The 13th L'ORÉAL-UNESCO “For Women in Science Awards” was held in Moscow at the end of November. Ten young Russian felmale scientists received the awards designed to help talented and promising specialists in various fields of knowledge develop their scientific career in Russia. In 2019, the competition received 335 applications fr om 45 Russian cities. Among the winners were Senior Teachers at the NSU Physics Department Tatyana Kardash and Olesya Krumkacheva, as well as a researcher at the Natural Sciences Department Carbon Nanomaterials Laboratory Julia Fedoseyeva.
Fedoseyeva talked about winning the award,
It is very prestigious for me to be among the winners of the national L’OREAL-UNESCO competition. The scholarship supports women researchers with a solemn and very beautiful award ceremony and the press pays attention to your scientific achievements. During such moments, you feel deeply the importance of your research and are inspired to continue to work hard.
Yulia Fedoseyeva’s scientific research field is the study of the structure of chemically modified carbon nanostructures and hybrid materials based on using ultra-soft X-ray and X-ray electron spectroscopy. She also studies quantum chemistry to establish the influence of structural features on the functional properties of materials.
The scientific work of Tatyana Kardash is devoted to studying the structure of catalysts. This is necessary to understand the relationship between the synthesis of catalysts and their properties. Studies of the structure of catalysts requires special approaches. Defective and highly disordered systems wh ere traditional approaches are not effective often have the best characteristics.
Kardash described the relevance of her work,
My scientific work is devoted to the study of the structure of catalysts for chemical processes that are important for ecology and economics. For example, processing components of associated petroleum gases into valuable products and purifying the air from harmful emissions.
Olesya Krumkacheva, the third NSU scholar, is engaged in the study and application of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) methods to study the structure and functional properties of biopolymers. Her achievements include work with her colleagues that provided the world's first demonstration of the ability to measure distances between two spins selectively introduced into DNA. It was possible to overcome low-temperature limitations by using a new type of spin label based on triarylmethyl radicals.
Krumkacheva explained the value of this award,
It is a great honor for me to receive such a prestigious award. The jury are well-known scientists so it is especially pleasant for me to receive recognition for my scientific achievements from people I greatly respect. Victory in this contest also provides a unique opportunity for a wide range of people to learn about your research.
The competition is open to female scholars, who are Candidates of Science under the age of 35. They must be working in Russian scientific institutes and universities in the following disciplines: physics, chemistry, medicine, and biology. The criteria for choosing award winners are the scientific significance of the candidate’s work, the practical usefulness and feasibility of the project proposed, and the applicant’s desire to pursue a scientific career in Russia. The L’OREAL-UNESCO scholarship award is 500,000 rubles. Throughout the years, the competition has awarded 125 young women scholarships to develop their scientific career. Last year, a NSU graduate Olga Chashchina recieved an award.
