National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) (Russian: Национальный исследовательский ядерный университет "МИФИ") is a public technical university in Moscow, Russia. It was founded in 1942 as the Moscow Mechanical Institute of Munitions, but was soon renamed the Moscow Mechanical Institute. Its original mission was to train skilled personnel for the Soviet military and Soviet atomic bomb project. It was renamed the Moscow Engineering Physics Institute in 1953, which was its name until 2009.
By the Order of the Government of Russia on April 8, 2009 (#480-r) on behalf of Russian President's Decree of October 7, 2008 (#1448) "On the pilot project launching on creating National Research Universities" MEPhI was granted this new status. The university was reorganized. The aim of the university existence is now preparing the specialists by giving them higher professional, post-graduation professional, secondary professional and additional professional education, as well as educational and scientific activities.
In 2022, QS World University rankings rated the university #308 in the world, World University Rankings by Times Higher Education ranked the university #401 in the world, and in 2023 U.S. News & World Report rated the university #483 in the world.
Contents
Academics
Today, MEPhI has nine main departments (faculties or institutes):
Institute of Nuclear Physics and Engineering
Institute for Laser and Plasma Technologies
Institute of Engineering Physics for Biomedicine
Institute of Nanoengineering in Electronics, Spintronics and Photonics
Institute of Cyber Intelligence Systems
Institute of Financial and Economic Security
Institute of International Relations
Faculty of Physics and Technology
Faculty of Business Informatics and Complex Systems Management
The university offers bachelor, masters (and similar degree 'Specialist'), and post-graduate degrees in physics, mathematics, computer science and other areas. MEPhI facilities include a 2.5 MW (thermal) pool-type research reactor and Neutrino Water Detector NEVOD. The university has about 35,000 students at branches in Moscow and other towns. In Moscow are around 7,500 students (including over 1300 foreigners). It normally takes 4 – 5.5 (some sub-departments take six) years for a student to graduate from MEPhI. The curriculum of the first two years consists exclusively of required courses (core), with emphasis on mathematics, physics, experimental work and English. After the two first years of studying students on a competition basis enroll in the sub-departments which specialize in different branches of physics, computer science, information security, mathematics, etc.
Rankings
In 2022, QS World University rankings rated the university #308 in the world, World University Rankings by Times Higher Education ranked the university #401 in the world, and in 2023 U.S. News & World Report rated the university #483 in the world.
Student population
The student population is predominantly male. During the first years from MEPhI's foundation there was a ban against accepting women. In recent years this situation has changed.
Location
It is a 15-minute walk (or a five-minute bus ride) from the university to the Kashirskaya station on the Zamoskvoretskaya Line of the Moscow Metro.
Online resources
During 2016–18 MEPhI increased its presence in online educational platforms, namely Coursera, edX, Universarium and CLP4NET. By the end of 2018, MEPhI had provided 43 courses via those platforms, including 25 on Coursera and 11 on edX. In 2018, the number of students that joined MEPhI's online courses on the online platforms reached approximately 160,000 persons from 150 countries.
Notable people
Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov (Николай Геннадиевич Басов) – Nobel Prize
Pavel Cherenkov (Павел Алексеевич Черенков) – Nobel Prize
Ilya Mikhailovich Frank (Илья Михайлович Франк) – Nobel Prize
Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov (Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров) – Nobel Prize
Nikolay Nikolayevich Semyonov (Николай Николаевич Семёнов) – Nobel Prize
Igor Tamm (Игорь Евгеньевич Тамм) – Nobel Prize
Mukhtar Ablyazov (Мухтар Аблязов) – leader "Democratic choice of Kazakhstan", former minister of Energy, Industry and Trade in Kazakhstan (21 April 1998 – October 1999)
Lev Artsimovich (Лев Арцимович) – known as "the father of the Tokamak"
Sergei Avdeyev (Сергей Васильевич Авдеев) – engineer and cosmonaut, record for time spent in space: 747.59 days
Alexander Mikhajlovich Baldin (Александр Михайлович Балдин)
Anatoly Ivanovich Larkin (Анатолий Иванович Ларкин)
Andrei Badalov (Андре́й Ю́рьевич Бада́лов) – Vice President of Transneft
Alexander Balankin (Александр Сергеевич Баланкин)
Anatoly Stepanovich Dyatlov (Анатолий Степанович Дятлов) – physicist
Igor Kurchatov (Игорь Васильевич Курчатов) – Soviet physicist most known as the father of the Soviet nuclear weapons project.