16 Facts About Alexander Prokhorov

In 1934, Prokhorov entered the Saint Petersburg State University to study physics.

Alexander Prokhorov was a member of the Komsomol from 1930 to 1944.

Alexander Prokhorov fought in the infantry, was wounded twice in battles, and was awarded three medals, including the Medal For Courage in 1946.

Alexander Prokhorov was demobilized in 1944 and returned to the Lebedev Institute where, in 1946, he defended his Ph.

In 1947, Alexander Prokhorov started working on coherent radiation emitted by electrons orbiting in a cyclic particle accelerator called a synchrotron.

Alexander Prokhorov demonstrated that the emission is mostly concentrated in the microwave spectral range.

Alexander Prokhorov's results became the basis of his habilitation on "Coherent Radiation of Electrons in the Synchrotron Accelerator", defended in 1951.

In 1955, Alexander Prokhorov started his research in the field of electron paramagnetic resonance.

Alexander Prokhorov focused on relaxation times of ions of the iron group elements in a lattice of aluminium oxide, but investigated other, "non-optical", topics, such as magnetic phase transitions in DPPH.

Between 1982 and 1998, Alexander Prokhorov served as acting director of the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and after 1998 as honorary director.

Alexander Prokhorov was a Member and one of the Honorary Presidents of the International Academy of Science, Munich and supported 1993 the foundation and development of the Russian Section of International Academy of Science, Moscow.

In 1969, Alexander Prokhorov became a Hero of Socialist Labour, the highest degree of distinction in the Soviet Union for achievements in national economy and culture.

Alexander Prokhorov was awarded the Frederic Ives Medal, the highest distinction of the Optical Society of America, in 2000 and became an Honorary OSA Member in 2001.

Alexander Prokhorov died on 8 January 2002 at Moscow and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery.

Alexander Prokhorov became a member of the Communist Party in 1950.

Alexander Prokhorov married geographer Galina Shelepina in 1941, and they had a son, Kiril, born in 1945.