Yuri Andreevich Shchekinov

What led you into science and your chosen area of research?

It is hard to say, but quite possible the two episodes among others:
i) in the age of 10-13 in summer time I used to go sleeping on a haystack looking on stars, and one moment I had felt that the world is infinite and I am flying in it with other things;
ii) in the same age I found in the school library the book by Yakov Perelman "Physics for Entertainment", and since then figured out that all around is Physics and that is good.

Can you describe the results in your paper and their importance for your field?

It is about a planned unprecedented Russian project — the space telescope "Millimetron" (Spectr-M), which will be to receive radiation in the far-infrared and sub-millimeter domain. In its framework an unprecedented flux sensitivity and angular resolution for this waveband will be reached. The paper describes characteristics of the telescope and the spectrum of science problems what will be solved within the project. These problems amaze imagination: they include the whole Universe from its topology and still undetected matter, and to direct observations of exoplanets and possible existence of life on them.

What research projects are you working on at the moment?

i) Cold (infrared and sub-millimeter) Universe;
ii) Chemical evolution of the Universe, mass and energy exchange between galaxies and the intergalactic medium.

What do you think will be the next big breakthrough in your field?

i) Initial stages of stellar nucleosynthesis in the Universe;
ii) Physics of the intergalactic medium;
iii) Physics of galactic nuclei;
iv) Exoplanet, exobiology.

What book are you reading right now?

i) S. Lem, Fiasco
ii) J. Joyce, Dubliners
If you could have dinner with any 3 people, past or present, who would they be and why?

i) W. Churchill
ii) Omar Khayyam
iii) Ray Bradbury
Would like to talk to them of different issues, with Churchill about whiskey besides other things.

What has been the most exciting moment in your career so far?

A talk (not very good) in LPI (FIAN) on the seminar led by V.L. Ginsburg in the very beginning of my career.