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Komarovi Graduate who Ranked 8th in World with Gold Medals Won at International Informatics Olympiad

Nika Birkadze won his third gold medal at the International Olympiad in Informatics and has taken the 8th place in the world with three gold and one silver medals.

“He has been ranked among the 20 best students of all time. Only 5 students have won more gold medals in informatics than him,” Zaza Gamezardashvili, the lecturer at the Free University, wrote in one of his posts. Nika is 18 years old and he has graduated from Komarovi School.

Nika was still a schoolboy when he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the International Olympiad in Informatics, which was the greatest recognition of a Georgian teenager. Such a title is awarded only to those students who have won 2 gold medals at the International Olympiads in Informatics. Nika already owns 3 gold.

This year he was enrolled at the Free University and received 100% of the grant in the field of the computer programming.

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIA

Georgian Musician Sisters’ American Success Story

Nino and Tamar Sanikidze are two sisters working in the U.S., who are the successful musicians.

Nino and Tamar Sanikidze have been living in the U.S. for 25 years. The sisters earned their master’s degrees from the University of Iowa and their doctorates in music from the University of Maryland.  Tamar is the concertmaster of the world’s most famous operas, and Nino is the pianist of the Los Angeles Opera House.

Since 2006, the Sanikidzes lead the annual international competition Plácido Domingo’s Operalia in Los Angeles. The famous tenor met Nino Sanikidze at the Washington Opera and was so fascinated by her that she was hired as one of the pianists in his program.

Tamar has been working in California since 2015 and is the director of the Butler Music Center. She has also given a concert at the White House in Washington, D.C., and often plays at Carnegie Hall. Tamar, together with the world’s famous musicians, participates in competitions, concerts and masterclasses. At the same time, she delivers lectures at the University of Maryland.

Nino conducts masterclasses at the University of Kansas. The sisters want to hold a joint concert in Georgia. Foreign media often reports about their successful activities.

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIA

George Cobb – Inventor of Georgian waterproof cement!

Many people have heard the name of philanthropist George Cobb, but few know that he was from Georgia. Grigol Kobakhidze, George Cobb, was born in Ambrolauri. He arrived in Borjomi and started working in the newly opened glass factory when he did not complete even primary school. At the factory he mastered all the technologies and developed a method how to increase the production. He became famous for his unique invention after he created waterproof cement and super-resistant glass-block.

In a big country like America, it is difficult to establish yourself, especially to surprise the country with your activities. The invention of George Cobb was revolutionizing not only for the US but also for the whole world. The cement, developed by him, was first used in the construction of the first skyscraper in America in the 1930s and has since been widely introduced around the world.

Although George Cobb devoted all his time to business and was a very successful man, he never forgot his country. He was actively involved in the affairs of the country. It is noteworthy that George Cobb had a great desire to return to his homeland and continue his business here.

He never stopped loving his homeland. The Georgian man, who lived far from his country helped Georgian emigrants all his life. Moreover, he wanted to choose a Georgian production expert to partner with him, but as it seems there was not a reliable person for it.

Despite the Great Depression and the crisis, George Cobb did not lose his ability to work and managed his enterprise cheerfully. During this period his enterprise lost millions but George Cobb managed with selfless work and revived it. His abilities and talents were not limited to just inventing cement. Later he introduced another innovation in his production – he started making Christmas tree toys. He developed electric candles filled with chemical liquid – so-called “Babel Lamps”, who replaced the real candles.

Grigol Kobakhidze died in 1967 at the age of 84. His name has remained unchanged and Christmas tree toys – Cobb Gles Products – are produced at the present time.

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIA

American/Georgian Wonder-Kid, who Breaks Records in Chess in the USA

Doctrina wants to tell you the story about an American/Georgian wonderkid – David D’ Angel Koraia who was born in New York City, on January 20, 2008.

At the 2020 US National Chess Championship – Spring Tournament, David ranked among the top ten players across the United States, which is a great achievement for a 12 years old kid and a glorious fact for us.

He started being interested in chess when he first saw his parents grinding each other at the chess table. Father bought him a chess set, thought him moves and challenged him. He continued to hone his skills as a youngster at the Marshals and Manhattan Chess Clubs and Brian Park of Manhattan. Where you could find him and his father playing with much older and much more experienced players. In 2017, David was enrolled in Success Academy Upper West Side charter school and in the same year he immediately became the part of the SA Chess Team and became the youngest chess player they have ever had.

Since then, David became one of the favorites of the SA school team. During those three years, he brought to the school the New York City Championship title and the prestigious 2nd place in the New York State Championships. In 2019, David took 12th place across the US Chess Nationals after competing in individual competitions, and he won 10th place in the same US Chess National Championship in 2020. At the same time his team landed very prestigious 3rd place. These results are not easy to achieve in a country where competition is very high and the participation rate percentage is significantly higher in similar competitions and games.

David is a very talented young man and apart of chess he is fond of the so-called “STEM” curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). School was also impressed with his high academic performance, especially in STEM subjects (Match, Science, etc). According to the results of the national exam achievements in those subjects, David was among top 2 % of high-achieving students and according to the NY State Math Test results – he ranked among the best 1% scoring perfect 100% answers.

Since 2020, David has been studying at the School of Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Technology. His teachers are top Google IT engineers and the school is entirely sponsored by Google. The program aims to use artificial intelligence in the field of cyber security. David developed the comprehensive recognition code without any help at the age of 9 and was invited to Columbia University Summer School workshop.

David’s parents, Ketevan Koraia, MBA, CPA, Lead Financial Engineer, Board Director, 2020 Nominee of top 5 USA Digital CPAs under 40 years old, and Otar Koraia MBA, PMP, Construction Engineer and CEO of Big City Design and Build Inc, are emigrants from Georgia from 2006. They decided to enrich their education in USA where they actually met, got married and started building a Georgian-American family. They have a beautiful house in Yonkers, NY looking onto Hudson River, three children: David, Andrew and Anastasia and Dog, White Lab – Lisi.

This is American/Georgian wonder boy with his American life and his extraordinary achievements in his current age of 12. He faced many challenges and victories. Hopefully, Georgians and entire world will see more achivments and awards from David’s in the future.

Doctrina.ge wishes good luck to David and to the whole family of Koraia.

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIATechnologyენერგეტიკაენერგეტიკაკატეგორიის გარეშესაქართველო

Alexander Kartveli – World Known Aircraft Designer and Pioneer of American Aviation

“We have achieved to the point when the imagination, reinforced with the science and researches, is the most valuable thing”,- Alexander Kartvelishvili, 1960.

Alexandre Kartvelishvilil, one of the influential aircraft engineers and pioneers in American aviation history, who is known as Aleksandre Kartveli [Georgian], was born in Tbilisi, Georgia in the family of famous lawyer Mikheil Kartvelishvili on September 9, 1896.

He graduated from the gymnasium and the Junkers Military School in Tbilisi. The government of the independent Georgia sent him to France in 2019 for getting education. Kartvelishvili left for France together with his mother, while his father and a sister stayed in Georgia. The departure appeared to be everlasting since Kartvelishvili could not return to Georgia because of the Soviet occupation.

In 1922, after graduating from the Highest School of Aviation in Paris, he began working as a test pilot but was seriously injured during a test flight and his career as a pilot ended. In 1922–1927, he worked at the Louis Blériot Company and designed the Bernard and Ferbois aircraft. In 1927, the aircraft “Bernar-Ferbua V-2”, which was developed with participation of Alexandre Kartvelishvili, hit a world speed record.

Kartveli, together with French engineers, worked on the transatlantic giant 50- passenger aircraft for Paris-New York flights, but it required a lot of money and Kartvelishvili arrived in the US in the hope that there were more resources for development of his talent.

In 1927, American millionaire and aviation Maecenas Charles Levin invited Kartvelishvili to work in New York, and they jointly arranged to build the aircraft “Uncle Sam”.

Emigration was not easy for Kartvelishvili, after the Levin Company was bankrupted, the Georgian inventor remained without a source of income and had to work as a dish or car washer to make money.

Later, in 1931, he met with Tbilisi- born Alexander Severski, president and chief engineer of the company Seversky Aircraft Corporation, whose models became the predecessor of Kartvelishvili’s fighter aircraft. In 1939, the company named was changed to “Republic Aviacorporation” and Alexandre Kartvelishvili was appointed as the vice president and chief engineer of the company.

The “Tbilisian duet” became the main inspirator of American Air Force success during World War II. The most successful result of their joint work is the Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt”, which was one of the major airplanes of the United States Air Force and played a major role in the victory over Germany. The Georgia aviator managed to completely satisfy the requirements of President Roosevelt.

The Georgian engineer has received the US National Medal of Honor for great service in flight and aerospace industry. He was elected as an honorary member of many international aviation societies and the US Academy of Engineering.

Aleksande Kartvelishvili died in New York in 1974. He had not heirs. It is noteworthy that his nephew is a famous painter Dmitri Eristavi.

Author: Tamar Devdariani

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIAmedicine

Stroke-damaged cells can be repaired! – The author of the unique research is a Georgian scientist

The researchers transplanted the cerebral cortex nerve cells received from skin cells to a rat brain damaged by a stroke, after which the rodents’ motor function was partially restored and these cells were fully integrated into the damaged nerve arc. The study, published in the prestigious American scientific journal PNAS, was conducted in the laboratory of Zaal Kokaia, a Georgian scientist working in Sweden.

“Six months after the transplantation, we saw how the new cells repaired the damaged rat’s brain,” said Zaal Kokaia, who co-authored the study with Professor Ole Lindwall and postdoctoral researcher Sarah Palma-Torto.

A team of researchers working in the Swedish city of Lund has shown in previous studies that it is quite possible to transplant neurons from human stem and reprogrammed cells into infected rats. However, previous studies have not described whether transplanted cells could strike new connections in the brain of rats, who have had a stroke, and thus restore normal motor and sensory functions.

“Using numerous methods, including electron microscopy and molecular methods based on the rabies virus, we observed the transplanted cells and showed that they were successfully integrated into the damaged nerve arcs. In addition, we also found that transplanted cells made connections with neurons in the second hemisphere of the brain, where no cells have been transplanted, ”said Zaal Kokaia, who was amazed by the findings.

The researchers converted human skin cells into brain cells in a laboratory and then transplanted them into the cerebral cortex of rats. This is the region of the brain that is most often damaged after a stroke.

“Our goal is to understand how transplanted cells affect the second hemisphere of the brain. We also want to better observe how transplantation affects cognitive functions such as, for example, memory. We will, of course, study all the side effects as well. The first requirement for the clinical use of cell transplantation is efficiency and safety, ”said Zaal Kokaia.

Zaal Kokaia has been director of the Stem Cell Center in Lund since 2011 and is also a professor of experimental medical research at Lund University, Head of the Laboratory of Stem Cells and Restorative Neurology, and a coordinator of the Strategic Research Program at StemTherapy Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine.

The key topic in Zaal Kokaia’s research is a stroke and the study of the ways in which stem cells and reprogrammed cells can be used to restore damaged brain function. Nowadays, a physical exercise is considered the only way for motor recovery following stroke.

In a 2017 interview with the Swedish Brain Foundation, the Georgian scientist said he was optimistic about the clinical use of stem and reprogrammed cells and predicted a great future for this approach.

“We know that stem cells have great potential, first and foremost because they have the ability to replace damaged cells. At the same time, they produce a variety of substances and factors that allow nerve cells surrounding the stem cells, which survive after a stroke, to work better and manage regenerate and repair processes more efficiently, ”said Zaal Kokaia.

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIA

Tamaz Kereselidze – Georgian scientists, who defeated smallpox – one of most dangerous enemies to mankind

Today, amid the global coronavirus pandemic, infectious disease specialists are the doctors, who stand at the frontline of the fight against the novel coronavirus.
Mr. Tamaz Kereselidze is one of the main figures who has contributed to the creation of this school.
“Tamaz Kereselidze, the man who defeated one of the most dangerous enemies of humanity- the smallpox infection, and who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize”
Mr. Tamaz Kereselidze was the gentle, curious, multi-talented child, who was fond of reading, music, painting and technical disciplines. Professor Astakhishvili has noticed his absolute ear and retentive memory and enrolled the talented teenager in his violin classes.
Why didn’t Tamaz Kereselidze become a violinist and how did he appear in medicine?
“At that time, boys, who was playing the violin, were often humiliated by their peers and since Tamaz was a proud boy, he unfortunately, stopped the music lessons, but the love of music followed him forever.
Tamaz also had remarkable drawing skills. In his childhood, Tamaz also wrote short stories and illustrated them himself. Later, when he grew up, he bought textbooks and mastered painting techniques independently. He loved painting during his whole life and, despite of his busy lifestyle, Tamaz always managed to paint. In his spare time, he created paintings that still decorate the walls of our and our children’s homes. These paintings are a precious relic left to us by Tamaz, and professional artists evaluate them as quite serious works, Nino Kereselidze, Tamaz Kereselidze’s wife (magazine Aversi N136)”
In 1943, Tamaz Kereselidze graduated with honors from Tbilisi Secondary School No. 18. He intended to continue his studies at the Institute of Shipbuilding, but due to the Second World War, these institutions, which were then only in Leningrad and Odessa, were moved to distant Siberia, and the parents did not allow their only child to continue his studies in Siberia. Tamaz chose to study medicine. In the same year he enrolled in the medical department of Tbilisi State Medical Institute, where he also graduated with honors in 1948. From the very beginning, his goal was to study microbiology and epidemiology.
In the same year he enrolled in the Medical Institute and Nino Todua joined the same group. They got married shortly after graduating from the institute. Everyone unanimously noted that Tamaz Kereselidze’s success was a great merit of his wife, who did everything to support his husband’s career. Although both of them put the family first, they have never stopped their professional activities.
After graduating from the institute, Tamaz Kereselidze started working at the Scientific Research Institute of Microbiology, Epidemiology and Bacteriophage. The young, talented and perspective researcher was soon promoted and in 1952 was appointed head of the department of the institute. Simultaneously, he was a graduate student of the Department of Microbiology of the Medical Institute. He went through the path of a rich creative work from the department’s assistant to the board.
In 1958, the young scientist completed his dissertation on the topic : “For the Issues of Antibody Products and Reproduction.” In 1960, he was elected an associate professor at the Department of Microbiology. Tamaz Kereselidze’s fruitful scientific and pedagogical activity began from this period.
In 1964, a new stage came in Tamaz Kereselidze’s life – he was invited to the World Health Organization as a consultant. The Georgian scientist has worked in the Regional Bureau of Southeast Asia in India, and from 1966 to 1970 he served as a senior specialist in the Department of Bacterial Diseases at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
While working for the South East Asia Regional Bureau, the Georgian microbiologist made an invaluable contribution to the program of the fight against dangerous diseases such as the plague, cholera, and smallpox in India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.
Nino Kereselidze, Tamaz Kereselidze’s wife recalls:
He often had to go on business trips to dangerous places. I remember the joint event of the World Health Organization and the International Committee of the Red Cross aiming to help the affected population in the aftermath of the natural disasters in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Tamaz was also in the group of doctors sent for this purpose together with Academician Valentin Pokrovsky. The plane, with this team on board, appeared in an unfavorable meteorological environment and survived the disaster only thanks to the great efforts of the pilots. He has had some funny stories, too. After one of the trips, he was summoned from India to Moscow. It was very cold in Moscow, and he only wore clothes suitable for the Indian climate. The next day I arrived in Moscow and took warm clothes for him. The door to his room was opened by a bearded man. I thought I entered the wrong room, because I could not recognize Tamaz, who grew a long beard. We laughed a lot at this story and took a memorable photo. ”
In 1970, Tamaz Kereselidze returned to the Department of Microbiology of the Medical Institute in Georgia and, together with his active scientific and pedagogical work, he started to summarize the knowledge and experience gained while working in the World Health Organization. This knowledge and experience was reflected in his monographs and doctoral dissertations. The monograph “International Aspects of Fighting against Cholera” was published in 1971 in Moscow. In 1972, Mr. Tamaz defended his doctoral dissertation at the Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Academy of Medical Sciences in Moscow. The topic of the dissertation was “Microbiology and Epidemiology of El-Tori Cholera”.
In 1974, Tamaz Kereselidze was elected the Head of the Department of Microbiology at the Tbilisi State Medical Institute, and in 1976, he was awarded the title of Professor.
We should underline the valuable contribution of Tamaz Kereselidze to the defeat of smallpox. In 1976, by the initiative of the WHO, a grand program to eradicate this dangerous disease was launched, which was attended by specialists from the world’s leading countries, including the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France and the USSR. Great work has been done, and in 1980 WHO officially announced the global eradication of smallpox. The entire working group was nominated for the Nobel Prize.
Tamaz Kereselidze received an extraordinary award of the Minister of Health of India for his contribution to the elimination of smallpox in India.
In 1980, the World Health Organization dedicated a special session to the successful completion of the global eradication of smallpox. Tamaz Kereselidze received a letter of thanks from then Director General of the organization, Dr. Halfdan Mahler, and awarded the Order of Bifurcation Needle for his contribution to the implementation of the program. Only a few scientists from all over the world have been awarded this order, and Mr. Tamaz is the first Georgian physician to receive this great award.
In 1974-1984, Tamaz Kereselidze was re-invited by the World Health Organization to head the Global Program for Bacterial Infections. At the same time, he was an expert at Infectious Diseases Society of the UK and the U.S. Center for the Study of Resistance to Antibiotics.
Nino Kereselidze, Tamaz Kereselidze’s wife recalls:

“In 1984, Tamaz finally returned to Georgia and continued to work as the Head of the Department of Microbiology, Virology and Immunology at the Medical Institute. He was actively involved in the pedagogical, scientific and public work. He gave lectures, supervised the education of young scientists, and conducted scientific conferences. His lectures were so interesting that the audience could not accommodate the students. Despite the lack of technical means, Tamaz managed to visualize the material for the students. He used the video and photo footages taken in Asia and Africa. Generations of his former students still remember these lectures and the respect they felt for Tamaz.”

For years, Tamaz Kereselidze had been the republic’s chief epidemiologist, chair of the Georgian Society of Microbiologists, Epidemiologists and Parasitologists, a member of the Union Commission for Microbiology, a member of the Scientific Qualifications Council of the Medical Institute, and a member of the editorial board of the journal Soviet Medicine. During this time he wrote several monographs, a textbook on epidemiology (with O. Kaviladze) and more than a hundred scientific papers.
Tamaz Kereselidze was elected a WHO expert in 1985, and in 1992 Georgia became a member of the World Health Organization. In the same year, Mr. Tamaz was appointed a coordinator of this organization in Georgia and until the end of his life he looked after to deepen the cooperation between the World Health Organization and the governmental and non-governmental organizations of Georgia. In 1995, he started managing the restoration of the Georgian Medical Information and Statistics Service, equip and link it to the World Health Organization. Already in 1996 it became possible to publish the first statistical reference, which reflected the statistical data of Georgia at the national and regional levels.
Professor Tamaz Kereselidze’s scientific-pedagogical and public activities have been awarded many prizes, the Medal of Honour in Health, Health Service Achievement Medal, the Certificate of Honor of the Presidium of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and others. His biography is included in the publication Who is Who in the United States ”(1986-1990). Under his leadership, many PhD and doctoral dissertations have been defended.
Tamaz Kereselidze was a distinguished person. A refined intellectual, a professional, an erudite, a philanthropist, a master of humor, a true patriot of his country.
He enjoyed great authority not only among his colleagues, co-workers and friends, but also in the in international scientific circles.

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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educationGEORGIA

Georgian Writer who Becomes Bestseller Author in US

In 1921, before the Soviet regime was established, a 19-20 year old soldier sailed from the port of Batumi to Constantinople. Unexplained ways of life brought him from Constantinople to America, a dreamland where his life has turned into a great tale.
The soldier was named George (Giorgi) Papashvili, and later his English-language book, Anything Can Happen, about Georgia and emigration, became a bestseller in America in the 40’s and 1, 5 million copies of the book were sold worldwide. The book has been translated into 15 languages and in 1950, George Papashvili was included in the list of America’s 50 Favorite Literatures along with Jack London, Eugene O’Neill, Faulkner, Hemingway and other writers. Under the same title, a film, directed by well-known Director George Seaton, was made at Hollywood in 1952. The film was awarded the “Gold Globe” at a film festival in Los Angeles, California, in the nomination “Best Film Promoting International Understanding”.
The book tells about Papashvili’s native village Kobiantkari, his relatives, emigration, the reality of self-assertion by immigrants in America – and he tells about it lightly and amusingly.
George Papashvili has been little- known in Georgia so far. His writings have not even been considered immigrant literature, all American editions mention him as an “American writer and sculptor of Georgian origin.”
Anything Can Happen was translated into Georgian in the 60s by Andukafar Cheishvili, but the book was not available to everyone due to a small run of the book.
“Unknown George (Giorgi) Papashvili” – by Rusudan Nishnianidze, Iv. Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University Professor, is the first two-volume work about Papashvili. The author has published it after she thoroughly studied a special collection of George and Helen White Papashvilis at Lehigh University in in Pennsylvania, the US, where this unique archive is preserved.
Rusudan Nishnianidze tells us about George Papashvili’s works:
Anything Can Happen
The author recalls Georgia, its habits, he writes about everything – whatever he likes and dislikes in America. Here you will find stories of how emigrants behave and how Giorgi himself behaves in the US. George is the main protagonist who lives with Russian emigrants.
In Munich, I saw this book translated into Russian. In the Soviet era, the translator removed 9 out of 20 chapters, describing the life of Russian emigrants in America.
It was a “masterful” measure of the Soviet security services – the book was translated, but in a way that no one liked, and no interest appeared in the author.
The film was awarded the Golden Globe for the nomination : a Film Promoting the International Consent. The film was directed by the famous George Seaton, whose films have been nominated numerous times for the American Film Academy Award.
“George Papashvili has left us something more than anything else – he has shared the true meaning of friendship, compassion, unity, and love,” film’s director Gorge Seaton said while speaking at George Papashvili’s funeral.

George Papashvili – sculptor
George Papashvili was a great gsculptor. His works were exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the University of Philadelphia, and etc.
Arthur Stenius, who owned a large documentary corporation in the US, made a documentary on Papashvili called “Beauty in the Stone.”
Their estate, located in the state of Pennsylvania, consisted of hunting grounds, forests, and springs. Behind it there were Granite Mountains, from where the sculptor brought material and made sculptures in his workshop.
Stenius’ documentary about George Papashvili is kept at the University of Wayne in Detroit.
George and Helen White Papashvilis are the authors of the works : “Yeah and No”, “Home, and Home Again “, “Russian (World) Culinary”, “Thank to Noah” and “Dogs and Humans.”
I worked at the Paris-Lavelle and Harvard archives several years ago and it was a great professional experience for me. In various archives, George Papashvili’s name was repeatedly mentioned in an interesting context and it means that he was a very successful Georgian man. I started collecting information about him, contacted various archives in America, I received a letter from Pennsylvania, saying they would open a special collection of Papashvilis if I arrived on the ground for the research. In the same year, in 2012, I did not miss my chance and left for the US on a scientific trip. My two-volume book- “Georgia before Saman … and beyond Saman…” – was exhibited at the demonstration hall of Congress. These books were mainly a study of the texts written by the Georgian migrants in Europe.
Georgian authors in Europe wrote mostly for Georgian readers. While Papashvili’s texts were written in English. Nobody knew young Papashvili who left Georgia. In his memories Giorgi Papashvili writes that when he arrived in America he used a sign language “to talk to America”, since he did not know English.
The book “Anything Can Happen” was first published in the United States in 1944, before it, the book had been published in separate chapters in The Commune Ground, then the book was published three times : in October, November and December. In 1945, “Anything Can Happen” was recognized as a bestseller. I have seen over 600 reviews and literary letters in the archive, which I think is a very serious feedback. The translations of main and significant part of those reviews and letters are presented in my book. It was another proof that Georgia has lost a great man. Many talented Georgians were forced to leave the country in those years.
George’s wife, Helen, was a very educated woman. She studied at the University of Berkeley and was the author of several books. She recorded the Georgian-American stories told by George. The Soviet press wrote that Anything can happen was not Papashvili’s story and as if Helen wrote the book, but it is impossible for an American woman to know about Kobiantkari, Khevsureti, Georgian people in general, Khinkali and etc. Anything can happen, but not so much!
Thank to Noah is the book about pets for kids. The book was translated into Georgian by Mr. Andukafar Cheishvili.
I wanted some chapters of this text to be included in Georgian textbooks. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw in the archive the book was compulsory in 250 American high schools. It seems the American education system and I had the same opinion over this issue.
Home, and Home Again is the latest book by George Papashvily and Helen. 73,000 copies of the book were printed, though it failed to become a bestseller like the first book.
Papashvili arrived in Georgia in 1961 and was offered to stay with his wife here, but he refused: “I can’t stay, my ‘home’, my job, my life is already in the United States”, he said.
George Papashvili, who has been little-known in Georgia so far, died in 1978 at the age of 80 and is buried in Pennsylvania.

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIAinnovationTechnology

Georgian startup develops fireproof uniform for firefighters

Elon Musk’s plan to launch a manned mission to land on Mars pushed  the Georgian startuppers to develop a suit for astronauts. While working on the suit, a completely new idea emerged. Vamekh Kherkheulidze and Giorgi Gabarashvili started to produce , high-tech, fire-proof suits for firefighters.

Doctrima.ge interviewed Vamekh Kherkheulidze about the advantages and uniqueness of the product as well as about the future plans of the two startuppers.

As far as we know, you are a doctor, what made you interested in engineering?

I was interested in engineering since my childhood, I wondered how the world worked. I chose medicine because I was attracted to biological engineering and I wanted to study this field well. I worked as a practicing physician in Israel for 2 years. Now I have returned  and I am preparing to get a license. In Israel, I gained courage and decided to set foot in a new world that has always been very attractive to me.

Please, tell us about the Elven Technologies, how and why did you come up with this idea?

 

This idea has been existed since 2013. The first thought that something like this could happen emerged while working in Israel, where it was very hot in summer. Consequently, I was often worried by the fact that people do not yet have a suit that would cool or warm us. I thought it was easy to make such a suit because the technology already existed. So I decided to try it, and I made the first handcrafted vest. It worked! After that Giorgi (Gabarashvili – technical director / founder) got involved in the case. Giorgi mainly performs electrical and the cooling system related works. We’ve been working so for 1 year, used to contact each other via Skype once a week, and to exchange views. We knew the cooling system would work, but we did not know how to use it.

 

Then, SpaceX was establishing itself as a market leader and a successful company. Elon Musk announced that the first person would fly to Mars in 2024. That was what motivated us. Many state or private companies are preparing for the Mars mission. However, this includes improving missiles, fuel and living conditions. There is no any private company, working on a Mars space suit. However, it is clear that existing space suits will not take us to Mars. And we came to the idea – let’s create a Mars suit!

 

Then we launched the learning phase – we were reading everything about space suits, and we found it was not as easy as it seemed. Meanwhile, the startup is business, startup needs to have sales and revenue that need a good business plan. Consequently, we decided to receive the experience by developing the easier suit and to launch the Mars suit later. After much thought, market analysis, talking to potential customers, and most importantly, after we realized the challenges facing fire protection system, we decided that our first product would be a fireman’s suit.

What products are you developing now? Tell us about your products

Currently, we are working on a fireman’s suit, which is equipped with an internal cooling system. Firefighters existed suits are heavy and uncomfortable to use and protect firefighters from direct flames for just a few seconds. Our prototypes are up to eight times  more resistant to the direct flame until the internal temperature of the suit rises, but in this case a cooling system is switched on, which cools the whole body (if needed) as well as the part of the body, where the suit is flared. Accordingly, the firefighter is completely protected from direct flames and overheating, which is one of the main causes of firefighter injuries and deaths.

What materials and technology are used for making your products and what are their benefits?

We will soon begin testing the parts of the suit according to the world standards. It will help our products to enter the global market. The suit consists of two parts: 1. External, fireproof layer, and 2. Cooling system.

 

According to the current experiments, the fireproof layer protects 8 times better from direct glass and temperature than the suits, which exist in the market today, but in all our tests (fireproof, temperature-resistant, waterproof, bio-resistant) we should have at least 2 times better results than existing suits.

 

What are your future plans?

Our plans for the nearest future are to finish the work on the suits for firefighters and to start first sales. We are focused on this now.

According to our plans, we will begin our first sales in 2020, and enter the big market in 2021. We are planning a major breakthrough in the Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) industry. We plan to enter the American, European and Asian markets, as our product should have a devastating effect on the market.

From 2021, Elven Technologies should have enough revenue to continue working on Mars suits.

In order to achieve this, we need to invest $ 1 million and we are actively working to obtain this amount of money.

 

As we know, your goal is the first person on Mars to wear a space suit made in Georgia. What have you done in this regard for the time being?

The Mars suit is our nearest, major goal. We plan to finish our work on the Mars suit in 2024-2025. It is possible to fly to Mars once every 2 years. According to Elon Musk’s plan, SpaceX will fly to Mars in 2024, but none of Musk’s projects have been implemented within the first deadline. And the second deadline will be in 2026.

The Mars mission is the most important step in the history of mankind! Mars will be the first planet a human will set foot. We sincerely wish to make contribution to this great goal.

Currently, working on a firefighter’s suit gives us the experience. It involves the technology of a space suit, which is the part of the Mars suit. Consequently, after we finish the work on the firefighter’s suit, we will have done 20-30% of the Mars suit. The next step is Mars.

 

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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GEORGIAinnovationTechnology

17-year-old Georgian pupil claims to be able to control dreams

Alexandre Tektumanidze is a 17-year-old pupil from Tbilisi, who has been famous for his love of technical subjects since childhood. Currently,  he is developing the device, which will enable people to control over their dreams. “Doctrina” has interviewed Alexandre about the innovative idea:

– Tell us about lucid dreams, please and when you got interested in this phenomenon?

– My friend tell me about  lucid dreams when I was the 8th grader.  A lucid dream is a dream in which the sleeper realizes that he’s dreaming and can control it. If we compare an ordinary dream to lucid one, we can say that if in the first case we look at it from a distance, like a film, in case of lucid dreams, we are part of our dream, just like in the video games.

– Currently, you work on the device that will allow us to control our dreams, tell us how will your device work?

– The dream is a good topic to discuss, but we can say briefly that in one of the phases of sleep – REM, humans see the dream. If by using an optimal irritant we inform them that they are sleeping, humans will be able to realize the dreams. Currently, I am conducting research to find optimal irritant and the methods of detecting REM phase.

-I managed to build my first device at on one of the Olympics- “Hackathon”. It was an  unpolished Beta version that was created for the presentation and not for use. And now, I try to make my idea a tangible reality.

– At first glance, you have a rather strange initiative, what is the impression of people when they learn about your project?

-The impressions are usually different. If a person has never seen such a dream so far, it is hard for him to believe that he can realize in the dream that he is dreaming. And for people who have experienced lucid dreaming, this idea is exciting because they know how good they feel in lucid dream.

– And what about your nearest future plans?

– I want to go to the university this year. If everything goes according to my plans, I will study at  Moscow Technical University “МФТИ” from September.  I’m going to graduate with a bachelor’s degree and then continue studying in Europe or America. I have not verified the future field of work since I have to choose between engineering, physics and programming.

 

Author: Tamar Devdariani

Translation: Tamar Tabatadze

The Hall of Young Scientists & Analysts – “Doctrina”

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