MIKHAIL GRIGORIEVICH MESCHERYAKOV (1910 - 1994)
Honorary Director of JINR's Laboratory of Computing
Techniques and Automation, Corresponding Member of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, an outstanding physicist-
experimenter, and a gifted scientific organizer, Professor
M.G.Mescheryakov died on 24 May 1994. Mikhail Grigorievich
belonged to the glorious generation of scientists whose
dedicated activity in the hard post-war period resulted in
constructing new cities and establishing new centres for research in the field of nuclear and elementary particle physics.
Professor Mescheryakov's scientific activity is inextricably
associated with the construction of powerful accelerators and
the development of investigations in nuclear physics,
elementary particle physics as well as the automation of
scientific research. In 1940, the cyclotron of the Radium
Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences was put into
operation with his participation. With the help of the machine
M.G.Mescheryakov experimentally discovered a strong
fluctuation of radiated capture cross-section values of fast
neutrons with the increase of a nucleus mass number.
At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War
M.G.Mescherykov joined the people's volunteer corps and in
July 1941 he was in the troups at the Leningrad front. After
being wounded and hospitalized he had to leave the Army. In
July 1942 he returned to the Radium Institute, which had
been evacuated to Kazan University, and he got involved in
the atomic research.
In 1946-1947 M.G.Mescheryakov worked in the USA as
an expert of the UN Atomic Committee. Upon his return to the
Soviet Union, he was appointed Deputy Director of the
Institute of Atomic Energy and Scientific Leader of the work
on designing and constructing the then most powerful 680
MeV synchrocyclotron in the area of Bolshaya Volga
settlement (now Dubna). In 1947—1949, at the cyclotron of
the Institute of Atomic Energy he carried out a wide spectrum
of investigations resulting in his Doctoral Thesis in 1950.
When the 680 MeV synchrocyclotron was put into
operation in 1949, M.G.Mescheryakov became Head of the
research centre established on its basis-the Institute of
Nuclear Problems of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He was
Director of the Institute till 1956.
Since 1950 M.G.Mescheryakov concentrated on strong
interactions of nucleons at high energies. The results of his
research found international recognition and were confirmed
by investigations at other Laboratories.
The cycle of investigations in nuclear structure using
proton beams with an energy of 660 MeV, initiated by
M.G.Mescheryakov in the 1950's, resulted in the discovery of
clusterization phenomena in nuclei and exerted a consider-
able influence on the subsequent development of relativistic
nuclear physics.
In 1966, the Laboratory of Computing Techniques and
Automation was established at JINR under his leadership.
The new technical facilities available at LCTA extended the
area of experimental and theoretical investigations and
opened new research fields.
To the very last M.G.Mescheryakov took active part in the
discussions on the development of JINR, defending the
freedom of scientific work.
Being a professor at Moscow State University since 1953,
M.G.Mescheryakov paid great attention to educating and
training the new generation of young scientists. He was a
member of the Scientific Council in using the computing
techniques and automation tools in experimental nuclear
physics, a member of the Editorial Boards of the journals
«Nuclear Instruments and Methods» and «Physics of
Elementary Particles and Atomic Nuclei».
M.G.Mescheryakov's wartime and scientific merits were
honoured with orders and medals of the Soviet Union. His
great contribution to the organization of scientific
cooperation was also marked with orders and medals of the
JINR Member States. He was twice awarded the USSR State
Prize.
"JINR News" 3/94, p. 55.
M.G. Mescheryakov "About the time unique and unforgettable" - Rus.
M.G. Mescheryakov (reminiscences) - Rus.
M.G. Mescheryakov is the first Director of the research centre in Dubna
- Rus.
M.G. Mescheryakov (100 years from birthday) - Rus.
JINR Weekly newspaper “Dubna: science, cooperation, progress” - to M.G. Mescheryakov's 100th anniversary:
No. 32, 6 August 2010,
No. 33, 20 August 2010,
No. 34, 27 August 2010,
No. 35, 3 September 2010,
No. 36, 17 September 2010,
No. 37, 24 September 2010
Video: Memoirs of M.G. Meshcheryakov - full version - Rus.
Video: JINR celebrated 110th anniversary of birth of M.G. Meshcheryakov - (youtu) / (rutube) - Rus.
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