Optics Excellence

ICTP and the International Commission for Optics (ICO) have announced the recipient of their 2021 ICO/ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award. This year, the award goes to Dr. David Hayrapetyan of the Russian-Armenian University in Yerevan, Armenia.

Hayrapetyan received the ICO/ICTP Prize for “his breakthrough contributions to the theory of semiconductor nanosystems, as well as his promotion of optics and photonics in Armenia under difficult circumstances."

The ICO/ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award honors young researchers in optics and photonics, and is given in collaboration with the ICO. An award ceremony is usually held during the Winter College on Optics but it has been postponed to 2022, due to the restrictions following the Covid-19 outbreak.

Hayrapetyan has made significant contributions to the theory of semiconductor nanostructures, with wide-ranging applications, such as single-electron transistors, solar cells, LEDs, lasers, single-photon sources, quantum computing, cell biology research, and medical imaging.

“He is one of a very few scientists at the top level who have chosen to remain in Armenia,” said ICTP senior scientist Joseph Niemela. “After the collapse of the Soviet Union and the independence of the country three decades ago, the situation in physics in the country is dire and exceptional early career scientists such as Dr. Hayrapetyan are the key to developing scientific talent.”

Recently, in 2018, Hayrapetyan headed an effort to establish a Wolfram Laboratory at the Russian-Armenian University, where he is head of the Department of General Physics and Quantum Nanostructures. The laboratory is based on the mathematical modelling of quantum systems, and according to his nominator, Prof. Aram Papoyan, who is Director of the Institute for Physical Research, NAS of Armenia, this was the first-ever university-based Wolfram Laboratory in the world. He has headed the laboratory since its inception.

“It is a great honour for me being awarded with the ICO/ICTP Prize and I will do my utmost to live up to such a prestigious award,” commented Hayrapetyan. “I am very excited and I am pleased to see that my work is recognized. On the other hand, it makes me feel the responsibility to work harder and spread my knowledge in the field of optics and photonics for wider audiences.”

Hayrapetyan feels that nowadays the need for scientific research and technology is crucial for every country. “If a country wants to be integrated into the advanced world community, then the contribution to science is one of the most necessary conditions,” he said. “Societies of those countries engaged in science are more advanced, open and more resistant to the various modern challenges. In Armenia, the main difficulties for science development are connected with the lack of critical mass of human and financial resources in selected fields of Armenia’s scientific specialisation; Armenian government's funding for science has been very scarce in the last decade and, unfortunately, it continues to decrease. Career prospects for young researchers are insufficient. However, in spite of many difficulties, we have talented and hard-working young and experienced researchers working in different scientific fields in our country.”

In 2019 Hayrapetyan won the prestigious EC Horizon-2020 grant “NanoQIQO” within the Twinning Program of the European Commission for research into smart Nanomaterials for Quantum Information and Quantum Optics, bringing much-needed research funding into Armenia. As a result of the project implementation, the University was able to boost its research excellence and innovation capacity, strengthen its reputation and improve its competitiveness in the field of nanomaterials for quantum informatics and quantum optics to contribute to achievement of the long-term progress towards sustainable objectives on national and European levels. “It is of the utmost importance to effectively disseminate the knowledge achieved to the relevant and interested audience,” said Hayrapetyan. “Particularly, scientific, education and industrial communities will be the target groups to whom the content of the project will be provided.”

Hayrapetyan thinks that the ICO/ICTP Gallieno Denardo Award is a perfect opportunity for giving young researchers a new impetus for further research, as a high-level recognition of this kind can help them to see their merits recognized by the international scientific community.

“The award recognizes not only his notable scientific accomplishments, but also the fact that he has applied these talents, together with his natural leadership, to re-build scientific excellence in Armenia, working under extremely challenging circumstances,” commented Niemela. “He is continuing to promote the early careers of prospective young scientists in Armenia in this field.”

Hayrapetyan is keen to continue his efforts in research and to keep working for the advancement of his field of research in his country. “My future plans are related to the improvement of scientific excellence in nanomaterials for quantum information and quantum optics and to disseminate the obtained knowledge to the targeted audience.”

The International Commission for Optics (ICO) and the ICTP established the Award in 2000. In September 2007, ICTP and ICO agreed to dedicate the Award to the memory and legacy of the late Prof. Gallieno Denardo, who greatly contributed to the development of optics research within ICTP and in developing countries. The prize has recognized many researchers under 40 from developing countries doing distinguished and important work in optics and photonics.