Sergey Vavilov | |
|---|---|
Сергей Вавилов | |
 Vavilov in 1945 | |
| Born | Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (1891-03-24)24 March 1891 |
| Died | 25 January 1951(1951-01-25) (aged 59) Moscow,Russian SFSR,Soviet Union |
| Alma mater | Moscow State University |
| Known for | Vavilov-Cherenkov effect |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physics,optics |
| Doctoral advisor | Pyotr Lebedev[1] |
| Doctoral students | Pavel Cherenkov[1] Ilya Frank Vladimir Veksler |
Sergey Ivanovich Vavilov (Russian:Серге́й Ива́нович Вави́лов[sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕvɐˈvʲiləf]; 24 March [O.S. 12 March] 1891 – January 25, 1951) was aSovietphysicist, the President of theAcademy of Sciences of the Soviet Union from July 1945 until his death. His elder brotherNikolai Vavilov was a famous Russiangeneticist.
Vavilov founded the Soviet school ofphysical optics, known by his works inluminescence. In 1934 he co-discovered theVavilov-Cherenkov effect, a discovery for whichPavel Cherenkov was awarded aNobel Prize in Physics in 1958. TheKasha–Vavilov rule of luminescencequantum yields is also named for him.
He was a member of theUSSR Academy of Sciences from 1932, Head of theLebedev Institute of Physics (since 1934), a chief editor of theGreat Soviet Encyclopedia, a member of theSupreme Soviet from 1946 and a recipient of twoStalin Prizes second degree (1943, 1951 —posthumously) and twoStalin Prizes first degree (1946, 1952 –posthumously).
He wrote on the lives and works of great thinkers, such asLucretius,Galileo Galilei,Isaac Newton,Mikhail Lomonosov,Michael Faraday, andPyotr Lebedev, among others.
At the end of 1950, Vavilov's health deteriorated significantly. He had been suffering from heart and lung diseases. In December-January he was treated at theBarvikha Sanatorium. Returning from the sanatorium on January 12, 1951, he chaired an expanded meeting of the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences. On January 25, 1951, at 4:45 a.m., he died of amyocardial infarction.
A meteorological station (as well as a glacier and anice cap) inOctober Revolution Island, in theSevernaya Zemlya group have been named after Vavilov. Aminor planet2862 Vavilov discovered in 1977 bySoviet astronomerNikolai Chernykh is named after him and his brotherNikolai Vavilov.[2] The craterVavilov on thefar side of the Moon is also named after him and his brother.
There is a ship named after him, theAkademik Sergey Vavilov. She is a research vessel that can carry approximately 150 crew and passengers, and is a Class-1Aicebreaker which regularly makes trips toAntarctica and theArctic. In the summer of 2010 she was working in and around the coast ofSvalbard. Also, an Aeroflot plane, with VO-BHL identification number is named after him.
| Academic offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | President of theAcademy of Sciences of the USSR 1945–1951 | Succeeded by |
