About

The Infochemistry Scientific Center emerged at ITMO University thanks to the development of interdisciplinary fields of science, which made it possible to consider one of the university’s key areas of focus – information technology – through the perspective of molecular and chemical sciences.

Infochemistry is one of the most promising fields of research and working in this field will make it possible for ITMO University to attain a leadership position in the scientific community in Russia and around the world. It is not just chemists, but also specialists in biotechnologies, computer science, biology, physics, and more who are working in this field; its development is impossible in the absence of an interdisciplinary scientific approach.

The center is home to several research groups under the guidance of world-class scientists.

The Infochemistry Scientific Center is headed by professor Ekaterina Skorb. In 2013-2016, Prof. Skorb headed a research team at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (Potsdam, Germany); in 2016-2017, she was a member of the Whitesides Research Group at Harvard University, led by George Whitesides , one of the most cited chemists of our time. In September 2017, Prof. Skorb came to Russia to work as a professor at ITMO University and founded the Infochemistry Research Group, later reformed into the Infochemistry Scientific Center.

The Center’s scientific consultant is a laureate of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Jean Marie Lehn.

The center is home to joint labs:

• ● International Research Center of Artificial Intelligence for Smart and Functional Materials, launched with the involvement of of Prof. Daria Andreeva-Baeumler and Prof. Konstantin Novoselov, a laureate of the Nobel Prize in Physics
• A joint lab of the University of Liverpool’s Laboratory of Active Materials and Interfaces (Prof. Dmitry Shchukin) ) and ITMO University’s Infochemistry Scientific Center (Prof. Ekaterina Skorb).

Infochemistry Scientific Center’s key research areas

• Development of artificial chemical cells
• Chemical computing
• Multisensor systems and statistical processing of large data arrays
• New materials for regenerative medicine
• Nanostructuring of metals
• Quantum and chemical calculations of complex systems
• Functional nutrition, personalized tracking
• Bioelementology and medical elementology
• Digital transformation in chemical and biological technology
• Alternative approaches to data storage.

The center’s staff, students, and young scientists have free access to high-tech equipment which lets them work on projects of their own and publish their research in such recognized international journals as Nature, Science, Advanced Materials, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., J. Am. Chem. Soc., and others. Nature, Science, Advanced Materials, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., J. Am. Chem. Soc. The center actively collaborates with industrial partners from various fields. Such an approach helps us launch startups and opens up possibilities for bringing products developed at the center to the Russian and international markets.

Organization of and participation in public events

The center’s staff participate in projects associated with the communication of science and technology as researchers, consultants, lecturers, and so on. They work in a variety of fields in collaboration with industrial partners, educational organizations, and government agencies. They organize forums, conferences, meetups, internships, workshops, etc.

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Educational activities

Today, the center works in the most relevant research fields and offers educational programs for Bachelor’s and Master’s students. Education at the center is always tightly woven into the research process as part of the “science-focused education” approach. Our students are trained to become specialists in a unique new program that has never been seen before in Russia. One of the few programs that develops this field and employs the corresponding approach is delivered at Harvard University. The Infochemistry program is taught in English with the involvement of the best international experts on the subject. The students enjoy a unique opportunity to improve their knowledge of English by learning alongside international students and communicating with lecturers from various countries. The program trains highly qualified specialists with an interdisciplinary understanding of complex chemical and biological systems and skills associated with studying, modelling, and forecasting these systems. Our graduates can work on tasks related to personalized medicine and nutrition by collecting and analyzing Big Data, studying modular systems, and applying the concepts of analogy and synergetics in their work. What’s more, our programs are aimed at the students’ holistic development as individuals. The program includes courses in biology, mathematics, computer science, physics, and even art, and offers an opportunity for the improvement of students’ knowledge of foreign languages via communication with lecturers from other countries and taking internships at leading international research centers. The center’s students take internships at the best Russian and international universities, as well as major industrial companies, with chances of further employment.