Siberian Federal University PhD Defence in Spain and Sweden
Two postgraduate students of Siberian Federal University completed the double degree programs with foreign partners, defended theses, and received PhD SibFU.
The PhD defence of SibFU and UGR in the field of information technology of Anastasia Safonova was held at the University of Granada. She presented the results of a study on Plant Species Detection in Aerial and Satellite Images using Deep Learning. A scientific adviser on behalf of SibFU was Yury Maglinets, professor of the School of Space and Information Technology, by the Spanish side was represented by Siham Tabik, professor of the University of Granada. The aim of the work is to develop reliable and accurate deep learning models for monitoring various plant species using images of unmanned aerial vehicle.
Anastasia Safonova, postgraduate student at SibFU: “Over the past 10 years, deep learning models in general and deep convolutional neural networks in particular have shown impressive results in extracting spatial patterns from natural images. In fact, convolutional neural networks are the latest tools for solving all computer vision problems. However, their potential has not been fully explored. The thesis is one of the first attempts to study the potential of deep convolutional neural networks, preprocessing data and high-resolution Earth Remote Sensing data in solving problems of plant species conservation”.
The second defender, Victoria Savchenko, completed her double degree program under an agreement with the Royal Institute of Technology (Sweden). SibFU has a long-standing cooperation with this university, and Victoria’s defence became the 3rd joint defence. The topic of Victoria’s thesis is Multidimensional nuclear dynamics studied by resonant X-ray scattering and pump-probe spectroscopy. The scientific advisors of the postgraduate student are Sergey Polyutov, leading researcher at Siberian Federal University, and Victor Kimberg, researcher at KTH Royal Institute of Technology.
“The thesis is dedicated to theoretical studies of multidimensional nuclear dynamics in molecules using resonant X-ray scattering and pump-probe spectroscopy. We used an accurate but computationally inexpensive mixed approach and calculated multi-mode X-ray absorption and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectra of water, methanol and acetic acid and compared them with the available experimental spectra in gas and liquid. The results can be used in the chemical industry for the development of medical supplies,” explained Victoria Savchenko.
According to Olga Grigorieva, head of the Postgraduate Department, SibFU, the internationalization of the graduate school of SibFU began in 2014 with the launch of the PhD SibFU project. Today, Siberian Federal University has an extensive network of contacts with foreign and Russian universities, which gives postgraduate students the opportunity to conduct studies working with international teams. Besides, 28 foreigners are studying at SibFU.
“Double PhD defences are interesting because postgraduate students use both domestic and foreign knowledge and laboratory facilities. Science is not only Russian, Spanish or Swedish, it belongs to humanity. The more favourable conditions we create for postgraduate students to enrich them with knowledge, the better. The theses as part of double degree programs are very strong and deserve high marks from the scientific community. Moreover, PhD SibFU opens up great opportunities for building a career as a scientist. For instance, in 2019, a postgraduate student from China, Leung Tze Ming, defended his PhD degree at Siberian Federal University. He is currently working at the University of Hong Kong,” she emphasized.
The admission postgraduate campaign will last from 1 to 30 July, 2021. Applications can be submitted traditionally and online. The regulatory documents can be viewed on the website of the Postgraduate Department.