Autobiography

Svetlana Peshaya (Mikhailova) graduated with honors from the bachelor's program in 2012 and the master's program in 2014 at the Faculty of Physics and Technology, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (KazNU), specializing in "Materials Science and Technology of New Materials" (specialties 5B07100 and 7M07116, respectively). In 2017, she completed her PhD in "Nanomaterials and Nanotechnology" (specialty 6D074000). She was awarded the PhD degree on May 3, 2018 (Diploma No. GD0002385). On November 21, 2024, she was granted the academic title of Associate Professor in Physical Sciences (Order No. 1090). Since 2014, Peshaya has been teaching at the Department of Solid State Physics and Nonlinear Physics at the Faculty of Physics and Technology. From 2014 to 2017, she worked as a lecturer, from 2017 to 2019 as a senior lecturer, from 2019 to 2022 as Acting Associate Professor, and from 2022 to 2023 as a senior lecturer. Since May 2024, she has served as Deputy Dean for Scientific Innovation and International Relations at the Faculty of Physics and Technology. Peshaya completed research internships at the Helmholtz Center (Berlin, Germany) in 2013 and at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, USA) in 2016. In 2022, she participated in the TechWomen program in Silicon Valley, California, which supports women leaders in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). In 2014, she received a first-degree diploma in the National Student Research Competition in Materials Science. She earned certificates in 2016 and 2020 in the "Best Young Scientist" competition of the KazNU Physics and Technology Cluster. In 2021, she was awarded a research scholarship for talented young scientists by the Republic of Kazakhstan. Peshaya participated in the state program "Youth Personnel Reserve 2016," designed for young professionals motivated for career growth and possessing advanced professional and managerial skills. In 2017, she received the Academician Sh. Sarsembinov Scholarship. She was a finalist in the British Council’s FameLab science communication competition in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, 2020, and 2021, she supervised high school students (grades 10, 11, and 9) in technical projects at FML 90 School. Peshaya is proficient in English, as demonstrated by her TOEFL iBT score of 82/120 (2012) and IELTS scores of 7.5/9 (2014, 2021).