Viktor Ambartsumian | |
|---|---|
.png) Ambartsumian in 1968 | |
| Born | 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1908 Tiflis, Russian Empire (present-day Tbilisi, Georgia) |
| Died | 12 August 1996 (aged 87) Byurakan, Armenia |
| Resting place | Byurakan Observatory |
| Citizenship | Russian Empire Soviet Union Armenia |
| Alma mater | Leningrad State University |
| Known for | Stellar association |
| Spouse |
Vera Klochikhina
(m. 1930; died 1995) |
| Children | 4, including Rouben |
| Awards | Stalin prize (1949,1950) Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1960) Bruce Medal (1960) ForMemRS (1969) Lomonosov Gold Medal (1971) National Hero of Armenia (1994) State Prize of Russia (1995) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Astrophysics |
| Institutions | Leningrad State University Pulkovo Observatory Yerevan State University Byurakan Observatory |
| Thesis | None[a] |
| Doctoral advisor | Aristarkh Belopolsky |
| Doctoral students | Viktor Sobolev, Benjamin Markarian, Grigor Gurzadyan |
| Signature | |
 | |
Viktor Amazaspovich Ambartsumian[b] (Russian: Виктор Амазаспович Амбарцумян; Armenian: Վիկտոր Համազասպի Համբարձումյան, Viktor Hamazaspi Hambardzumyan; 18 September [O.S. 5 September] 1908 – 12 August 1996) was a Soviet and Armenian astrophysicist and science administrator.[3] One of the 20th century's leading astronomers, he is widely regarded as the founder of theoretical astrophysics in the Soviet Union.
Educated at Leningrad State University (LSU) and the Pulkovo Observatory, Ambartsumian taught at LSU and founded the Soviet Union's first department of astrophysics there in 1934. He subsequently moved to Soviet Armenia, where he founded the Byurakan Observatory in 1946. It became his institutional base for the decades to come and a major center of astronomical research. He also co-founded the Armenian Academy of Sciences and led it for almost half a century—the entire post-war period. One commentator noted that "science in Armenia was synonymous with the name Ambartsumian." In 1965 Ambartsumian founded the journal Astrofizika and served as its editor for over 20 years.
Ambartsumian began retiring from the various positions he held only from the age of 80. He died at his house in Byurakan and was buried on the grounds of the observatory. He was awarded the title of National Hero of Armenia in 1994.
- ^ Lynden-Bell & Gurzadyan 1998, p. 25.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
McCutcheonEncwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Sullivan, Walter (26 August 1964). "NEW ERA AHEAD, ASTRONOMER SAYS; Photos of the Moon Cited at World Science Parley". The New York Times. p. 13.
The great Soviet Armenian astronomer, Viktor A. Ambartsumian...
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