The Faculty “Advanced School of General and Applied Physics”

Dean's Office of the HSGAP
Institute of Applied Physics, RAS
Ul'yanov Street 46, 603950, Nizhnii Novgorod

AS GAP Dean – Egor Dmitrievich Gospodchikov
+7 (831) 436-03-79
egos@ipfran.ru
www.vshopf.unn.ru

The faculty “Advanced School of General and Applied Physics” of the NNSU was founded in 1991 (on the initiative of IAP RAS) for specialized training of scientific personnel in the field of fundamental and applied physics. From 1984 to 1991 the Institute organized this training at Electrophysics Chair of the Physico-technical faculty of the State Polytechnical Institute (SPI). The AS GAP is the base faculty of IAP RAS and IPM RAS. The Dean of the faculty from its origin to 2006 was A. G. Litvak, Full Member of RAS (Scientific Supervisor of IAP RAS); From 2006 to 2012 – Professor M. D. Tokman; 2012 to 2018 – Assistant Professor K. I. Rybakov; at present – Assistant Professor E. D. Gospodchikov. Academician of RAS А. G.Litvak (Scientific Supervisor of IAP RAS) is also the Scientific Leader of the faculty .

The Faculty is a unique system of extremely complete integration of the academic science with the higher education. The AS GAP is accommodated in IAP RAS, uses the laboratory and information base of IAP RAS and IPM RAS. It is a part of the united Educational-Scientific Center of the University and the Institutes of RAS of Nizhnii Novgorod, and since 2001 it has become one of the most important partners of the Scientific-Educational Complex of IAP RAS.

The AS GAP trains specialists in the field of theoretical physics and mathematical modeling of physical processes, plasma physics and physical electronics, radiophysics, solid-state physics and microelectronics, nonlinear optics and laser physics, hydrophysics. According to the international standard of education the students, who have fulfilled the plan of the four-year education, get the qualification of the bachelor and the bachelor degree; those, who have fulfilled the plan of the six-year education, get the qualification and the degree of Master of Physics. The students, who have successfully graduated from the AS GAP, continue their education in the graduate course of IAP RAS and IPM RAS to be given employment to these institutes. The students, who have chosen the field of activity other than science, work successfully in industrial, consulting, commercial companies and banks as well as in IT companies.

The system of education in the AS GAP is the subsequent development of a well-known system of the Moscow Institute for Physics and Technology, but here much attention is paid to the individual character of education. The AS GAP uses the personnel and material base of the institutes of RAS. The lessons are conducted by invited lecturers, including the leading scientists of IAP RAS and IPM RAS and other research institutes of Nizhnii Novgorod, the best lecturers of other faculties of the Lobachevsky University and other Higher Education Institutions of the city.

The individual character of education is achieved by the formation of groups with small number of students. 25 students are admitted to the first course. Sub-groups numbering 5–8 students are formed for practical lessons in physics, the English language (at 1st–2nd courses students of the AS GAP study English 6 hours a week!) and laboratory works. Each sub-group of the first and the second courses has a tutor, a young research fellow of IAP. Each student of the third-fourth courses is lead by the individual scientific supervisor. The students spend the greater part of time in base institutes, where alongside with spacious educational rooms they have also at their disposal the scientific laboratories, access to Internet; scientific seminars are held constantly. The main goal of such a system of the scientific personnel training is to educate broad-minded specialists able to work in different fields of modern physics.

The AS GAP faculty has a unique body of lecturers. The education of about 100 students is performed by two Academicians (A. G. Litvak and V. V. Zheleznyakov), Associate-Members of RAS (E. A. Khazanov, V. V. Kocharovsky), more than 20 Doctors of Science and about 30 Candidates of Science; 4 Professors of the AS GAP (A. G. Litvak, V. V. Zheleznyakov, M. I. Petelin and Z. F. Krasil'nik) are the supervisors of the leading scientific schools of Russia, supported by the Grant Council of the President of RF; 6 lecturers are the winners of State prizes of RF and the Soviet Union, 12 teachers are the winners of the State Scholarship for the Scientists of Russia, 11 teachers are the Soros Professors, 2 teachers are the winners of Grants of the President of RF for Young Russian Scientists.

The students of the AS GAP baccalaureate, who demonstrate successful progress, get the second scholarship (equal to the state scholarship) owing to the sponsor support of the scientific-industrial enterprise GYCOM, which collaborates with IAP RAS and regularly gives the awards to the winners of the physical and mathematical olympiads held at the faculty. The students of the magistracy get the paid job in sub-divisions of their scientific supervisors. The students of the AS GAP enjoy the rights of the members of the trade union of RAS workers (a representative of students is a member of the Institute trade-union committee), they enjoy the privileges in visiting sport complexes, they have an access to the clinic and the recreation base of IAP RAS.

Although the education process is rather intense, the average advancement of the AS GAP students is the best among the faculties of the Lobachevsky University representing both exact and natural sciences. Approximately 10% of AS GAP students get nominal scholarships (scholarships of the President and Government of RF, scholarships of the Academic Council of the NNSU, different scholarships of the Legislative Assembly and the Administration of the Nizhny Novgorod Region). The students of the AS GAP successfully take part in student olympiads in physics, mathematics, informatics and the English language. The representatives of the AS GAP form the overwhelming majority among the prize winners of university and regional student olympiads in physics and mathematics. The students of the AS GAP form the main body of the UNN team at all-Russia physical and mathematical olympiads and every year get there prize places; representatives of the faculty also take part regularly as a part of the UNN team in international student competitions in informatics.

The scientific work of the students of the HS GAP is closely connected with the studies performed in IAP RAS and IPM RAS. Most senior students take an active part in accomplishing Russian and international grants and different scientific projects. As a rule, the usual annual number of scientific papers written in co-authorship with the students of the AS GAP in scientific journals (20–30) and Proceedings of Conferences (30–40) essentially exceeds the number of students of the magistracy of the faculty. The students of the AS GAP get annually diplomas and/or medals at the All-Russian Competition of Scientific Papers of Students, held by the Ministry of Education of RF; this constitutes usually not less than 50% of all prizes of the UNN in this competition. The alumni and even the students of AS GAP have been awarded by medals of Russian Academy of Sciences and state scientific scholarships for young Russian scientists in the field of physics.

Among the graduates of the AS GAP in 1992–2018 and the graduates of the Electrophysics Chair of SPI in 1988–1991, more than 200 are the IAP RAS and IPM RAS employees, more than 45 are involved in scientific activity in the USA, Germany, France, England, Switzerland, etc. At present, 3 graduates have been elected the Associate-Members of RAS, 4 – professors of RAS. More than 30 graduates have defended their doctor of science thesis, more than 100 – candidate of science thesis. Over 30 of them have PhD degree. More than 20 graduates have been awarded by medals of Russian Academy of Sciences, more than 40 won the Presidential grants for young scientists.