Belarusian science and scientists

In January 1922 the Academy of Sciences of Belarus was established. At that time it embraced the research institutes of philosophy, law, linguistics, literature, history, ethnography. Rapid development of industry and agriculture in the republic brought into existence research institutes for various branches of national economy. New institutes of the Academy of Sciences have been founded: the institutes of physics, mathematics, physics of solid state and semiconductors¹, electronics, nuclear energetics, cybernetics, physiology, genetics, photobiology, bio-organic chemistry, microbiology and some others. The Belarussian Academy of Sciences has become a big centre of sciences.

By 1998 the Academy numbered 76 academicians, 105 corresponding members² and a staff of 11,000, including 465 doctors and about 2000 candidates of sciences. The Academy of Sciences was divided into five sections having a total of 39 Institutes, in particular Yanka Kupala Institute of Literature, Yakub Kolas Institute of Linguistics and the Institute of Art, Ethnography and Folklore. The latter has produced an impressive collection of more than 40 volumes of national folklore material.

Belarusian scientists are not the least in such a field of science as nuclear energetics. The achievements of Belarusian geologists are evident in the discovery and exploration³ of some deposits of potassium salts, petroleum, polymetallic ores⁴ and other minerals on the territory of the republic. Many thermophysicists of Belarus work out and put into practice highly efficient technological processes of drying grain, food products, medicinal and bacteriological compounds, of stabilizing microcircuits⁵ in radio engineering.

It can be said much about the achievements of Belarusian scientists in all fields of science. The achievements are great.

Zhores Alferov who was born in Vitebsk in a Belarusian-Jewish mixed family is a Russian physicist and academic who contributed significantly to the creation of modern heterostructure physics and electronics. He is an inventor of the heterotransistor and the winner of 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics. He received 2000 Nobel Prize in Physics together with Herbert Kroemer, "for developing semiconductor heterostructures used in high-speed- and optoelectronics".

Alferov invented the heterotransistor. This coped with much higher frequencies than its predecessors, and apparently revolutionised the mobile phone and satellite communications. Alverov and Kroemer independently applied this technology to firing laser lights. This in turn revolutionised semiconductor design in a host of areas, including LEDs, barcodes readers and CDs.

Hermann Grimmeiss, of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which awards Nobel prizes, said: "Without Alferov, it would not be possible to transfer all the information from satellites down to the Earth or to have so many telephone lines between cities."

Pavel Sukhoi (July 22, 1895, Hlybokaye – September 15, 1975) was a Belarusian Soviet aircraft constructor and designer.

Sukhoi was born in Hlybokaye near Vitebsk, a small town in Belarus. He went to school from 1905 to 1914 at the Gomel Gymnasium. In 1915 he went to the Imperial Moscow Technical School (today known as BMSTU). After World War I broke out, he was drafted by the army; in 1920 he was demobilized because of health related problems and he went back to the BMSTU, graduating in 1925.

In 1925 he wrote his thesis named Chasseur Single-engined aircraft of 300 cv under the direction of Andrei Tupolev. In March 1925 he started working as an engineer/designer with TsAGI (The Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute). During the following years, Sukhoi designed and constructed aircraft of world renown. Examples include the heavy bombers TB-1 and TB-3. In 1932 he was assigned head of engineering and design department in TsAGI and in 1938 he was promoted to head of the department of design.

In September 1939 Sukhoi founded an independent engineering and design department named Sukhoi Design Bureau (OKB Sukhoi). Located in Kharkov, Sukhoi was not satisfied with the geographical location of the OKB. The OKB was isolated from the scientific pole of Moscow and insisted that the OKB would relocate to the aerodome of Podmoskovye. The relocation was completed in the first half of 1940. In the winter of 1942 Sukhoi encountered another problem — since he had no production line of its own he had nothing to do. He had developed a new ground-attack plane, the Su-6, but Stalin decided that this plane should not be taken in production, in a favour of Ilyushin Il-2. The reasons for this were that, first: the production of the other planes would slow down and in time of war this was not good, and second, Stalin didn't seem to particularly like Sukhoi.

The aircraft-bombers developed under Sukhoi are the Su-17 and the Su-24. The last fighter Sukhoi designed was the T-10 (Su-27) but he did not live to see it fly. On December 25, 1975 the President of the Academy of Science of the Soviet Union posthumously decorated Sukhoi with the golden medal, in recognition of his deep scientific scholarship.

Belarus can be proud of Maksymilian Ryllo who was a pioneer and the first researcher of ancient Babylon’s ruins.

Maksimilian Ryllo was born on December 31, 1802 in Padarosk (now Svislach area, Grodno region) in poor gentry family. He graduated from high school in the rural municipality Lyskava then studied in Polatsk Jesuit Academy where he got a degree of Master of Philosophy. In 1820 he entered the University of Vilna. At the end of the this year the Jesuits were prohibited in Russia and Maksymilian went to Rome, where he entered the Gregorian University. Later he became Professor of Philosophy. For ten years he studied theology and rhetoric, philosophy, law and poetics, learned European languages.

In 1836 Maksymilian Ryllo went to Lebanon and then to Mesopotamia to the archaeological site. He became a pioneer and the first researcher of the ruins of ancient Babylon because systematic archaeological excavations there began only in the late XIX century.

In 1837 Maksymilian Ryllo returned to Rome and presented to the Vatican museum a rich collection of archaeological artifacts from Babylon. He was elected to the Pontifical archaeological Academy. In 1839 Maksymilian Ryllo went to the Middle East as the head of the Jesuit mission in Syria. During this period, he founded the educational institution in Beirut with the printing, library, workshops, classrooms and museums, where hundreds of boys were educated. In 1875 this institution was transformed into the University of Beirut (still exists today) and Ryllo is known as its founder.

In 1846 Pope Pius IX appointed Ryllo the apostolic vicar to Central Africa in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. In early 1847 Ryllo arrived in Cairo and despite his illness went on a boat trip to the headwaters of the Nile and then to Khartoum on camels. Next year he made a trip to Cairo and Alexandria (Egypt). He described his impressions in a travel diary and went to Paris.

Maksymilian Ryllo died on June 17, 1848 and was buried in Khartoum. In 1900 his remains were moved with great ceremony to Cairo and were buried in the famous ancient cemetery Al-Matar.

The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was founded in 1968. Belarus can be proud of one of the first winners in this category Simon Smith Kuznets who was awarded by the Nobel Committee in 1971.

Simon Smith Kuznets was born in Pinsk (present-day Brest region, Belarus) in 1901. Simon was a middle son in the family.

His father Abram Kuznets, who was a fur trader, left the family in 1907 and went to the USA to search better job. He wanted to invite the family but the First World War broke his plans.

Only in 1922 Simon and his older brother went to the USA after receiving Polish citizenship in 1921. By this time Simon finished urban real school where also the first president of Israel Chaim Weizmann had studied before.

In the USA Simon Kuznets immediately changed his surname to Smith. He joined the senior course at Columbia University and graduated in 1924 with a degree of Master of Economics. Two years later he received the Ph. D.

Over three decades Simon Kuznets has led the program for the study of national income to the National Bureau of Economic Research, taught at many universities in the country, worked at Harvard for 11 years.

There is little information about Simon’s childhood in Pinsk. But Pinsk’s residents know perfectly huge contribution to the world economy that their famous countryman made. A well-known term "gross national product" (GNP) was discovered by Kuznets and his proposed method of determination of national income is still used in official US statistics. He was the pioneer in the science opening the role of "human factor" in the development of the economy. Kuznets used in his studies different giant empirical material which covers a long historical periods. The scientist also made a comparative historical analyses of the economic development of countries. In his works Kuznets expressed the idea of interaction of science, technology and institutional shifts and their impact on the progress and results of economic growth. Simon Kuznets died in Cambridge (Massachusetts) on July 8, 1985.

The name of Nobel laureate Simon Smith Kuznets was given to Pinsk comprehensive school "Beis-Aharon" in 2007. Maybe someone from the students at the school will continue the proud tradition and the name of another native of Belarus will join the encyclopedia article about Nobel Prize winners.

Ignaсy Domeyko (31 July 1802 - 23 January 1889), one of the most world-known Belarusians, a participant in the liberation movement in Belarus, the national hero of Chile, a world-famous scientist, mineralogist, the Rector of the University of Chile. He left a significant mark in many areas of human knowledge, such as mineralogy, geology, chemistry, metallurgy, geography, ethnography, botanics and zoology, as well as considerably contributed to the organization of higher education system in Chile. Ignaсy Domeyko was born at Medviadka Manor, Novogrudok district (now in Korelichi district, Grodno region, Belarus) into the family of a former judge in the Novogrudok voivodeship. At the age of seven after his father's death he came under the guardianship of his uncles, highly educated people, and lived on their estates at Zhyburtovshchina and Ozerany (now in Diatlovo district, Grodno region). At the age of ten, he entered a local grammar school founded at the Piarist college noted for its excellence in education, in the town of Shchuchin. In 1816 Ignaсy Domeyko was admitted to the University of Vilno (Vilnius) to study mathematics and physics, where he also obtained knowledge in topography, architecture, foreign languages, history, and literature. In 1882 he defended his thesis and obtained a master's degree in philosophy. During student years Domeyko became friends with the poet and public figure, Adam Mitskevich, the poet and ethnographer, Jan Chechot, and the revolutionary poet and naturalist, Tomash Zan. They all were involved in the secret student societies of Philomathes and Philarets, who sought to prepare young people in various activities for the wellbeing of their native land. In 1823 the secret societies were disbanded; their members including Ignaсy Domeyko (in all, nearly a hundred) were arrested. Domeyko was exiled under police supervision to the estate of his uncle. Ignaсy Domeyko was a participant in the national uprising of 1830-1831 in Poland, Belarus and Lithuania against the tsarist Russia. After a defeat, together with the insurgent army he crossed the Russian-Prussian border and layed down arms. Being forced to stay in a foreign land, from 1832 Domeyko lived in Paris and was active in the public life of the Belarusian, Polish and Lithuanian emigre communities. Later he attended the Sorbonne, College de France, and then he studied chemistry and geology at the Ecole des Mines in Paris, graduating in 1837 with a diploma in mining engineering. In 1838 Domeyko left for Chile, being contracted for six years to teach chemistry and mineralogy. Instead he stayed in this South American country for almost half a century. For several years he had lectured at a mining school in the town of Coquimbo, founded a meteorological station, and created an ethnographic museum. During his repeated journeys about the country he studied the geology and mineralogy of the Andes, the Atacama Desert, and the province of Auracania in southern Chile and examined the daily life of the local people, the Auracanian Indians (Mapuches), whom he described in his book. The eager activity of Ignaсy Domeyko in Coquimbo was noticed by the scholarly community and the government of Chile: in 1847 he was invited to lecture at the University of Chile in Santiago. In the years 1867-1883 he was the university's rector and was directly involved in the reforming of higher education in the country. He many times conducted research expeditions in the Andes, studied volcanoes, discovered silver and copper mines, organized the production of gold and caliche, introduced first in Latin America the metric system of weights and measures, and authored many textbooks and scholarly treatises that were published in the learned journals of Paris. At retirement, the Government of Chile granted him a life-long pension, the highest in the country, that exceeded even the rewards given to generals who fought for the independence of this country. In 1884 Ignaсy Domeyko managed to fulfill his old dream of visiting Belarus. His departure was honoured by his many friends and pupils, among whom were the known politicians, university faculty and students. For four years Domeyko had lived on his home estate at Zhyburtovshchina and in the meantime visited other memorable places in Belarus: Medviadka, Mir, and Kroshin. One of the last Philarets, he was welcomed everywhere with great interest; he had talks with local villagers in Belarusian, the language he did not forget despite a half-century absence. During his stay in Belarus he several times visited Paris and was once in Rome and Jerusalem. Ignaсy Domeyko died on 23 January 1889 soon after return to Santiago. The government declared him the national hero of Chile. On the day of his funeral the national mourning was announced in the country. The many-sided activity of Ignaсy Domeyko brought him a universal recognition, his scholarly legacy being of especial importance. He authored 130 scientific works. Many of his textbooks were used and are still used to teach students in Chile, Peru and Mexico. In all, his bibliography totals 4,500 titles, including monographs, articles, textbooks, manuals, letters, and reviews of his works, as well as biographical articles, essays and poetic pieces written about him.

In Europe and America there are over 70 monuments and commemorative plaques bearing the name of IgnaсIn Belarus, a museum was founded on the former estate of our famous fellow-countryman in the village of Zapolie, Lida district. His memory is also preserved at school museums in the village of Velikaia Medviadka, Korelichi district, and Krupovo, Lida district; a street in the village of Krupovo also bears his name. On the 200th anniversary of Domeyko's birth, UNESCO declared the year of 2002 to be "Ignaсy Domeyko Year". The commemorative events were held in many countries, especially those associated with his life and activities. In Belarus, numerous scholarly conferences were held, his name was attached to a number of newly-established scholarships, commemorative plaques were installed in places where he once lived. The Minsk-based publishing house, Belaruski Knigazbor, published the book of his diaries called "My Journeys". y Domeyko. Named in his honour are the mineral Domeykite, the Chilean ammonite, a new species of rubber-bearing plant, a violet, an azalia, a fossil snail and shellfish, a peak and a range of mountains in the Andes (Cordilliera-Domeyko), a town in the province of Auracania in southern Chile, a village near the town of Antofagasta in northern Chile, a university college in Valparaiso, a national library in Santiago, a mineralogical museum at the University of La Serena, a number of mines, streets, squares, post stations, public and sports organizations, funds and scholarships. In Chile, the statue of Domeyko was erected in Santiago and a medal was coined in his honour.

Stanislau Halakcijonau (March 8,1937 - April 4, 2011) studied molecular biology, worked with the first computer, which was preparing a program on the biology associated with determining the structures of molecules, when the topic was a totally new and highly relevant. He became one of the founders of the discipline, which is now called molecular modeling. Halakcijonau began work at the Institute of Biology, National Academy of Sciences, in Belarus, where around him, when he was just PhD, spontaneously gathered a group of young scientists who quickly gained acceptance in the scientific community. However, life was difficult, the wage rate of a research assistant was a little more than the salary of a cleaner. Nevertheless, atmosphere of Halakcijonau�s teamwork remained easy and enjoyable. As friends say, to work with him, even in such difficult conditions, was a pleasure. His opinion was respected already when Halakcijonau was simple Ph.D. even by venerable Moscow professors. A non-trivial approach to science had provided him fame. In the 70's he defended his doctoral work and deepened the work. Several of his books were published. In the 90�s the family of Stanislau Halakcijonau for some family reasons left the country for the United States, where he continued to work in St. Louis, and soon became a scientific celebrity in America. He worked with his colleagues from the same group of Halakcijonau who had also emigrated. When an American professor of classic molecular biology, Harold Gray, learned the results of Halakcijonau scientific work on the structure of linear peptides, he was very worried that since the Iron Curtain he was not able to learn about this work before. The recognition of Halakcijonau became an international. His works in biology were translated into European languages. The scientist also studied languages and even translated from Japanese. At the same time he never had the craving for a career that regularly prevents scientists. He knew what he is worth, so focused on the science, not in a career. Halakcijonau also studied the history of biology in Belarus, even dedicated to the first Belarusian biologists one of the books. Halakcijonau worked active until 2001, when he suffered from a stroke. Stanislav Galaktionov died April 8, 2011 from complications after heart surgery. He was buried in a botanical garden of Mobile in Alabama.