Society

A meeting was held at Empress Catherine II St. Petersburg Mining University with the leadership of Brazil’s largest university, the Federal University of Minas Gerais. The agenda focused on developing cooperation between the two institutions in the fields of joint scientific research and academic exchange.

The achievements of Russian scientists in the second half of the 19th century, from Mendeleev’s periodic table to Popov’s radio receiver, were largely made possible due to their proficiency in foreign languages—a prerequisite for full immersion in the global scientific community.

In 1950, 31 new minerals were discovered in the USSR, including 14 previously unknown to science. In 1954 and 1955, the first primary diamond deposits were identified in the country—kimberlite pipes ”Zarnitsa,” ”Mir,” and ”Udachnaya” in Yakutia, later recognized as some of the largest in the world. Around the same time, the ”Finch” pipe was discovered in South Africa, and the Shinkolobwe mine in Congo revealed a series of new minerals, including yttionite, beckerite, scootite, curite, fourmarierite, and masuyite.

In the essay ”A Collector’s Item” by Joseph Brodsky, the author vividly describes the execution of Colonel Oleg Penkovsky, a GRU officer and Anglo-American spy exposed in 1962. Penkovsky’s name became a household term across the Soviet Union due to his high-profile trial. Official accounts state that he was executed by a firing squad, but Brodsky asserts that the spy was burned alive in a crematorium furnace.

In 1953, the section chief of the mine boldly named ”Stalin’s Face” within the Krasnolucheugol trust made a pivotal decision: to shift from three 8-hour production shifts to two, dedicating the remaining shift to daily maintenance of the incline and equipment, reinforcing the working face, and conducting ventilation and fill works. During an era when the coal industry faced constant shortages and operated non-stop—without weekends or holidays—such a proposal could be perceived as an act of defiance and deliberate underperformance.

A week ago, the Antarctic team from the Saint Petersburg Mining University of Empress Catherine II arrived at Progress Station. December is the warmest month for this part of the White Continent. The scientists settled at the station and immediately began their planned research, taking advantage of the favorable weather.

The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to John Hopfield and Geoffrey Hinton for their work related to informatics: ”fundamental discoveries and inventions in the field of machine learning and neural networks.” This reflects a current trend where humanity, having moved from ancient unified natural philosophy to highly specialized divisions within science, is now rapidly returning to interdisciplinary approaches.

The Federal Agency for Subsoil Use held an auction for licenses to conduct geological exploration, prospecting, and extraction of mineral resources at three sites—Vostochny-Vorgamusyursky, Adaksky, and Povarnitsky—located in the Timan-Pechora oil and gas province.

The global teacher shortage has reached 44 million educators. According to UNICEF, this number of specialists is needed to make education accessible to everyone on Earth. The issue is most acute in Western and Central Africa, accounting for one-third of the global shortage.

The Antarctic Party of Empress Catherine II Saint Petersburg Mining University, traveling to Progress Station aboard the research vessel ”Akademik Fedorov,” crossed the Southern Ocean and made a scheduled stop on the White Continent near Molodezhnaya Station.