We cannot imagine our lives without computers, mobiles and various censor gadgets today. Many medical, surgical and dental services with the use of laser radiation have long become an ordinary practice. All these penetrates into our lives with the help of quantum phenomena and devices based on them. Physicist, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Professor Arthur Ishkhanyan received RA President Prize in 2016 for the series of scientific articles “Analytic Models of Quantum Two-State Problem”.
“Generally speaking, prizes only play an auxiliary role in the process of organizing a scientific practice. Those are both pleasant and useful. Should there be various prizes, it would have become a serious incentive. Prizes play an important role in the careers of young scientists, it serves as a financial support and a tangible motivation for further practice. Apart from the President Prize there could also be National Assembly Speaker Prize, a Mayor’s Prize, and those from different Ministries. In all the countries where science is paid a particular attention to, similar prizes are widely applied as a stimuli, aimed at increasing interest towards science. Here is a simple illustration, you are now interviewing me for the President Prize. Had there been hundreds of other prizes, there would have been hundreds of similar interviews, which would raise love and greater aspiration towards science among students and the youth”, Arthur Ishkhanyan said.
Arthur Ishkhanyan received a President Prize together with two young members of his scientific group Tigran Shahverdyan and Tigran Ishkhanyan. The latter has just recently done a success, in fact, made a major achievement in the scientific filed of Armenia. We rarely have such achievements. A few days ago world’s leading organization offering mathematical programs, I mean the US based “Wolfram Research Inc.”, launched a product called Mathematica 12.1. In order to imagine what this means, let me mention that this is the most advanced, almost uncompetitive math tool widely used by scientists. And now this program is equipped with new special functions – Heun functions.
“This is a major advancement realized by our group, more specifically by Tigran Ishkhanyan. We have been engaged in this for the past 30 years and it was only 3 years ago that the “Walfram Research Inc” signed a contract with Tigran Ishkhanyan to introduce Heun functions in Mathematica program. And this has become a reality now. So, the results of our scientific group are being applied by a prestigious organization. In order to achieve those results we have gone through different stages, and it was one of those stages that brought us a President Prize”.
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The remuneration from the “Wolfram Research”, can no ways be compared with the salary a young scientist gets in Armenia. In addition to high salary, Tigran has also been granted a 10-year US visa. And now we are facing a question – how likely it is that young scientists shall stay in Armenia to do science, given such circumstances? Based on a scientist’s opinion, it is less likely, this is the “mirror of our reality”.
Arthur Ishkhanyan is a supporter of “We Demand Increasing Funding to Science” initiative, and what is the outcome of this initiative so far?
For instance, this initiative helped to establish scientific approaches in Armenia. This is one small positive outcome of our initiative. Then the “Young Scientists Support Program” (YSSP) was launched, which essentially helped to maintain young scientists’s faith and somehow managed to lessen emigration process. But ultimately, all the actions were almost effortless, as the science funding still remains 0,25 % of our GDP.
We recalled that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had once said “If we touch upon money in every conversation we start, then we are quickly forced to enter a deadlock”. They are expecting practical results from scientists, saying most of them do nothing, simply kill hours by drinking coffee and go home.
“This is a one-sided approach. If we want to educate our children, we should build schools, publish books, pay salaries to teachers, because children cannot grow without all these investments. And we have the same situation in science. In scientific field we have two age group peaks – part of the scientists are young, while others are old. The older ones have reached retirement age, while the young ones ae not mature yet to take bold steps, and they simply switch to other fields or go abroad. And it is impossible to stop this, unless we have some investments. What concerns the results in the science field, international scientific analyses show that we have been working efficiently, especially given the funding we have had so far. While on the other hand, our scientific group has had a practical outcome – the inclusion of Heun functions in Mathematica program. And this is a fact”.
Hripsime Jebejyan
The President Prize to the Republic of Armenia is initiated and funded by the Boghossian Foundation (Belgium-Switzerland). The Award Ceremony is organized by “Hayastan” All-Armenian Fund. The prizes are conferred by the RA President and the representatives of the Boghossian Foundation annually.
“Aravot” daily
26.03.2019
