Viktor Davidenko
Viktor Davidenko | |
---|---|
Виктор Давиденко | |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Engineering |
Institutions | Laboratory No. 2 Ioffe Institute VNIIEF JINR |
Viktor Aleksandrovich Davidenko (Russian: Виктор Александрович Давиденко; 26 February 1914 – 15 February 1983) was a Soviet engineer in the Soviet program of nuclear weapons, working mainly on military nuclear reactors for fissile materials.
Early life
Davidenko was born on 26 February 1914 in Danilovka, Volgograd Oblast. He studied at the Leningrad Hydrotechnical Institute between 1930 and 1932 while working part-time as the operator at the Kulakov factory. In 1932, Davidenko continued his studies at the Leningrad Industrial Institute, graduating with honors. Starting in 1937, he worked for three years at the Leningrad Institute of Physics and Technology.[1]
In 1940, Davidenko worked part-time as an engineer for Plant No. 379 of the People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry of the USSR. Before he returned to Moscow, Davidenko was evacuated to the Kazan plant No.122 and 149 (under the Commissariat) after the USSR underwent Operation Barbarossa. The details of Davidenko's work at these aircraft factories are mostly unknown.[1][2][3]
Soviet atomic bomb project
In May 1943, Davidenko and many other scientists joined Igor Kurchatov's Laboratory No. 2 of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union. He was admired for his knowledge, meticulousness and modesty. From 1943 to 1945, three types of nuclear reactor designs were developed there: heavy water reactors, graphite-water reactors, and uranium-fueled water reactors. Davidenko worked with Georgy Flyorov (the discoverer of spontaneous fission with Konstantin Petrzhak) in studying reactor technology.
In May 1948, Kurchatov's group, together with a number of other scientists, was directed to the
Kurchatov put Davidenko in charge of one of three teams working simultaneously on
Davidenko was already amongst several employees of the Installation who were considered too important to risk flying; for example, in 1953 he returned from preparations at the
He is buried in Kuntsevo Cemetery.[3]
Awards and legacy
- 1949: Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
- 1953: Hero of Socialist Labour and Medal "For Labour Valour".
- 1953, 1956, 1962: Order of Lenin.
In 1984, the city council of Sarov decreed that Theatre Passage be renamed Davidenko Street in his honour.[3][1]
References
- ^ a b c d e "Их именами названы улицы Улица Давиденко (The streets are named after them:Davidenko Street". www.vniief.ru. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ ISBN 9780394537405.
- ^ a b c d "Давиденко Виктор Александрович". www.biblioatom.ru. Retrieved 14 November 2018.
- ^ Kruglov, Arkadii (2002). The History of the Soviet Atomic Industry. London & New York: Taylor & Francis. p. 166.
- .
- ^ Sunyaev, R.A., ed. (2004). Zel'dovich: Reminiscences. Boca Raton, London, New York, Washington, D.C.: Chapman & Hall. p. 111.
- doi:10.1063/1.881532.
- ISBN 9780394537405.