Vitaly Lazarevich GinzburgForMemRS^[1] (Russian:Вита́лий Ла́заревич Ги́нзбург; 4 October [O.S. 21 September] 1916 – 8 November 2009) was aRussian physicist who was honored with theNobel Prize inPhysics in 2003, together withAlexei Abrikosov andAnthony Leggett for their "pioneering contributions to the theory of superconductors and superfluids."^[2]

Vitaly Ginzburg
Виталий Гинзбург
Born	Vitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg (1916-10-04)4 October 1916 Moscow, Russian Empire
Died	8 November 2009(2009-11-08) (aged 93) Moscow, Russia
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery, Moscow
Alma mater	Moscow State University (KN 1938) (DN 1942)
Known for	Ginzburg–Landau theory Ginzburg criterion Transition radiation Undulator
Spouse(s)	Olga Zamsha Ginzburg (1937–1946; divorced; 1 child) Nina Yermakova Ginzburg ​ ​ (m. 1946)​
Awards	Nobel Prize in Physics(2003) Wolf Prize in Physics(1994/95) Lomonosov Gold Medal(1995) ForMemRS(1987)[1]
Scientific career
Fields	Theoretical physics
Institutions	P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences N. I. Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod
Doctoral advisor	Igor Tamm
Doctoral students	Viatcheslav Mukhanov Leonid Keldysh

He spent his career in the formerSoviet Union and was one of the leading figure in formerSoviet program of nuclear weapons, working towards designs of thethermonuclear devices.^[3][4] He became a member of theRussian Academy of Sciences and succeededIgor Tamm as head of the Department of Theoretical Physics of theLebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FIAN). In his later life, Ginzburg become an outspokenatheist and was critical ofclergy's influence in Russian society.^[5]

Vitaly Ginzburg was born to aJewish family in Moscow on 4 October 1916— the son of an engineer, Lazar Yefimovich Ginzburg, and a doctor, Augusta Wildauer who was a graduate from the Physics Faculty ofMoscow State University in 1938. After attending his mother's alma mater, he defended his qualifications of thecandidate's (Kandidat Nauk) dissertation in 1940, and his comprehensive thesis for thedoctor's (Doktor Nauk) qualification in 1942. In 1944, he became a member of theCommunist Party of the Soviet Union. Among his achievements are a partiallyphenomenological theory ofsuperconductivity, theGinzburg–Landau theory, developed withLev Landau in 1950;^[6] the theory ofelectromagnetic wave propagation inplasmas (for example, in theionosphere); and a theory of the origin ofcosmic radiation. He is also known to biologists as being part of the group of scientists that helped bring down the reign of the politically connected anti-MendelianagronomistTrofim Lysenko, thus allowing moderngenetic science to return to theUSSR.^[7]

In 1937, Ginzburg married Olga Zamsha. In 1946, he married his second wife, Nina Ginzburg (nee Yermakova), who had spent more than a year in custody on fabricated charges of plotting to assassinate the Soviet leaderJoseph Stalin.^[8]

As a renowned professor and researcher, Ginzburg was an obvious candidate for theSoviet bomb project. From 1948 through 1952 Ginzburg worked underIgor Kurchatov to help with thehydrogen bomb.^[9] Ginzburg andIgor Tamm both proposed ideas that would make it possible to build a hydrogen bomb. When the bomb project moved toArzamas-16 to continue in even more secrecy, Ginzburg was not allowed to follow. Instead he stayed in Moscow and supported from afar, staying under watch due to his background and past.^[2] As the work got continuously more classified, Ginzburg was phased out of the project and allowed to pursue his true passion, superconductors. During theCold War, the thirst for knowledge and technological advancement was never-ending. This was no different with the research done on superconductors. The Soviet Union believed that the research done on superconductors would place them ahead of their American counterparts. Both sides sought to leverage thepotential military applications of superconductors.

Ginzburg was theeditor-in-chief of thescientific journalUspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk.^[4] He also headed the Academic Department of Physics and Astrophysics Problems, which Ginzburg founded at theMoscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1968.^[10]

Ginzburg identified as a secular Jew, and following thecollapse of communism in the former Soviet Union, he was very active in Jewish life, especially in Russia, where he served on the board of directors of theRussian Jewish Congress. He is also well known for fighting anti-Semitism and supporting the state ofIsrael.^[11]

In the 2000s (decade), Ginzburg was politically active, supporting the Russian liberal opposition andhuman rights movement.^[12] He defendedIgor Sutyagin andValentin Danilov against charges of espionage put forth by the authorities. On 2 April 2009, in an interview to theRadio Liberty Ginzburg denounced theFSB as an institution harmful to Russia and the ongoing expansion of its authority as a return toStalinism.^[13]

Ginzburg worked at theP. N. Lebedev Physical Institute ofSoviet and Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow since 1940.Russian Academy of Sciences is a major institution where mostly all Nobel Prize laureates of physics from Russia have done their studies and/or research works.^[14]

Ginzburg was an avowed atheist, both under the militantly atheist Soviet government and in post-Communist Russia when religion made a strong revival.^[15] He criticizedclericalism in thepress and wrote several books devoted to the questions ofreligion and atheism.^[16][17] Because of this, some Orthodox Christian groups denounced him and said no scienceaward could excuse his verbal attacks on theRussian Orthodox Church.^[18] He was one of the signers of theOpen letter to the President Vladimir V. Putin from the Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences against clericalisation of Russia.

Vitaly Ginzburg, along withAnthony Leggett andAlexei Abrikosov were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2003 for their groundbreaking work on the theory ofsuperconductors.^[2] The Nobel Prize recognized Ginzburg's work intheoretical physics, specifically his contributions to understanding the behavior of matter at extremely low temperatures.

His collaboration withLev Landau in 1950 led to the development of theGinzburg-Landau theory, which became paramount to later work on superconductors. Landau had been working on superconductors for years before their partnership, with Landau publishing many papers between 1941 and 1947 on the properties ofquantum fluids at extremely low temperatures. Lev Landau would later receive a Nobel Prize in 1962 for this research on the properties of thesuperfluid liquid helium in 1941.^[19] Before their collaboration, Landau had just done research on liquid helium and other quantum fluids, but Ginzburg allowed them to go a step further.

Ginzburg introduced the concept of an order parameter, which would allow them to characterize the state of the superconductor. To do this, they derived acomplex set of equations that would allow them to describe the behavior of the superconductor.^[20] These equations provided a model from which researchers can understand the transition between a normal and superconducting state, as well as be able to predict various properties of other superconductors. Using these equations, they were also able to introduce the Ginzburg-Landau Parameter. This parameter used a separate set of equations in order to classify if they were looking at aType-I orType-II superconductor. This advancement allowed Anthony Leggett to build upon it and complete his own research on superconductors.

This research on superconductors allowed many new technological advancements to unfold, including some we can see in everyday life. The use of superconductors can be seen inMRI machines,^[21]engines, and newMaglev trains.

A spokeswoman for the Russian Academy of Sciences announced that Ginzburg died in Moscow on 8 November 2009 fromcardiac arrest.^[3][22] He had been suffering from ill health for several years,^[22] and three years before his death said "In general, I envy believers. I am 90, and [am] being overcome by illnesses. For believers, it is easier to deal with them and with life's other hardships. But what can be done? I cannot believe in resurrection after death."^[22]

Prime Minister of RussiaVladimir Putin sent his condolences to Ginzburg's family, saying "We bid farewell to an extraordinary personality whose outstanding talent, exceptional strength of character and firmness of convictions evoked true respect from his colleagues".^[22]President of RussiaDmitry Medvedev, in his letter of condolences, described Ginzburg as a "top physicist of our time whose discoveries had a huge impact on the development of national and world science."^[23]

Ginzburg was buried on 11 November in theNovodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, the resting place of many famous politicians, writers and scientists of Russia.^[3]

The first wife (in 1937–1946) is a graduate of the Faculty of Physics ofMoscow State University (1938) Olga Ivanovna Zamsha (born 1915,Yeysk), candidate of physical and mathematical sciences (1945), associate professor atMEPhI (1949–1985), author of the “Collection of problems on general physics" (with co-authors, 1968, 1972, 1975).The second wife (since 1946) is a graduate of the Faculty of Mechanics and Mathematics of Moscow State University, experimental physicist Nina Ivanovna Ginzburg (née Ermakova) (October 2, 1922 — May 19, 2019).

Daughter — Irina Vitalievna Dorman (born 1939), graduate of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University (1961), candidate of physical and mathematical sciences, historian of science (her husband is a cosmophysicist, doctor of physical and mathematical sciences Leib (Lev) Isaakovich Dorman).

Granddaughter — Victoria Lvovna Dorman, American physicist, graduate of the physics department of Moscow State University andPrinceton University, deputy dean for academic affairs at the Princeton School of Engineering and Applied Science; her husband is physicist and writer Mikhail Petrov.

Great cousin —Mark Ginzburg.

• List of Jewish Nobel laureates

• Vitaly L. Ginzburg on Nobelprize.org  including the Nobel LectureOn Superconductivity and Superfluidity
• Ginzburg's homepage
• Curriculum Vitae
• Open letter to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin
• ObituaryThe Daily Telegraph 11 Nov 2009.
• ObituaryThe Independent November 14, 2009 (by Martin Childs).
• (in Russian)Biography
• (in Russian)Obituary

• Vitalii Ginzburg papers, 1992, Niels Bohr Library & Archives