The centre was created to investigate the physical properties of metamaterials, which are significantly influenced by quantum effects. The name ‘metamaterials’ comes from the Greek ‘meta’, meaning ‘beyond’. Metamaterials have properties that are not inherent to any of their component materials. Modern technologies make it possible to create structures with characteristic scales of several nanometres or even less—scales at which quantum effects play a decisive role. These effects can help or hinder, so it is important to ‘befriend’ them. They need to be carefully explored in order to understand their influence on the physical properties of metamaterials.
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The 30th anniversary scientific conference named after E.V. Armensky was held at the Higher School of Economics, bringing together young researchers, PhD students and students working in advanced areas of modern science and technology. This year, the event once again became a platform for discussing current scientific results and exchanging ideas in the fields of physics, materials science and computational methods. The conference was particularly successful for the PhD students of the Center for Quantum Metamaterials who have demonstrated a high level of training and the significance of their research.
Interdisciplinary research is a defining feature of modern science, and this trend is especially pronounced in the field of quantum technologies. Physics, chemistry, mathematics, and biology form the core fields of research at the Centre for Quantum Metamaterials of the HSE Tikhonov Moscow Institute of Electronics and Mathematics (MIEM). Prof. Alexei Vagov, director of the centre, discusses its key activities, which focus on exploring the prospects of creating materials with predefined properties through manipulating their structure at the quantum level.
Professor Vagov, the Director of the Center for Quantum Metamaterials at the HSE University's MIEM, , appeared as an expert in the Agora TV program on CULTURE TV channel on Saturday, April 18. The episode was dedicated to the topic "Quantums: How to Live in an Unstable World?". The participants discussed the fundamental issues of quantum physics and their philosophical interpretations.
The application of the Center for Quantum Metamaterials has become the winner of the 2026 Russian Science Foundation competition for conducting fundamental and exploratory scientific research. The project "Study of Subgap Absorption Mechanisms in Disorderly Superconducting Films for the Development of Terahertz Electronics Devices" will be implemented under the supervision of the Center's Director, Dr. Alexey Vagov.
Chinese students gained practical knowledge in the design, assembly, and operation of small spacecraft and systems, as well as in quantum mechanics, superconductivity, and materials science for solar energy.