also include environmentally friendly (new or "green") energy. These technologies have the properties of radical innovations (technological complementarity, the ability to spread, generate new technologies and improve). In the works of individual foreign scientists and analytical centers (RAND Sogrogayop, US National Science Foundation - NSF, scientific reports of the European Union, etc.), this stage of technology development is called the NBIC revolution.

At present, the most important thing is to intensify the search for radical innovations that can further stimulate the economy, the revolutionary nature of which should be relied upon for a new leap in economic development. But so far, NBIC technologies have not yet developed enough to be a real revolutionary catalyst for the growth of the US innovative economy.

The idea of ​​the ratio of the sciences included in the NBIC direction, of the leadership of one of them, is changing. So, V.M. Polterovich cites data that since the 1980s. the belief in the leading position of biotechnologies, which can significantly increase the efficiency of industries such as Agriculture, chemical industry, drug production and health care.

Currently, many economists, including American scientists D. Moveri, E. Yuti, F. Shapira, believe that nanotechnologies, rather than biotechnologies, can be the leader of the NBIC direction, since they have the main properties of radical technologies to a greater extent. .

List 1. Spheres and fields of application of nanotechnologies

Chemical materials and materials with nanostructure:

Ultralight high strength materials

Nanocomposite polymers for structural and electronic applications

Membranes and filters for desalination

Thermal and optical barriers

High Performance Innovative Catalysts

Textile fabrics of high durability.

Nanotechnologies in computers and computer calculations and networks:

Miniature supercomputers

Indestructible huge memory for electronic devices (Terabit non-volatile memory)

Universal pervasive computing networks

Computer displays with low voltage and high brightness

Fast semiconductors and microcomputers.

Nanobiology and nanomedicine: pharmaceutical and medical products:

New and more effective drug components

Ideal drug or drug delivery to the target organ or area of ​​the body

Diagnostic tools, sensors

Active DNA modulation

Bioelectronics

Means of bio-defense in military conditions

Anti-bacterial coatings and shells.

Nano technologies in power generation:

Thin PV Coatings to Save Solar Energy Costs

Economic fuel batteries for cars

Micro-fuel batteries for portable power devices

Fast-charging, high-capacity fuel cells.

At the same time, it is worth clarifying

term "nanotechnology". So, Maynard E. noted

It is believed that nanotechnology has been the dominant emerging technology of the last 10 years. But in many respects, nanotechnology is an erroneous, “false” concept, in the sense that the absolutization and fetishization of nanotechnology can even hide the depth and diversity of the entire NBIC technology complex.

Scientific achievements in the field of understanding and manipulating matter at the nanolevel are indisputable, as well as the first technologies developed on this basis. But, in reality, as E. Maynard emphasizes, nanotechnology is just a convenient shorthand for a whole set of emerging technologies ranging from semiconductors to sunscreens, which are combined formally by a sign of engineering actions at the nanoscale (from 1 to 100 nanometers). Therefore, instead of focusing on nanotechnology, it is wise to study specific technologies that will have the biggest impact on the economy in the next 10 years. Of course, it is not surprising that many of these technologies operate at the nanoscale to some extent.

The 10 main technologies of the future according to E. Meinard can be combined in the following table (Table 1).

Key technologies of the future

Geoengineering (Geoengineering) By 2009, this technology has evolved from minor to leading. The very idea of ​​climate control on a global scale is not new, but as soon as it became clear that humanity is unable (or unwilling) to reduce emissions carbon dioxide enough to stop global warming, this technology has entered the political agenda. In the next 10 years, this topic will be very relevant. Research will effectively and economically influence environment. At the same time, socio-political tensions on this issue will intensify - countries will either globally come to a general agreement on the rules of geoengineering, or each country will do whatever it wants to the detriment of other countries. The last scenario could have a devastating effect on the Earth.

Intelligent energy systems (Smart grids) The ordinary consumer of electricity is not aware that its generation, accumulation and transmission are associated with growing difficulties. The need for electricity is growing and therefore it is necessary to introduce intelligent systems for its use exactly where it is needed. Smart energy systems connect energy producers and consumers through an interconnected "smart" system. Such a system, in addition to centralized provision, even includes small power plants, wind farms and solar panels. Energy is accumulated and redistributed according to the network principle. Here, electricity producers can be consumers and vice versa. Centralized power plants can thus be supplemented and even replaced by other, less powerful sources of electricity. As requirements for clean power generation increase and demand grows, the importance of smart energy systems will increase over the next 10 years.

Radical materials Most of today's materials have some kind of natural flaws. They can be corrected at the atomic and molecular level. New materials will become stronger, lighter, able to conduct or resist heat, and so on. Such materials will be used in all industries - from medicine to electronics.

Synthetic biology A new direction based on the control of the DNA code. Soon it will be possible to create even a living bacterium according to its code. This is a kind of programming of biological systems - you can set new characteristics of the code and create new or improved biological organisms, tissues.

Personal genomics It is getting cheaper and cheaper to calculate a person's individual DNA code. Now it costs about $5,000. This information can be applied to the purposes of synthetic biology and in many other ways to the purposes of an individual living being.

The end of the table. 1

Bio-interfaces These technologies blur the line between man and machine, making it possible to have artificial organs controlled directly by the brain (without the mediation of a central nervous system), use a variety of implants inside the human body, a variety of sensors and transducers. As the convergence of nano-bio-neuro trends increases, this technology will grow. Until 2020, a significant breakthrough is unlikely to be made, but important fundamental work in this direction will be done in the coming years.

Information interfaces (Data interfaces) The volume of information available via the Internet has become so huge that it is already difficult to navigate in it - and it's time to learn how to "smart" its filtering, creative processing in accordance with the priorities of a particular user. Such software products have already appeared - some of them provide answers to complex questions, instead of simply searching for information on given words. This includes Microsoft's Bing software and the MIT Media Lab software. More and more household devices are becoming electronically equipped and connected to each other (from cars, phones and video cameras to shopping carts). This network of interacting elements enables new ways to use the Internet and other wireless communications.

Solar energy (Solar power) This is a technology for the various use of solar energy. To collect it, micro solar cells are used, which are combined on the basis of a special paint or ink and make up huge energy traps. So far, this is an expensive technology, but it is planned to make such coatings not much more expensive than the price of conventional paint, and then the benefits of collecting and using solar energy will become obvious.

Nootropic drugs (Nootropics) Drugs that strengthen mental abilities are nootropics. These drugs are not new, but they are being used in new ways. They are more and more actively used on a regular basis by scientists, students and engineers of creative specialties. According to recent surveys, about 70% use such drugs. In the future, the potency of such drugs will outweigh any purely natural mental benefits. And a boom in the production of such drugs is expected.

Preparations combining cosmetics and pharmaceuticals - cosmeceuticals (Cosmeceuticals) Two different "worlds" are united - the world of pharmaceuticals, where medicines treat or prevent diseases, and the world of cosmetics, where they simply help to look better, covering age and other natural imperfections. Now these two functions are combined. Such drugs already exist - sunscreen lotions and shampoos that relieve irritation and fatigue. So far there are many regulatory issues, but soon these products will be more and more popular. Many products will really rejuvenate a person, and not just hide age-related imperfections.

A. Maynard believes that several more technologies and radical products can be added to the technologies listed in the table:

New energy intensive batteries,

biofuel,

stem cells,

Cloning,

Robotics,

low orbit space flights,

Memristors (memory resistors), storage resistors (created by HP as a four-

with a verte fundamental element of electronic

about circuits - in addition to the resistor, capacitor and

^ inductor; consists of a thin layer of titanium dioxide

£ tan located between two platinum

3 electrodes).

^ Similar lists of "future technologies" composition-

It is also being used by individual American companies. S So, according to forecasts (2011) by IBM, an authoritative company in innovative issues, in the next tfl 5 years, the following innovative areas will be the most commercially attractive for X business:

1. mobile communication devices with the possibility of a three-dimensional holographic image;

2. batteries recharged from air sources;

3. devices that automatically collect information of a geological and climatic nature;

4. smart navigation systems;

5. building heating systems using computer systems.

Nanotechnologies, as the basis of future industrial technologies, create four generations of products that are characterized by growing structural and dynamic complexity:

1. Passive nanostructures

2. Active nanostructures

3. Nanosystems

4. Molecular nanosystems.

In the next 10 years, the challenges for nanotechnology will take on new directions as the dominant trends in development take place:

changed to a new target setting: the creation of active, complex nanosystems.

There has been a transition from specialized research creating individual prototypes of nanostructures to the mass application of nanotechnologies in the production of the most advanced materials, chemical substances, electronics and pharmaceutical apparatus.

From applications in the fields of advanced materials manufacturing, nanoelectronics and chemical industry, development is moving towards the spread of nanotechnology in new areas such as energy, food and agriculture, nano-medicine and nano-scale engineering modeling.

There is a transition from rudimentary attempts to understand the basic principles of nanotechnologies to accelerate the development of knowledge to such an extent that, while maintaining a high intensity of inventions, more and more practical changes are made in the areas of practical application of new knowledge in the field of nanosciences.

There is a transition from the almost non-specialized infrastructural conditions of the past decade to well-institutionalized programs, to the creation of specialized resources (including laboratories and databases) for the full implementation of nanotechnological research, training of specialists of the relevant profile, standardization of all material and legal resources necessary for the production . Research in the field of nanotechnology for the next 10 years will be carried out in four main areas:

1. Better understanding of the nature of the nanolevel, ensuring the development of knowledge.

2. Economic and social innovations to ensure tangible progress in this area.

3. Development of international cooperation to ensure the sustainable growth of nanotechnology.

4. Cooperation of the representatives of mankind with each other for the implementation of equal management and control over the relevant processes, which guarantees the settlement of all moral issues related to the development of nanotechnologies.

The very evolution of the definition of "nanotechnology" is characteristic. If before 2000 they were defined in terms of mastering the initial knowledge in this area (determination of nanosizes, enumeration of the main elements from which nanotechnologies are created), then last years the very nature of this definition has changed - the emphasis is now on the practical application of the vast systemic information that has been accumulated recently in the field of nanotechnology.

Figuratively speaking, there has been a transition from the development of an alphabet or a basic multiplication table in the field of nanotechnology to the forced application of this fundamental knowledge in the interests of economic development. If during the development of the first definition (1998-2000) US scientists consulted with scientists from 20 countries, then the latest definition (2010-13) is being agreed with scientists and practitioners from 60 countries. Now we are talking about the harmonization of specific standards in the application of nanotechnologies, since without this it is impossible to obtain state permits for their use. We are talking about the health and safety of the current and future generations of the population of most countries of the world.

It is important to emphasize that new technologies show a trend towards the intersection and convergence of different areas of knowledge, which will intensify. As a result, the probability of the emergence of fundamentally new combinations and technological hybrid directions increases. Thus, conversations and discussions about which of the NBIC technologies is the leader are reduced to nothing. The question of the dominance of one or another technology in the period of convergence disappears.

Earlier development technology has usually been defined over long periods by some one key discovery or progress in one area (the discovery of metallurgy, the use of steam power, the discovery of electricity, etc.).

Thus, K. Freeman, characterizing long waves as a change in technical and economic paradigms (systems), identified the key characteristics of technological paradigms that have been replacing each other for more than 2 centuries (Table 2).

Thus, K. Freeman distinguishes 5 technological cycles. Each such cycle begins when a new set of innovations is available to manufacturers. Thus, the beginning of the 5th cycle is associated with the development of new means of communication, digital networks, computer programs and genetic engineering. The beginning of each cycle is characterized by the rise of the economy, while the end is characterized by a decline.

Today, due to the acceleration of scientific and technological progress, there is an intersection in time of a number of waves of the scientific and technological revolution. And the mutual influence of information technologies, biotechnologies, nanotechnologies and cognitive science is especially significant.

Taking into account the new factors of technological development that have emerged in recent years, it is possible to introduce clarifying and continuing provisions into K. Freeman's table. Based on the trend of reducing the time of domination of modes, the term of the last mode in K. Freeman’s table could be limited to 2020. In addition, using forecasts for further technological development, one can try to roughly describe the features of the next, sixth mode (Table 3).

Periodization of the main cycles of innovative development

Long waves Long waves The state of science and education Infrastructure Infrastructure Universal cheap resource

(time frame) (cycle characteristics) Transport and communications Energy

1780-1840 Industrial Revolution: textile manufacturing Workplace education, universities and learned societies Canals and dirt roads Water power Cotton

1840-1890 Cycle of steam and railroads Massive initial education, the first technical universities, engineers Railways, Telegraph Steam energy Coal, iron

1890-1940 Cycle of electricity and steel First corporate R&D laboratories, technical standards Railways, telephone Electricity Steel

1940-1990 Automotive and synthetics cycle Explosive growth in corporations and the public sector, massive access to higher education Highways, airlines, radio and television Oil Oil, plastics

1990-? computer revolution Global IR networks, continuing education and vocational training Information networks, Internet Gas, oil Microelectronics

NBIC is an abbreviation that means the combination of nano- and bioengineering, that is, genetic technologies, information and computer technologies, as well as cognitive resources aimed at artificial intelligence, in one chain.

In a decent society, a sign of intellectual enlightenment is awareness of the importance of nanotechnology. It is possible not to understand too much what it is, to call the Old Testament manipulations nanotechnologies, but it is necessary to talk with a smart look about their revolutionary essence. They are important, but gradually and inevitably NBIC technologies are coming to the fore, promising to turn the world upside down so that all previous scientific revolutions seem like going to a hardware store for a chisel and a broom.

In other words, NBIC technologies are the creation of self-developing, essentially living intelligent systems from inanimate matter, which can be used everywhere - from medicine to industry. One can argue endlessly about the dangers of the event, but it is an undoubted fact that NBIC technologies bring a person closer in potential to the Supreme Creator, who created the world in ancient times. If someone does not like the hypothesis of the Supreme Creator, this does not change the essence of the matter.

One of the first breakthrough points on planet Earth is the NBIC Center, which has just started working at the Kurchatov Institute. There are no laboratories in Europe that would be equipped with equipment of such a level and in such quantity. There are powerful laboratories in the USA, but they are not gathered into a single center that would set itself such ambitious tasks as the NBIC center of the Kurchatov Institute.

Professor Alexei Marchenkov worked in America, but he found scientific happiness in Russia (photo: Izvestia) “I worked in America for 17 years,” says Alexei Marchenkov, head of the applied nanobiotechnology department, who looks like an American football quarterback. - Raised to full professor at Georgia State University. And yet, on sound reflection, I decided to return to Russia. In the West, even for a successful foreigner, there is a ceiling. The Americans entrust really complex and important projects only to the Americans. At the Russian NBIC Center, I solve major problems that were inaccessible to me in the USA. In addition, we have such talented young people that they will give the Americans a hundred points head start. We are building and will soon create a nanobiotechnological complex, which is not found anywhere else in the world.

It is impossible for an outsider to enter this laboratory, just as a camel cannot seep through the eye of a needle. The room is fenced with thick glass, the 6th class of air purity is maintained inside, the atmosphere is completely updated 20 times an hour, that is, every 3 minutes. Scientists are dressed in sterile clothes, like surgeons in an operating room. One misfortune - due to air circulation, scientists become infected from each other, like kids in a kindergarten.

The department of nanobiotechnology carries out projects of a wide range - from growing super-pure semiconductors, producing materials with new properties to creating medical and biological materials of a new generation, depositing neurons on an inorganic substrate to create hybrids of living and non-living structures, which is fundamental when working on artificial intelligence. Most of the laboratory equipment is made in Russia.

- I'm much more interested in Russia than in America. Professor Marchenkov reflects. - The biggest minus in Russia is our bureaucracy, it lies across the road.

- Did you take the children from America? I ask the patriotic professor in the end.

“No, the children stayed in America,” the scientist answers with a sigh. “Children have become Americanized.

Should we take a swing at William Shakespeare?

The synchrotron source promises a breakthrough into the holy of holies of Nature. It is impossible to maintain secrecy in full, - Pavel Kashkarov, deputy director of the Kurchatov Institute, caustically jokes. All of it scientific life passed at Moscow State University, but now he has acquired a special relationship with skyscrapers. - From high-rise buildings around, millionaires can look at our reactors without a telescope. In the time of Kurchatov, they would rather believe in life on Mars than in such an immodest dwelling.

When the Hero of Socialist Labor, Marshal Lavrenty Beria, decided to create a laboratory N 2 on the outskirts of Moscow, which was instructed to come up with atomic bomb, century-old pines grew around. Now the houses where the brilliant academics who created the nuclear shield lived look like prisoner-of-war barracks. The eyes are caressed by the elite complexes Severnaya Zvezda and Elsinore, which have encircled the Kurchatov Institute. People live there whose incomes far exceed the fortune of Prince Hamlet, who also lived in Elsinore, but without a view of nuclear reactors. The people know much less about the contribution of the owners of the new "Elsinore" to the country's heritage than Prince Hamlet knew about the secret of his father's death.

At the Kurchatov Institute, the regime is no longer the same as in the era of the atomic project. On the territory of the NBIC center, as usual in Western laboratories, a guesthouse is being built for scientists who have come from other laboratories. The scientific people all over the world are not very rich, and it is unprofitable to spend money on hotels. The low mobility of scientists in Russia is one of the problems of our science, and it rests precisely on the lack of affordable housing. The guesthouse is almost ready - the conditions are immeasurably better than in hotels where business travelers are accommodated throughout Russia.

A computer case is being completed to store data mined at the NBIC center. Now at the disposal of the power of 100 teraflops. In a year, the strength of the NBIC center will grow to 300 teraflops. Such capacities in Russia are countless. The project includes a business incubator, a metrological building…

Historians still cannot answer the question of whether Marshal Beria set foot on the territory of laboratory No. 2, which grew into the Kurchatov Institute. If I have been, it must have been for the purpose of inspecting the first Soviet F-1 reactor, which was launched in 1946 and still operates next to the newest NBIC center. In Chicago, the first American reactor was dismantled, and ours plows like a perpetuum mobile, the uranium load will be enough for another 200-300 years. However, the inhabitants of Elsinore, if their conscience does not weigh them down, can, unlike Hamlet, sleep peacefully. The power of the F-1 reactor is only 20 kW, vanishingly small, suitable only for metrology and calibration.

Russian scientist is more dangerous than bin Laden

Why should I go to the West? - Deputy Director of the Synchrotron Center 30-year-old Roman Senin feels uncomfortable in a business suit, but obviously is a rare example of the luck of a young Russian scientist. What can they offer me? Research, position, salary - everything is more interesting and higher in Russia. Two years ago, the Institute offered young scientists to go to Germany for a long time. No one went, they did not want to waste time. Some were expressed in the spirit of black humor: you can go to the West only on vacation or on a tank. This is obviously a joke...

I strongly suspect that there are no such young bosses at any accelerator in the world. How much should a young scientist be paid so that he does not look to the West, and if he defected earlier, then return home? Not so long ago, the Academy of Sciences provided a minimum salary of 30 thousand rubles. This, as it turned out, is not enough - the brain drain continues, and if the pressure has weakened, it is only because everyone who wanted to has already left. At the NBIC Center, I found that if there is no need to spend money on housing, a scientist from the West returns to Russia for 50,000 rubles. Provided, of course, world-class equipment and an interesting project. In the West, as Professor Alexei Marchenkov found out from his own experience, “as research approaches the world level, the Russian physicist becomes more dangerous for the authorities than bin Laden.”

Of the new employees of the NBIC Center, half returned from the West. The heads of almost all leading laboratories and key employees worked in top universities, among which the famous Edinburgh, where the first sheep Dolly was cloned. In Russia, these scientists saw better prospects for scientific career. One can recall the paradoxical conclusion of the director of the Kurchatov Institute, Mikhail Kovalchuk: Russia should be grateful to the West for the brain drain, because Russian scientists have saved themselves in science in difficult times, and now they can return home, having also gained useful experience.

Of course, there is no need to cast a shadow over the wattle fence: the level of funding that the Kurchatov Institute received under the national nanotechnology project makes it possible to implement ambitious projects and create attractive conditions. Russia has allocated no less funds for nanotechnologies than the leading countries. This is the first in new Russia experience of large-scale support not for a separate scientific organization, but for a large one - on a national scale - scientific project. The Kurchatov Institute and the nanotechnology project arouse widespread envy in the scientific community because, they say, its leaders managed to squeeze large funds out of the budget. But isn't it better to reproach yourself for not being able to promote your own ideas? Korolev, Kurchatov, Keldysh were not only outstanding scientists, but also knew how to prove the prospects of their projects to not always literate, what to hide, leaders. Therefore, it seems to me that nanotechnology is not only the first time that a lot of money has been allocated for science. This is the first case, and this is more important, when scientists did not wait for the weather by the sea, but managed to interest the authorities with their ideas.

“In my experience, motivation is very important for a young scientist,” says the head of the department general physics Moscow State University and Deputy Director of the Kurchatov Institute Pavel Kashkarov. - This is how a person, especially a Russian, is arranged, that his creative motivation in his native country is higher than abroad. If conditions are created for doing science, a scientist from Russia will not leave anywhere. This year, the MIPT Faculty of Nanotechnology has been transformed into the first NBIC faculty in Russia. Teaching will be conducted on the basis of the Kurchatov Institute, our director Mikhail Kovalchuk became the dean of the faculty. This is an insanely interesting direction, and I'm sorry that I can not become a student again.

The professor grew up in the garbage

The core from which the NBIC center has grown is a specialized source of synchrotron radiation. This is one of the most promising tools not only for fundamental research but also to create fundamentally new technologies. There are only 16 such accelerators in Europe, and ours is the only one in Eastern Europe. “They are running around, the poor,” Professor Kashkarov expressed his sympathy for the electrons. They rush in a ring with a diameter of 30 meters at the speed of light and, due to acceleration, like an overripe cherry, splash electromagnetic radiation in the entire spectrum - from infrared to X-ray. Radiation is collected by dozens of sensitive stations placed like watchtowers along the perimeter of the ring. A synchrotron source is a thousand times better than other equipment for studying the atomic composition of a substance, the finest structure of any, including biological objects, creating nanostructures and conducting medical diagnostics.

The Synchrotron Source is the only large scientific complex launched in our country in 30 years. In the 1990s, construction stalled, and when Mikhail Kovalchuk became the director of the accelerator, complete devastation reigned here. In 1999, the synchrotron source was launched, but since then it has been significantly expanded and modernized. Over the past 2 years, the working area around the accelerator has been expanded by 4 times, a place has appeared for new laboratories. The importance of the synchrotron source is such that Vladimir Putin came here twice - both as prime minister and as president. “The synchrotron source is a living thing,” said Roman Senin importantly. “Just as a girl needs to be looked after, so the accelerator must be constantly rebuilt.”

Natalya Gruzdeva also worked in America - at Cornell University, the world leader in genetic engineering. The equipment at the NBIC center is no worse - sequencers for determining DNA sequences, protein factories for producing proteins for pharmaceuticals and medicine, and devices for embedding foreign DNA into cells. In front of my eyes, in an intricate reservoir, the genome of a kidney cancer patient was being rapidly deciphered - for the manufacture of a drug, it is necessary to collect an impressive database. Natalya Gruzdeva started her path in biology in a peculiar way - as a school teacher - and she believes that the experience of building relationships with difficult teenagers is extremely useful in research teams. At Cornell University, Natasha met a pandemonium of all languages ​​and races and came to the conclusion that Russians have the best brains. “Asians are hardworking, but they have little creativity, Americans are buying up talents from all over the world and squeezing out ideas,” the former teacher concluded. And in Russia, bureaucracy hinders scientific progress: in the West, it takes several hours to get the right reagent, while in our country, weeks are spent on an elementary task. These lamentations are repeated by every scientist who has experience of working in the West. It will be shameful and stupid if the idea of ​​the NBIC-center, which is planned to be brought to the world level, will be ruined by the eternal Russian problems. The devil, as you know, lies in the details - even in those projects where a person is trying to rise to the divine heights.

“I have been wandering abroad almost since childhood,” says Aleksey Lipkin, director of the protein factory, whose magnificent mustache would be envied by Pesnyary. - When I left, scientists collected equipment from garbage dumps. No matter how much they boiled, all the same, because of the dirt, the discharges fired. I even hired a physics student to figure it out. By the way, he has long been a professor in England. We should find him. Let him come back too. It won't shock him anymore.

Pyotr Kapitsa said that science should be done by cheerful people. The Kurchatov Center is so far the only place in Russia where an optimistic mood has returned to scientists and the Hamlet question of whether or not to be science has been resolved positively. Whether this issue will be resolved on a nationwide scale, time will tell.