Research & Expertise News at HSE University

Researchers from HSE University and the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT) have developed a set of simple analytical methods for calculating the properties of heavy ions in helium under the influence of a strong electric field. The new approach speeds up calculations of ion mobility and ion–molecule reaction rates by thousands of times while maintaining sufficient accuracy for plasma jet modelling. The findings have been published in the journal Physica Scripta.

The 27th IEEE International Conference of Young Professionals in Electron Devices and Materials (EDM) has taken place in the Altai Republic. This year, researchers from HSE University presented the results of their research and were involved in organising a new section on artificial intelligence. A paper by HSE master’s student Rodion Sidorenko was awarded third place in the research paper competition at the conference.

In late July 2026, Dmitry Rybin, a graduate of the HSE Faculty of Mathematics who is now working in China, used ChatGPT to disprove a longstanding mathematical hypothesis. In an interview with the HSE News Service, he discussed AI's ability to make discoveries in mathematics, reflected on his time at HSE University, and spoke about his doctoral research at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Economists from HSE University, together with colleagues from international universities, have analysed stock market movements over almost a century and proposed an investment strategy that could have delivered returns nearly twice as high as the market average. Their research suggests following a momentum strategy during periods of sustained market growth and switching to a value strategy after prolonged market declines. The study has been published in the Journal of Banking and Finance.

Researchers at HSE University have examined how communication difficulties in children with autism are related to brain function. The findings show that not only language networks but also attention networks play an important role. The weaker the connections involved in maintaining focus and switching attention, the more pronounced communication difficulties were. The study has been published in European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Beyond technological solutions, the development of anthropomorphic robotics also demands ethical ones. In July 2026, the HSE Institute for Robotics Systems hosted a foresight session dedicated to developing an Ethical Standard for Anthropomorphic Robotic Complexes. Representatives from businesses, government bodies, scientific organisations, and universities gathered to discuss key ethical and legal issues surrounding the development of anthropomorphic robotic complexes. The main outcome of the meeting was a draft of the Ethical Standard.

Why do some people voluntarily follow new rules while others ignore them? Researchers at HSE University have found that the answer lies not so much in people's willingness to cooperate, as previously believed, but in their ability to empathise with others. Empathy proved to be the strongest predictor of whether people chose to wear face masks voluntarily during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings have been published in Frontiers.

Researchers from the HSE Faculty of Computer Science (FCS) presented their work at theInternational Conference on Machine Learning (ICML 2026) in Seoul, South Korea, one of the leading scientific events in the field. Several projects by the faculty’s researchers received the prestigious Spotlight distinction.