The competition is aimed at supporting and developing research teams that occupy leading positions in certain fields of science. Grants from the competition of small individual scientific groups are allocated for the implementation of fundamental and exploratory scientific research in 2025-2026 in all branches of knowledge. In total, the Russian Science Foundation will support more than 1,200 projects in this area. The winners will receive up to 1.5 million rubles annually. Information about the contests and the list of winners can be found on the Foundation's website in the Contests section.

16 research projects of the scientific teams of the Southern Federal University were supported by the Russian Science Foundation. Grants will be awarded for research in mathematics, chemistry, biology, astrophysics, big data, artificial intelligence, cryptography, new materials, etc.

Anton Plenkin, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Information Security of Telecommunication Systems at the Institute of Computer Technology and Information Security of the Southern Federal University, head of the project "Synchronization method between subscribers of a local quantum network and a trusted node of a backbone quantum network", which received grant support, noted:

"Over the past decades, quantum cryptography has become one of the fastest growing and most relevant fields of modern science. The task of developing quantum communication and communications systems is formulated as a priority in the Strategy of the Scientific and Technical University of the Russian Federation. The project is supposed to develop and investigate a synchronization method between subscribers of a local quantum network and a trusted node of a backbone quantum network."

Most of the researchers working at SFedU research centers are engaged in innovative and unique developments that help our country achieve technological sovereignty and set goals within the framework of the national project "Science and Universities" and the strategic academic leadership program "Priority 2030".

"The scientific research of the grant is aimed at creating a strong artificial intelligence (AGI) system that models the human strategic decision-making process based on mental abstractions in the context of the general ability to understand. The system is designed to solve new problems that AI systems have never encountered before, in particular, the problems of replicating the strategic decision—making process in politics, economics and other social spheres," said Alexander Tselykh, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Head of the Department of Information and Analytical Security Systems named after Professor Leonid Samoilovich Berstein at the SFedU Institute of Information and Security Technology., head of the project "Development of an artificial intelligence system that simulates the process of strategic decision-making based on cognitive architecture."

The creation of new materials that meet the demands of industry is one of the important tasks of modern science. SFedU research teams are also working on solving such projects.

Tatiana Myasoedova, PhD, Associate Professor, Leading Researcher at the Research Laboratory of Functional Nanomaterials Technology at the SFedU Institute of Nanotechnologies, Electronics

and Equipment Engineering, head of the project aimed at creating a new generation of composite functional materials consisting of a carbon matrix doped with nitrogen and metal sulfides for use in supercapacitors, said:

"The energy performance and specific capacity of existing carbon materials are significantly reduced due to structural changes during operation, which leads to low stability during cycling. The same can be said about the use of transition metal sulfides as electrodes, which limits their use. The solution to the problem may be to manufacture a composite of graphite carbon materials obtained from biomass. At the same time, the advantages of the components are preserved and improved electrochemical properties are achieved. A hybrid carbon heterocomposite with transition metal sulfides can provide better conductivity and improved electrochemical properties. Also, the production of such composites can provide excellent stability, attractive speed characteristics and high performance."

Scientists of the Southern Federal University also make a great contribution to the development of fundamental science. For example, astrophysicists at SFedU use complex mathematical calculations to explore remote corners of the universe, dark matter, and the birth and death of entire galaxies.

"The physical nature of the hidden mass of matter in the universe takes us beyond the standard models of elementary particles. Her analysis draws on the methods of cosmomicrophysics, which studies the fundamental relationship between the micro- and macrocosm in a combination of its physical, astrophysical and cosmological manifestations. Currently, the search for weakly interacting massive particles of hidden mass has not yielded positive results, which may indicate a more complex composite nature of such particles. In our project, the cosmomicrophysical study of possible atomic and nuclear-like, as well as primary heterogeneous forms and structures of hidden mass, should not only involve young scientists - my graduate students - in solving the problems of the cutting edge of modern fundamental science, but also ensure a high scientific level of content for their future PhD theses," explained the head of the Cosmomicrophysics project. structures of the hidden mass of the Universe", Doctor of Physico-Mathematical Sciences, Professor, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Physics Maxim Khlopov.

Many of the breakthrough projects that have received support are being carried out by young SFedU scientists. In recent years, the teams of scientific laboratories, centers and research institutes of the university have become much younger. Graduate students and even undergraduates are actively involved in research work.

"Intelligent systems capable of finding solutions in complex spatial situations are interesting from a scientific and practical point of view. The operation of any unmanned vehicle is unthinkable without continuous decision-making on where, how, where, with whom, by how much and why its spatial position should be changed. And it needs to be done reliably with minimal resource expenditure. In the course of the project, it is planned to obtain new scientific results related to the accumulation and use of knowledge about reality. The group of performers is small. In addition to the head, it includes graduate students of the Department of Information and Analytical Security Systems. Isaev and D. Grigoriev. However, their focus on significant results is indisputable, which will further enrich the theory of intelligent systems," said Stanislav Belyakov, head of the project "Decision—making in spatial situations based on Experience," Doctor of Technical Sciences, Professor of the SFedU Institute of Computer Technologies and Information Security.

List of SFedU grant winners from the Russian Science Foundation:

"Development of an artificial intelligence system that simulates the process of strategic decision-making based on cognitive architecture", supervisor: A. N.

"Reverse shift operators, Hadamard type and related convolutions", supervisor: S. N. Melikhov

"Boundary integral equations and numerical analytical methods in controlling the structure of a wave field, with applications in mechanics and acoustics among other things, to suppress intense low–frequency vibrations and noises," head M. A. Sumbatyan.

"Decision-making in spatial situations based on experience", supervisor Belyakov S. L.

"Mathematical models of evolutionarily stable strategies taking into account spatial and temporal heterogeneity", supervisor Zelenchuk P. A.

"Cosmomicrophysics of hidden mass structures of the universe", supervisor Khlopov M. Yu

. "Design and production of ferroelectric materials with electrodynamic properties controlled in the terahertz spectral range", Supervisor Mikheikin A. S.

"A new readily available method for producing aryl (benzyl)ketones and their use in the synthesis of pharmacologically valuable condensed heterocycles", supervisor Kolodina A. A.

"Promising electrodes for supercapacitors based on carbon doped with nitrogen and transition metal sulfides", supervisor Myasoedova T. N.

"The role of the mitochondrial Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in the aging of brain cells", supervisor Khaytin A.M.

"Methods and tools formation of a digital servitization strategy in agricultural machinery", head O. A. Chernova.

"The societal role of the Russian language in the integration of the polyethnic South of Russia", supervisor Klimenko L. V.

"Method of synchronization between subscribers of a local quantum network and a trusted node of a backbone quantum network", supervisor Plenkin A. P.

"Investigation of the formation of nanoscale graphene structures by atomic layer plasmochemical etching on the surface of silicon carbide", supervisor Klimin V. S.

"Development of theoretical, experimental and intellectual methods for identifying the damaged state of structures based on the analysis of deformation responses", supervisor Cherpakov A.V.

"Synthesis and research of new 𝜋-conjugated N,O-polycyclic structures for organic photovoltaics, establishment of their spectral and optoelectronic properties", supervisor Knyazev P. A.

Congratulations to the SFedU scientists on winning the grant competition and wish them further success in their scientific work!