The prize was awarded by the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), the world's largest professional association uniting more than 90 national societies and tens of thousands of specialists.

The award was given to the Candidate of Technical Sciences, head of the "Youth Laboratory of Applied Bio- and Algotechnologies" of the SFedU Academy of Biology and Medicine, launched as part of the implementation of the strategic academic leadership program "Priority 2030" (national project "Youth and Children") Ekaterina Kravchenko for a series of scientific developments and significant contribution to the development of "smart" materials in geotechnical and environmental engineering. As the scientist noted, her research in this area began while working on her dissertation, where she was engaged in the development of innovative materials for the roadbed. Later, in Hong Kong, research was expanded towards engineering materials and life cycle assessment (LCA) of large-scale infrastructure projects such as artificial islands.

Ekaterina Kravchenko's journey to SFedU began with scientific collaboration. While still working in Hong Kong, in November 2023, she hosted a Russian delegation led by Tatiana Minkina, a professor at the SFedU Academy of Biology and Medicine. The staff of the SFedU Department of Soil Science attracted her with their openness, ideas in the field of soil restoration and commitment to "green" technologies and waste recycling. Hong Kong University Professor Won Ming Hung, who is the co-head of the SFedU Megagrant, also played a key role in this scientific alliance. During the visit and internship of colleagues from SFedU, the parties came up with new ideas, which turned into a decision on cooperation. A few months later, Ekaterina Kravchenko arrived in Rostov-on-Don and signed a contract with the university, combining the efforts of two research teams — Hong Kong and SFedU.

The award also includes recent research carried out within the walls of the SFedU, where Ekaterina Kravchenko returned in March 2024. Under her leadership, the team of the youth laboratory is currently engaged in promising developments for the processing of various wastes into carbon-containing materials for sustainable construction and soil remediation.

"For me, this award is a great honor and recognition from the international engineering community. She emphasizes the importance of research in the field of sustainable materials and their integration into modern engineering solutions," commented Ekaterina Kravchenko.

The Excellent International Young Minds in Geotechnics Award confirms the high level of research of SFedU young scientists and their growing authority in the global scientific arena.

The Southern Federal University, being a participant of the strategic academic leadership program "Priority 2030" (national project "Youth and Children"), concentrates efforts on solving the problems of scientific, technological and humanitarian security of the country. As part of this work, the university creates full-cycle production and technological chains based on the network architecture of interaction to respond to "big challenges". The key areas of development cover a number of critical and end—to-end technologies, including technologies for creating biological and chemical agents to increase yields. One of the projects in this area is the strategic technology project "Technologies of Soil Bioengineering", in which researchers from the D. I. Ivanovsky Academy of Biology and Medicine of the Southern Federal University are actively involved.