TASS DOSSIER. On September 26, 2017, at the general meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAN), physicist and director of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 62-year-old Alexander Sergeev, was elected president of the academy. He will take office after approval by the President of Russia. Alexander Sergeev will become the 22nd president of the Academy of Sciences in its entire history, the 10th elected and the third in recent history (since 1991).
Alexander Mikhailovich Sergeev was born on August 2, 1955 in the village of Buturlino, Gorky Region (now an urban village, Nizhny Novgorod Region).
In 1977 he graduated from the radiophysics department of Gorky State University. N.I. Lobachevsky (now - National Research Nizhny Novgorod State University named after N.I. Lobachevsky, UNN) with a degree in radiophysics.
In 1982, at the Institute of Applied Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences (now the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences), he defended his thesis for a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences on the topic “Self-action and transformation of intense electromagnetic waves in magnetically active plasma.” In 2000, there was a thesis for Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (topic: “Nonlinear wave processes in the generation of ultrashort optical pulses and the interaction of strong optical fields with matter”). In 2003, he was elected a corresponding member, and in 2016, an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Member of the Division of Physical Sciences (physics and astronomy) of the Academy of Sciences, member of the RAS Council on Space.
After graduating from the university, he was accepted as a research intern at the Institute of Applied Physics of the USSR Academy of Sciences (Gorky, now Nizhny Novgorod). Then he worked as a junior (1979-1985), senior (1985-1991) researcher, head of a laboratory (1991-1994), and head of a department (1994-2001). From 2001 to 2015, he served as Deputy Director of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and in 2001-2012 he also headed a department of the institute.
From 2015 to present V. - Director of the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. At the same time, he is the head of the department of ultrafast processes and the head of the sector for modeling ultrafast optical processes of the Department of Nonlinear Dynamics and Optics of the Institute of Applied Physics. Part-time professor at the Department of General Physics, Faculty of Radiophysics, UNN.
He leads a group of Russian scientists in the LIGO gravitational wave detection project in the USA. In 2016, project participants were awarded the prestigious Gruber Prize in Cosmology, as well as the Fundamental Physics Prize (established by Russian businessman Yuri Milner).
Member of the Scientific Coordination Council of the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations and the Council of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. Member of the editorial board of the journals "Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk" and "Izvestiya VUZov - Radiophysics".
In July 2017, he was registered as a candidate for the post of President of the Russian Academy of Sciences. It was nominated by the Bureau of the Division of Physical Sciences, the Bureau of the Division of Energy, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics and Control Processes, the Bureau of the Division of Biological Sciences, the Presidium of the Ural Branch, as well as 240 members of the RAS, according to the official website of the academy. On August 31, his candidacy was approved by the Russian government.
Alexander Sergeev is a scientist in the field of laser physics, femtosecond optics (optics of ultrashort laser pulses), theory of nonlinear wave phenomena, plasma physics and biophotonics (studies the interaction of light with biological tissue). Under his leadership, the most powerful petawatt (10 to the fifteenth power of a watt, or a billion megawatt) laser complex in Russia was created at the Institute of Applied Physics RAS, and new methods of using femtosecond radiation for processing materials and medicine were developed.
Author and co-author of more than 350 scientific papers. Among them are “Towards an analytical theory of laser illuminators” (1980), “From femtosecond to attosecond pulses” (1999), “Terawatt femtosecond titanium-sapphire laser complex” (2001), “100-terawatt femtosecond laser based on parametric amplification” ( 2005), “Horizons of petawatt laser complexes” (2011), “Raman laser with a picosecond pulse duration, operating in an eye-safe range” (2016), etc.
Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology (1999), Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of science and technology (2012). Awarded the Order of Honor (2006).
Married, has two children. His wife, Marina Dmitrievna Chernobrovtseva, is a researcher at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Daughter Ekaterina is a candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Son Mikhail is an employee of UNN.
On September 26, 2017, during the second round, the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences was determined. He became the director of the Federal Research Center “Institute of Applied Physics RAS” Alexander Sergeev. He received 1045 votes with the required 746 (50% + 1 vote).
The number of votes Sergeev collected is even more than 2/3 of the votes required for election, from which, in the summer, amendments to the law on the Russian Academy of Sciences passed to a “simple majority.” It was believed that after the March 2017 elections were disrupted and all three candidates withdrew, no one would be able to achieve the required two-thirds. Ballot for voting during the second round, September 26, 2017. Photo from Facebook At 6 p.m., the Chairman of the Counting Commission, Academician Yuri Balega, announced that the elections had taken place. In total there are 2305 people in the RAS. In the second round, 1489 ballots were issued, 1485 were found in the ballot boxes, i.e. someone took 4 ballots as a souvenir. Alexander Sergeev received 1045 (70.2%) votes, and his opponent, academician Robert Nigmatulin, received 412 (27.7%) votes.
The hall burst into applause. But even before the official announcement of the results, information about Sergeev’s victory reached members of the RAS and journalists, Sergeev began to be photographed and congratulated, and Robert Nigmatulin approached Alexander Mikhailovich and shook his hand as the winner.
Let us recall that, held on the morning of September 26, A. M. Sergeev received 681 (42.7%) votes, and R. I. Nigmatulin - 276 (17.3%) votes. Thus, during the second round, 364 votes were added in favor of Sergeev, and 136 in favor of Nigmatulin. 1,596 people took part in the first round, 1,489 in the second round (107 less), so there was no significant outflow of votes.
In May 2013, when the Academy of Sciences still existed as a separate organization (without the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences and the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences), Vladimir Fortov received 766 votes with the required 658 (1,314 people voted). He had two rivals: academician Zhores Alferov received the support of 345 members of the RAS, and academician Alexander Nekipelov - 143. 
Alexander Sergeev and Valery Kozlov at the OS RAS, September 26, 2017 After the announcement of the official election results, Academician Sergeev spoke to members of the General Meeting of the RAS. Here is a transcript of his speech:
Dear colleagues, today is a very important day for our Academy, since we elected our president in a completely democratic way. I think this is very important, firstly, because recently we have received serious criticism that the elections for the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences were not held democratically enough. I must say that in the last six months after the failed elections, the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences behaved very correctly and presented constructive ideas to the country's leadership regarding the election procedure. And it is very good that, in accordance with these proposals, elections to the Russian Academy of Sciences took place.
The second thing I want to say (and I say this completely honestly): during this election campaign, our government behaved completely democratically. There was no pressure from above or from the side, and there were constructive meetings discussing constructive plans. I believe that both the Academy of Sciences and the authorities behaved very constructively is the key to the consensus that I spoke about in my pre-election speech.
The next point is why this is important for the Academy of Sciences: for the first time, the president of the RAS was elected by three academies, which now work together, and the result that was obtained suggests that the elected president had the support of all three academies. It is very important. (Stormy applause.) And I promise you to be your president for all branches of the Russian Academy of Sciences. (Stormy applause.)
I want to especially thank my colleagues: Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov for the fact that during these four years he courageously fought to preserve the Academy of Sciences. And I consider it my duty to continue this line so that the Academy of Sciences continues to work in accordance with democratic principles. (Stormy applause.)
I want to thank Valery Vasilyevich Kozlov for the fact that in the past period he wisely and calmly steered the ship of the Academy and was thus able to build a dialogue with the authorities, and we really came to a consensus. (Stormy applause. V.V. Kozlov stood up and thanked the audience for their support.)
I want to thank my rivals, outstanding scientists - Evgeniy Nikolaevich Kablov, and Gennady Yakovlevich Krasnikov, and Robert Iskanderovich Nigmatulin, and Vladislav Yakovlevich Panchenko - for the fact that we generally worked together during this election campaign. Thank you. Each of us was worthy of becoming president, but the Academy of Sciences voted this way. (Stormy applause.)
Finally, I want to thank those who supported me in this election. And I really want to thank those departments that chose me. First of all, my home Department of Physical Sciences. In addition, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Department of Energy[, Mechanical Engineering, Mechanics and Control Processes] and the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. I would also like to thank the members of the Academy (there were 240 of them) who cast their individual votes for me.
Thank you very much - and for your work!
After this, acting President of the RAS Valery Kozlov announced that on Wednesday, September 27, meetings of the RAS Branches will be held, and at 12 o’clock on September 28, the General Meeting will continue its work. It will be necessary to elect the Presidium of the RAS, vice-presidents of the RAS, the chief scientific secretary of the Presidium of the RAS and academic secretaries of RAS departments.
At the mini-banquet held after the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Valery Kozlov, Deputy. Minister of Education and Science Grigory Trubnikov, Alexander Sergeev and their colleagues. Academician Trubnikov noted that on this day “the Academy of Sciences voted for Science.” He praised all five candidates who ran in the elections, but said that as a physicist he was glad that the physicist won. In turn, Academician Sergeev recalled April 2017, when Academician Litvak approached him with a proposal to become a candidate for President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and he immediately agreed, as he felt responsible for the Academy of Sciences. He did not immediately inform his wife about his decision, and she even asked him: “Why do you need this?” (A. M. Sergeev has two children and three grandchildren). The elected president of the Russian Academy of Sciences promised to interact with colleagues of different ages.
It is reported that today he will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Academician Alexander Sergeev won the second round of elections, gaining 1045 votes from participants in the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences. 412 votes were cast for his opponent Robert Nigmatulin. Five academicians applied for the post: Evgeny Kablov, Gennady Krasnikov, Robert Nigmatulin, Vladislav Panchenko and Alexander Sergeev. Since in the first round no one received the 50 percent plus one vote required for victory, Sergeev and Nigmatulin entered.
Why did Alexander Sergeev win in the end? The participants of the General Meeting especially emphasized that all the candidates are prominent scientists, they have very strong programs, so the choice will not be easy to make. An analysis of the results of this forum is still ahead; experts will weigh the pros and cons, and understand the intricacies and nuances of academic elections.
Speaking about his first steps, the new head of the RAS noted that he would propose to the General Meeting to renew and rejuvenate the presidium of the academy. In addition, the key issue of the academy’s status must be resolved. Its current legal status as a federal budgetary institution creates many difficulties in the work of the RAS and does not allow it to effectively fulfill its tasks.
Speaking about the difficult situation in our economy, Sergeev emphasizes that we have a chance to get out of it. A fundamental condition for this is the restoration of the leading role of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the implementation of the country's scientific and technological policy. The Academy needs not only to find new forms of organizing science within the Academy itself and in the country, but also to offer ways to effectively interact with the authorities, business and society.
By the way, many participants in this forum, in a conversation with an RG correspondent, noted: maybe it’s good that the elections on March 22 were cancelled. Perhaps, for the first time in many years, such a thorough analysis of the difficult situation in which the Academy of Sciences found itself was produced. Yes, it has been criticized more than once, but “from the outside,” but here the analysis was done by the scientists themselves, who, like no one else, see pain points, make the correct diagnosis and suggest treatment options.
For example, all candidates noted that during a difficult period for the Russian Academy of Sciences, when a barrage of criticism fell upon it in the media, including from the lips of a number of high-ranking officials, the academy took the position of a “besieged fortress”, behaved passively, constantly citing a lack of funding . I didn’t want to notice my own problems, and above all, in the management of science. But the system has become archaic, ineffective, and does not meet the challenges of the time. As a result, this position became one of the reasons for further problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Another consequence of the closed nature of the academy was the insufficient level of interaction with the FANO and other government bodies. But one of the main functions granted to it by law is a comprehensive examination of not only scientific projects, but also large socio-economic programs. The candidates noted that today, many programs adopted by departments are often not compatible with each other, and the allocated funds are duplicated and spent ineffectively. And here, according to the candidates, the academy could be much more active. It should become a center of expertise for all major programs, projects, and various government acts. And in principle, the examination of the Russian Academy of Sciences should be mandatory for such documents.
Among the problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, candidates noted insufficient activity in the field of innovation and commercialization of scientific developments. Of course, what is expected from fundamental science, first of all, is new ideas, but we can remember that the Academy of Sciences played a decisive role in the implementation of such large projects as nuclear and space. And now, when the leading countries of the world are relying on high technologies, on breakthroughs and their rapid implementation, academia cannot limit itself only to fundamental research. We need to look for ways to implement them together with industry. This, by the way, will allow the academy, in conditions of lack of government funding, to significantly replenish its budget.
The candidates are unanimous: the academy should have a special status: “State Academy of Sciences.” And one of the main tasks now facing the Academy is to increase the level of relations between the authorities and the Russian Academy of Sciences. Moreover, what is needed here is not cosmetic, but radical measures. To do this, it is necessary to create a Supreme Council, which will include scientists, business representatives, rectors, etc. It makes sense to offer one of the country's leaders to head it. By the way, one of the scientists who campaigned for candidates noted that the government has a deputy prime minister in charge of sports, so maybe the president of the Russian Academy of Sciences should have the same status.
Scientists believe that the academy should have a special status: “State Academy of Sciences”
The Academy must take on the role of a key partner of government authorities in the implementation of the Strategy for Scientific and Technological Development of the Russian Federation, approved by presidential decree. According to the candidates, the academy should develop strategies for the socio-economic development of the country, science, education, medicine, predict new challenges and propose ways to solve them.
Almost all meeting participants emphasize that the new head of the academy faces difficult tasks. Alexander Sergeev takes responsibility not only for the fate of the Russian Academy of Sciences and all Russian science, but also for the fate of the country. Without modern science and high-tech technologies, it may find itself on the sidelines of scientific and technological progress, forever lagging behind leading countries.
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Alexander Mikhailovich Sergeev was born on August 2, 1955 in the Gorky region. After graduating from the Faculty of Radiophysics at Gorky University in 1977, he came to work at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In 1982 he defended his candidate's dissertation here, and in 2000 his doctorate. In 2001, he became Deputy Director of the IAP RAS. In 2015, he was elected its director.
Sergeev is one of the leading experts in Russia in the field of laser physics, femtosecond optics, plasma physics and biophotonics. In the 2010s, he proposed a project to create in Russia the most powerful XCELS laser in the world. This project is included by the Russian government among 6 projects of the megascience class. Alexander Sergeev initiated the participation of Russian scientists in a number of major international scientific programs, including the LIGO observatory for detecting gravitational waves, and the project of a prototype reactor for laser thermonuclear fusion HiPER.
In 2016, Sergeev was elected academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He has more than 8,000 citations of his work published in scientific journals. His H-index is 48. He is married and has two children, a son and a daughter.
Direct speech
Alexander Sergeev:
Why did I become a presidential candidate? After the disruption of the elections on March 22, very serious concerns arose among the physics team for the future of the academy. And when the Department of Physical Sciences of the Russian Academy of Sciences invited me to participate in the elections, I took it as an order from my colleagues, which I had no right to refuse. Moreover, I understand perfectly well that physicists play a very prominent role in the Academy, many listen to their opinion, which further raises the level of responsibility associated with this proposal of my colleagues.
Extraordinary General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at which all candidates spoke. Each of them included the figure of the country's president in its reform program, either inviting him to head the board of trustees, or to initiate changes to the 253rd Federal Law on the Russian Academy of Sciences.
At the meeting, acting President of the Russian Academy of Sciences noted that it was unlikely that the elections could be held in one round, and he turned out to be right: Alexander Sergeev and .
In the second round, candidates needed 746 votes to win. Sergeev received 1045 votes, Nigmatulin - 412.
The former president of the Academy also supported Sergeev’s candidacy.
“When choosing a president, we must pay special attention to the fact that this should be a major scientist who enjoys our respect and will enjoy respect,”
“The work of scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences requires rethinking. We must have young and active leaders in the leadership of the Russian Academy of Sciences, for whom the Academy will be the main place of work, and not a part-time job. Each member of the academy must have a list of academic responsibilities. We must first restore trust, then the respect of society,” Sergeev emphasized.
The vice-rector of Moscow State University, academician Khokhlov, a former candidate for president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, commented on the victory of Alexander Sergeev:
“Of course I’m glad, I supported him.
I hope that this will begin the process of updating the RAS, which is necessary, and the Academy will gradually restore its authority. There is every reason for this.
This is a very good victory, convincing. It shows that there is hope that the Russian Academy of Sciences will truly find the strength to restore its authority and influence. It is necessary not to close ourselves off, but to interact with the entire scientific community and constructively negotiate with the authorities. The authorities are ultimately interested in the development of the scientific field.”
“It all depends on what kind of team he puts together. This will become clear on Thursday. I hope that the team will be renewed and that Sergeev’s program will be implemented.”.
Member of the commission to combat pseudoscience at the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences Alexander Sergeev:
“If we ignore personalities, the Academy was faced with a choice: to completely submit to the dictates of state policy, to engage in populist flirting with the authorities, creating the illusion of independence, or to try to indicate that science, despite the plight, objectively remains an independent force. Each of these trends was rather conventionally associated with the candidates’ personalities. The choice of Academician Alexander Sergeev corresponds to the third of these options.
I don’t expect any miracles, of course, but this is the best option for the Academy in the current circumstances.
But I’ll probably have to think about a pseudonym.”
(1955-08-02 ) (63 years old)- Faculty of Radiophysics, UNN [d] ( )
Alexander Mikhailovich Sergeev(born August 2, Buturlino, Gorky region) - Russian physicist, academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (since 2016). Director since 2015. Professor at Nizhny Novgorod State University.
Member of the editorial board of the journal Radiophysics.
Encyclopedic YouTube
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In 1977 he graduated from the radiophysics department of Gorky University.
A. M. Sergeev represents Russia in the International Committee on Ultra-Powerful Lasers ICUIL, being the deputy chairman of this organization. He is a member of the IUPAP Commission on Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics.
For many years, A. M. Sergeev has been a member of the program organizing committees of major international scientific conferences on optics, laser physics and biophotonics, such as ICONO, Photonics West, Topical Problems of Biophotonics, etc.
Scientific achievements
A. M. Sergeev is one of the leading experts in Russia in the field of laser physics, femtosecond optics, plasma physics and biophotonics.
In the 1990s, he organized work at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences to create femtosecond laser sources. Under his leadership, a complex of such sources was created, including a laser based on parametric light amplification with a peak radiation power of hundreds of terawatts, which was a world record for such systems at the time of its creation. The complex also includes a titanium-sapphire laser with a peak power of about a terawatt, as well as fiber-optic femtosecond lasers with extremely short pulse duration.
A. M. Sergeev developed a new method for describing the operation of femtosecond lasers based on the theory of dissipative optical solitons. On its basis, new laser lasing regimes were predicted, which were later realized experimentally.
A. M. Sergeev is actively developing theoretical models of the processes of highly nonlinear interaction of radiation from such ultra-powerful short-pulse sources with matter. He studied new nonlinear wave effects in such processes, in particular the effect of self-channeling of radiation based on ionization nonlinearity, as well as a strong adiabatic increase in the carrier frequency and radiation harmonic frequencies. A. M. Sergeev developed the concept of generating coherent attosecond pulses during the ionization of atoms by femtosecond pulses. Under his leadership, a number of works were carried out on the theoretical study of the processes of laser acceleration of ions and generation of X-ray radiation based on laser systems with petawatt peak power.
In the 2010s, A. M. Sergeev proposed a project to create in Russia the world’s most powerful XCELS laser, which would be capable of generating pulses with a peak power of hundreds of petawatts. This project was included by the Government of the Russian Federation among 6 megascience class projects for implementation in 2010-2020.
In addition to sources of powerful laser radiation, A. M. Sergeev also led the joint work of a team of physicists and doctors aimed at creating and using instruments for optical tomography of biological tissues. These works included such areas as optical coherence tomography, optical diffusion tomography, diffusion fluorescence tomography, ultramicroscopy. It was shown that the imaging methods developed during these studies make it possible to diagnose oncological diseases.
A. M. Sergeev initiated the participation of Russian scientists in a number of major international scientific programs, including the observatory for detecting gravitational waves LIGO, in the project of a prototype reactor for laser thermonuclear fusion HiPER, in the pan-European project to create ultra-powerful laser sources and study matter in extreme states ELI (
