Vitaly Iosifovich Gol'dansky was a Soviet and Russian physicist, chemist and public figure. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences (1981, Corresponding Member since 1962). Laureate of the Lenin Prize.
Background
Ethnicity:
Gol’dansky was a grandson of Iosif Abramovich Melamed – a Rabbi.
Vitaly Iosifovich Gol'dansky was born in Vitebsk, in 1928 his family moved to Leningrad. Gol’dansky was a grandson of Iosif Abramovich Melamed – a Rabbi.
Education
Gol’dansky studied at school №2 in Kuibyshev region (school №7 now). In 1939 he applied to Faculty of Chemistry in Leningrad university.When the Second World War started he joined student building battalion, was wounded, survived severe winter blockade. Then he was evacuated to Kazan, where he continued his studying and finished it in Moscow in 1944.
Career
In 1952 – 1961 worked at Lebedev Physical Institute in V.I. Veksler’s laboratory, managed the sector, in 1954 defended his PhD thesis.
In 1961 Gol’dansky returned to Institute of Chemical Physics of Russian Academy of Sciences of the USSR (later named - N.N. Semenov ICP). Managed a laboratory (since 1961), department (since 1974), worked as Deputy Director (1987 – 1988), and in 1988 – 1994 became the Director of the Institute. At the same time taught in Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and in National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute) (since 1951, and as a professor since 1956) and also taught on Faculty of Chemistry in Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU). From 1974 to 1985, he was Deputy Chair of the Department of Physical Chemistry at Lomonosov Moscow State University of Fine Chemical Technologies (MITHT).
Since 1994, Gol’dansky was Adviser to the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
Membership
Gol’dansky was an active public activist, he was Deputy Chairman of the Board of the All-Union Society "Znanie(Knowledge)" (1964-1990), vice-president of International Union of Theoretical and Applied Physics (1984-1987), Chairman of Russian Pugwash Committee (1987-2001), Deputy Chairman of Committee of Scientists for Global Safety, Chief Editor of 2 magazines: "Chemistry of High Energies", "Chemical Physics", a member of editorial board of the magazine "Science and Life", Gol’dansky was elected People's Deputy of the USSR (1989-1991).