On 13 April, students and staff members of the Faculty of History, the Faculty of Philology, and the Faculty of Chemistry had a meeting with Ivan Brink, a rector's councillor at Platov South-Russian State Polytechnic University (Novocherkassk). Ivan Brink is a member of the Russian Geographical Society, an organiser of scientific and popular conferences all over the world, and an author of popular travel documentaries. The meeting was organised by the Museum and Exhibition Centre of VSU.
Ivan Brink is an applied mathematician, DSc in Technical Sciences, Professor, and a member of the Russian Geographical Society. In 1998, he founded the Department of Modelling, Construction, and Design in the South-Russian State University of Economics and Service (Shakhty). He is also an expert in technological equipment for feather and down processing and production of down outerwear, as well as an expert in the design of heat resistant and insulated clothing. His designs received gold and silver medals at the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy. He designed clothes for the skiing expedition of Dmitry Shparo to the North Pole in 1979. In 1980–1990s he was a corresponding member of the Travellers Club (a show run on the ORT channel) and Pilgrim (a show run on the RTR channel). He has organised and participated in a number of international expeditions to the Pamir Mountains and the Himalayas. He was invited to be a member of the Russian Geographical Society for popularising history and geography.
The foundation of Voronezh State University is intertwined with the history of Yuriev (Derpt) University which was established in 1802 following a decree of Russian Emperor Alexander I. During the meeting, Ivan Brink talked about outstanding professors and graduates of Yuriev (Derpt) University: V.I. Dal, a writer, ethnographer, lexicographer, folklorist, and an author of the Explanatory Dictionary of the Living Great Russian Language; N.I. Pirogov, a surgeon, anatomist, natural scientists, teacher, and the founder of battle-field surgery and the Russian school of anaesthesia; V.Ya. Struve, an astronomer, one of the founders of stellar astronomy, the first director of the Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory; the founders of the Russian Geographical Society, six of who were teachers and graduates from Yuriev (Derpt) University. He also talked about the first Russian mountaineers back in 1820s. Almost all of them were teachers and students at Yuriev (Derpt) University.
After his talk, there was a Q&A session. Ivan Brink also invited VSU teachers and students to take part in an interdisciplinary conference “Applied and basic problems of modern natural science” dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the first ascent of Avachinsky volcano.
