Interdisciplinary Research to Be Carried Out at the New VMU Institute

“Over the past 40 years, the attitude towards scientists’ research has changed – today, it is impossible for a single scientist to carry out modern research and cooperation is necessary. That is why we have established the new Research Institute of Natural and Technological Sciences (RINTS) at Vytautas Magnus University (VMU), which will conduct research in various fields as well as create conditions for young scientists to better realise themselves, to develop national and international projects, and to be more visible in the global scientific space,” says the Head of the new Institute Prof. Habil. Dr Algimantas Paulauskas.

According to the professor, the Institute will carry out research in areas such as sustainable energy, climate change and human impact on biodiversity and human health, data analytics, cell and tissue biotechnology, genetic engineering, and others. The Institute will also provide a scientific base and research infrastructure for University students’ studies and will train researchers.

The mission of the research institute is to initiate and carry out national and international fundamental and applied interdisciplinary research in natural and technological sciences that meet the needs of science, Lithuanian society, and the state, also to strengthen the role of natural and technological sciences in society, and to promote the creation of open academic culture.

The research carried out and developed at the Institute will be based on interdisciplinarity, with researchers from different fields joining forces on various projects. For example, by combining technology, micro-organism, biotechnology, nanotechnology and other sciences, it will explore plant biology, agriculture, and other topics.

The Institute will also explore the impact of environmental factors on living organisms, ecosystems, and human health in the context of sustainable development, with the aim of reducing negative impact on the environment and human health, efficiently and sustainably using natural resources, and mitigating the effects of climate change. Scientists will assess the effects of climate change and human activity on biodiversity.

According to Prof. Dr. Tomas Krilavičius, Chair of the RINTS Scientific Council, although the University’s researchers have actively collaborated to this day, various changes at VMU over the past few years have increased the need to further join research teams in order to strengthen interdisciplinary research. It is expected that by promoting interdisciplinarity, the new Institute will help to achieve breakthroughs in addressing the most pressing questions in science. And artificial intelligence is among the most promising areas to be explored.

“Work is already underway to apply artificial intelligence in medicine, genetics, forestry, and other fields. Interdisciplinary research allows us to take a broader view of problems and develop solutions that are more widely applicable and innovative,” says Prof. Dr. Krilavičius.

Researchers of the Institute will carry out reliability and risk analysis of various systems and processes and apply statistical knowledge and methods. Other planned work includes complex studies on the dispersion of harmful substances, pathogenic organisms, and unfavorable factors in the environment, and research on preservation, formation, and sustainable use of ecosystems.

RINTS was created on the basis of already existing separate units of VMU, including the Centre of Environmental Research of VMU Faculty of Natural Sciences, founded in 2000, whose scientists develop research in different clusters of natural sciences, as well as the Energy Security Research Centre, which was established in 2009 by VMU and the Lithuanian Energy Institute; also on the basis of research groups of the VMU Botanical Garden, Faculty of Natural Sciences, and Faculty of Informatics.

The following are the members of the Scientific Council of the Research Institute of Natural and Technological Sciences: Neringa Barauskaitė, Dr. (HP) Remigijus Daubaras, Prof. Dr. Audrius Dėdelė, Dr. Karolina Gugytė, Prof. Dr. Ričardas Krikštolaitis, Prof. Dr. Tomas Krilavičius, Arūnas Pakamanis (UAB “Ekus”), Prof. Habil. Dr. Algimantas Paulauskas, Prof. Dr. Jana Radzijevskaja, Prof. Dr. Saulius Šatkauskas, and Linas Vaitulevičius (UAB “Rubedo sistemos”).

The Research Institute of Natural and Technological Sciences (RINTS) was established on 12 October 2022.