The General Director of UNESCO Irina Bokova presented the General Director of "NIIME and Micron" and academician Gennady Krasnikov with the UNESCO medal for "contribution to Developpement of nanoscience and nanotechnologies" at a ceremony in Paris. They also awarded the merits of the Director of Zelenograd in expanding the use of nanotechnologies in the manufacturing industry and for the activities in the study of semiconductor physics and semiconductor devices.

This year in addition to Gennady Krasnikov they awarded with the medal three more Russians: member of the Russian engineering Academy, Professor Igor Ashurbeyli, doctor of medical Sciences, member-correspondent of the Russian Academy of Sciences Mikhail Dubin and member of the American society for laser medicine and surgery, Dr. Natalia Mikhailova.

This medal is intended to draw attention to the huge benefits of progress in the field of nanoscience and nanotechnologies on our societies, our economies and all of us, – said the General Director of UNESCO Irina Bokova . It is a new branch of science which extends the boundaries of knowledge. UNESCO is fully committed to the development of the potential of nanoscience in order to support every woman and every man, especially among the most vulnerable categories of the population.

The UNESCO medal was established in 2010 on the initiative of the International Commission on the development of the section "nanoscience and nanotechnology" and presented annually to leading scientists, public figures and organizations, contributing to the development of Nanosciences and nanotechnologies on priority directions for humanity. The first laureate of the UNESCO medal was Nobel laureate, honorary member of the Nanotechnological society of Russia academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Zhores Alferov. Last year the medal was awarded to four Russians, including the President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Fortov and the Director of the Kurchatov research center Mikhail Kovalchuk.