The Head of the Department of Scientific and Innovative Activities of SUSU wanted to become an engineer as a child. But the craving for research, inherent at the genetic level, won out. He knows the value of ups and downs. He knows hot to explain complex thing in simple words. At his alma mater, Leonid Shipulin, Candidate of Technical Sciences, survived the “meat grinder”, met his love, became a “smart guy” and found his vocation. We talk about criticism and perseverance, about “magic impulses” and praise. And also about the beautiful and terrible in science.
Note “AN”
Leonid Viktorovich Shipulin, Head of Department of Scientific and Innovative Activities, Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of “Technology of Automated Mechanical Engineering” SUSU. In 2009 he graduated from the SUSU Master’s degree program, in 2013 he defended his PhD thesis in the specialty “Engineering Technology”. He has implemented more that 10 scientific projects as a performer. He led projects of the Russian Science Foundation, the “UMNIK” competition, as well as a project within the framework of a state assignment. He is the author of more than 70 publications, 6 textbooks and monographs, 2 patents for utility models and 15 certificates for computer programs.
A bright head
- Tell us how you chose the university and the direction of study?
- Initially, I had no doubts about the university. I didn’t want to leave. The mentality is physical and mathematical. SUSU is the leading engineering university in our region. Where else should I apply? And the choice of specialty was probably influenced by the family. My dad worked in manufacturing all his life. My uncle once had a business related to machinery. I came and looked at the machining of steel parts.
In 2003, I entered SUSU and, to be honest, at first it was difficult to study. I caught up only by the third year, when I “started my specialty”. And in the fourth year I became one of the best students, I heaped my classmates with disciplines. My future supervisor, Anatoly Alexandrovich Koshin, noticed my enthusiasm and invited me to the master’s program, where I had only “5’s”.
Industry, manufacturing, mechanical engineering – all of this fascinated me very much. I did scientific work on grinding metal workpieces. At the end of the master’s degree, Anatoly Alexandrovich said: “You have a bright head you definitely need to go graduate school”. Actually, I was going to do it myself. My grandfather Leonid Vyacheslavovich Labunsky was a candidate of geological sciences, then became a doctor of economics. He sparked a passion for research in me.
- Did you start collecting chip samples as a child? (I’m looking at a collection)
- No, later. When I worked on the machine while studying for a master’s degree. These are milling chips, this one is turning chip, it’s long. And this one is from drilling.
- Beautiful! It’s like New Year’s Eve… And then, as a child, when there were discussions of some engineering issues in the kitchen, did you probably listen while holding your breath?
- Somehow these topics were not discussed at home. As a child, I want to become an ordinary engineer. Already at the university, the supervisor told me: “You need to strive for what you do best”. I thought then I could probably teach students. And do you know why? When I explained the subjects to my classmates, I realized that I seemed to be doing a good job of it.
- As a graduate student, you obviously faced difficulties?..
- Well, first of all, science is generally is a complicated matter. There was a fear: Can I do it or I cannot do it? And secondly… My classmates got their diplomas and went to factories. And their salaries were different, to put it bluntly. Once I met with a friend who complained: “The salary of 22 thousand rubles is going so fast!..” And at that time, I had a postgraduate scholarship of 1800… But the desire to defend a PhD and to become a full-fledged scientist overcame the difficulties.
- Have there been successes and failures on the chosen path?
- You said it right: successes and failures constantly alternate. But the “magic impulse” always worked. In graduate school, I heard from the supervisor all the time:” Write an article. Here’s the competition. Submit an application. Write another article…”. He kept us in uncertainty all the time and checked how we were working. This played probably a key role. I have always remembered the phrase: “You need to participate wherever possible”. If you don’t win, you go ahead and participate. I follow this rule to this day.
- Were failures very frustrating?
- You’ll be a little sad… It is not a tragedy. I have always understood that failures enrich the experience. And victories also feed. For example, the competition of the “UMNIK” Innovative Promotion Foundation, in which I won, helped me to stay afloat for two years. In think, there were 200 thousand rubles for one year and 200 thousand for the second year. Divide it by 12 months, minus taxes – 10-12 thousand came out per month.
- Was that an addition to your current salary?
- It was an addition to the scholarship. I took part in all contests. There are 20 diplomas of all kinds have been collected.
Nervous event
- Is it scary to defend a dissertation?
- It happened in 2013 and it was very stressful. To finish everything, to add, to correct many times, to subtract, to prepare a report, a presentation, posters…
Well, actually, the defense itself is a nervous event. I remember the phrase of one member of the dissertation council after the defense: “Today these guys went through a meat grinder”. So, from that moment I realized that I was really not afraid of anything.
- And what was the candidate’s thesis on?
- There are such operations in production – grinding. This is a type of finishing treatment to obtain low roughness and high quality. Flat parts are also sanded. How this process is usually carried out? The machine moves from left to right, the grinding wheel gradually descends, processing the part. According to normative data, in order to obtain a given flat surface, it was necessary to make 50 of such movements. And thanks to our methodology, there are 30 of such reciprocating moves. Productivity has improved
- So, your invention is at the heart of the PhD?
- We are engaged in the development of mechanical engineering technology, and in this case, there was a methodology. We make reference books and specialists in factories use them. After the defense, I worked as an associate professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering Technology. Life was quiet. I was given a set of disciplines, for each of which I developed a course, that is, I made a manual with lectures, presentations, practical tasks and so on. After that, the preparation time was zero. I came, took a book, held a lesson…
At the same time, I continued to participate in all projects. In 2022, I won the regional competition of the Russian Science Foundation with the support of the government of the Chelyabinsk region with a project on the topic “Development of methodology for designing high-speed processing operations based on the use of a digital twin of the process” with a total funding of 3 million rubles. In 2020, I was invited to work as Deputy Head of the SUSU Department of Scientific and Innovative Activities. Two years later, I became the head of the department. That’s when I felt that it was mine.
- And I thought you felt… The “meat grinder” was just the tip of the iceberg?
-That’s for sure! It was a kindergarten. But, by the way, that defense is still reminds of itself. It’s just that the level here is probably a lot more serious.
- Is determination always rewarded?
- I think so. A good example. Any candidate of sciences can apply for funding to the Russian Science Foundation. After becoming a candidate, I constantly applied for this competition. And only for the eight time my application bought victory. I can’t give up after the first failure. Firstly, there is a probability. And secondly, there are different experts. I once got to such a place that I couldn’t get over it for a week. Now, every time I open the sent examination tremblingly. Basically, I think it’s okay to receive criticism. It’s just that then I was completely blown to smithereens… Well, it's nothing. I started writing the application again. And I succeeded in the end.
The best praise
- How do you interact with students now? Do you know what they think about you?
- I’ve been doing less teaching for the last four years, but before that, I was given the best reviews. Maybe because I’m a simple man and I don’t need to prove anything to anyone, to say that I’m smart and they are not. I treat every student like a human being, I’m trying to explain what need to be done, to help. You know… I was pleased at a certain company. I was walking with the head of workshop past a group of factory employees, and they all greeted me. It turned out to be my former students. They were still grateful. That’s exactly what they say: “It was the best time. Thank you for your knowledge!”.
- What do you feel at such moments?
- Certainly, it is pleasant. But it is even more pleasant to see when graduates achieve great results. After all, we come out like squeezed lemons after classes. We give all of our strength to the students. So, their results are partly ours. It is especially important for teachers to be aware of this. You see, when people work at an enterprise and produce something, it’s easy to see the result. It’s tangible. And the daily work of the teachers is invisible. After all, students are gaining knowledge and skills. Therefore, when our graduates achieve success, this the best praise for us.
- What does the Head of the Department of Scientific and Innovative Activity do?
- The Department consists of 4 departments. However… I wouldn’t start with that. Many people think that university is only about teaching students. But SUSU is also the largest center of science and scientific research in the Chelyabinsk region. For instance, in 2023, the university conducted scientific research worth more than a billion rubles. These are contractual works in the interests of various companies and budget money, that is, grant support from the state. And all these projects are handled by our department.
The planning and finance department is the employment of workers and work with accounting projects and estimates. Information and analytical department – analytics, preparation and holding of events, conferences, checking a huge number of articles by university staff. The patent department is engaged in the preparations of patents and their commercialization, license agreements. There is also a project preparation and support service that prepares applications for scientific competitions, small and large-scale with a fund up to 500 million rubles. And in case of victory, we also monitor the implementation of the project. There is a lot of budget money here, and it need to be spent very carefully. In general, we deal with any issues that scientist address. Sometimes it came to funny stories, one might even say jokes. For example, a cockroach crawled into expensive equipment.
- And than you came up with a scientific way to extract it?
- And then we picked up the slippers.
The horizon of the unknown.
- Is your personal life connected with science
- It’s connected with SUSU. My wife works in the arbitration court, she graduated from law school. They also have technical disciplines related to computer science, information law and legal statistics. Why shouldn’t a young associate professor earn some extra money? I conducted classes at the faculty where law enforcement officers are trained. She studied in absentia in her first year. I took the course, gave all the grades, and a year later they came back to this building for an exam. I noticed that the girl always smiles at me when I meet her. The year she is smiling, the second year… Then we talked, went for a walk. And right now, we have two children, a daughter and a son. We have been together for ten years now, and I’m completely satisfied with this turn of fate.
- Are you continuing your own scientific research?
- Even before joining the department, I started writing my doctoral thesis. I am working on the topic of automatic design of grinding operations on numerically controlled machines. I also had a winning application to the RSF on this topic. Right now, working in management takes a lot of time and effort. But sometimes I make challenges for myself. One of them is called “Half a page a day”. Excellent technique, by the way. There are 365 days in a year. To sit down and write half a page is 15-20 minutes. That’s how 180 of draft text will be typed. Then it will be necessary to edit everything – and that’s it.
- What is the most beautiful thing in science
- The horizon of the unknown is open before you. There is always something that is not fully understood. You can think of something, make it better. This spurs the creative activity. The prospects of discovery are inspiring. An inquisitive mind finds entertainment for itself and money is also paid for it. In fact, there are a lot of such people, and they are not all scientists. In factories, for example, there are also creators who invent something.
Everyone has their own path, someone is practitioner, someone is a theorist.
- And what is the most terrible thing in science?
- The most terrible thing, probably, is to choose the wrong direction, engage in it for several years, and then realize that this is a dead end, that no one needs it and it will never be used.
- I thought you’d say “deadlines”. You have it tough…
- Well, deadlines, everyone has them. This is much more serious at military-industrial complex. So much responsibility!
- What would you wish for novice scientists?
- To become a scientist, you need to have a strong will. Science is not a matter of one day. This is systematic work, hard work, the result of which you will not immediately see. You can go to the solution of the problem all your life in different ways. First of all, I would like to wish the young scientists patience. Choose the right subject and give up If difficulties arise. And most importantly, never stop there and, please, participate in all competitions. Because the money is laying around and waiting for good projects. I tested it on myself.