Russian crystallography scientist Artem Oganov has been awarded the China International Science and Technology Prize, which was presented to him by Chinese President Xi Jinping, according to what the scientist stated in his blog.
Oganov noted that this prestigious award is given every two years to no more than ten winners, and this year it was awarded to nine scientists. He added that previous winners included a number of prominent scientists, among them six Nobel laureates. This year's winners also included Nobel laureate Jean-Marie Lehn.
Artem Oganov is a renowned Russian crystal chemist and a distinguished professor at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology. He spent over 16 years working at leading research centers in Europe and the United States before returning to Russia in 2014, where he currently heads one of the institute's laboratories.
Oganov's research enables scientists to discover new materials and compounds with unique properties using computational methods. His research focuses on understanding the factors that determine the structure and properties of solids, relying on theoretical and computational models, particularly under high-pressure conditions where classical models often fail to provide accurate explanations.
The method Oganov developed for predicting crystal structures formed the basis of the USPEX program, which is used by more than 11,000 researchers worldwide. His predictions of so-called "forbidden compounds," such as Na₃Cl, which was previously considered incompatible with conventional chemical concepts, were later confirmed, significantly impacting the fields of materials science, physics, chemistry, and earth sciences.
It is worth noting that Oganov has authored more than 350 research papers, many of which have been published in Nature, Science and other prestigious scientific journals, and he also holds five patents.
