The Ig Nobel Prizes are awarded each year for 10 achievements that first make people laugh, and then think.
Dr Maksymov worked with fellow recipient and mathematician Andriy Pototsky on a hypothesis that nerve fibres in the human brain not only carry electric current but can also transmit sound.
The duo began vibrating water droplets using a pulsating sub-woofer and observed the ripples that formed on the water surface due to a practically important physical effect called Faraday instability.
Dr Maksymov then had the idea to try the experiment on earth worms found in his garden.
The worms were sedated in vodka and vibrated using the same low-bass speaker as the water droplets.
‘‘Our research could be applied to the understanding of how nerve pulses move through the brain, or the development of robots that mimic the movement of worms,’’ Dr Maksymov said.
‘‘We’re serious scientists. We don’t publish studies for laughter. But getting people smiling about our research means it is seen by a wider audience.
‘‘Despite vodka being a very common element of serious science, people found worms in vodka to be very amusing.
‘‘I’m glad people got a laugh from our research and I hope the findings can be put to some serious use.’’
Dr Maksymov is a researcher at Swinburne University and has lived in Seymour since January 2019.
‘‘We came to Australia about 10 years ago for a short work assignment. That kept getting extended and we decided to make our move permanent,’’ he said.
‘‘We’re loving it here in Seymour. It’s a much quieter life than we had in the city, which is great for my work.
‘‘We’ve also been meeting great people and have made new friends.’’
Dr Maksymov stressed that no worms were harmed in the research and all were safely returned to his garden.
To read the full research report, visit shorturl.at/ewBD2