100th birthday of academician Isaak Kikoin

27.03.2008 // PR and Mass Media Department of Atomenergoprom OJSC

On Mar 28 Kurchatov Institute will celebrate 100th birthday of academician Isaak Kikoin

On Mar 28 Russian Scientific Center “Kurchatov Institute” will celebrate the 100th birthday of academician Isaak Kikoin, two time Hero of Socialist Labor (1952 and 1978), laureate of Lenin (1959), Stalin (1942, 1951 and 1953) and State (1959, 1967 and 1980) Prizes. Among the other awards are six Lenin orders, Mikhail Lomonosov Big Gold Medal, Kuchatov and Lebedev gold medals.

Isaak Kikoin was born in Malye Zhagory (Lithuania). In 1930 he graduated from Leningrad Polytechnic Institute. After graduation he worked at Leningrad Physics and Engineering Institute and Metal Physics Institute (Sverdlovsk). In 1933, together with M.Noskov, he discovered photoelectromagnetic effect, which was called Effect of Kikoin-Noskov, and studied the Hall effect in ferromagnets.

In 1944 Kikoin was appointed the research manager of one of the key directions of the uranium program: separation of isotopes by means of diffusion. He took an active part in the construction of Ural Electrochemical Integrated Plant and was its manager for many years. In the 1950s Kikoin solved the problem of remote sensing of nuclear and hydrogen blasts. That project greatly contributed to the conclusion of the Test Ban Treaty in 1963.

In the early 1960s Kikoin discovered a new way of uranium isotope separation – centrifugal method – which was much less energy intensive than the diffusion method.

In 1956–1965 Kikoin carried out large-scale study of photomagnetic effect in germanium and silicon single crystals and discovered anisotropy effect. In 1964 he discovered photopiezoelectric effect.

In 1966 Kikoin was the first person in the world to observe quantum oscillations of the photomagnetic effect under low temperatures and to discover abnormally high Hall effect in chrome-tellurium alloy.

Kikoin was the chairman of the Commission on School Program on Physics. He is the author of physics textbooks for high and higher schools. In 1970, together with academician A.Kolmagorov, Kikoin published “Quantum” physics and mathematics magazine.