Ivan Lyudvigovich Knunyants ( hy, Իվան Կնունյանց, russian: Иван Людвигович Кнунянц; – 21 December 1990), was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
chemist of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
n origin, academician of the
Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union
The Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union was the highest scientific institution of the Soviet Union from 1925 to 1991, uniting the country's leading scientists, subordinated directly to the Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union (until 1946 ...
, a
major general
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...
and engineer, who significantly contributed to the advancement of Soviet
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
.
He made more than 200 inventions, many of which used in the Soviet industry.
Graduated from
Moscow Bauman Highest Technical School (MVTU) 1928, student of
Aleksei Chichibabin
Alekséy Yevgényevich Chichibábin (russian: Алексей Евгеньевич Чичибабин) was a Soviet Union, Soviet/Russian organic chemist, born , Kuzemin village, current Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, died in Paris, France, 15 August 1945. H ...
. Leader of laboratory for elementooranic chemistry.
He was one of the pioneers of the synthesis of
poly-caprolactam (capron, nylon-6, polyamide-6), founder of Soviet school of
fluorocarbon
Fluorocarbons are chemical compounds with carbon-fluorine bonds. Compounds that contain many C-F bonds often has distinctive properties, e.g., enhanced stability, volatility, and hydrophobicity. Fluorocarbons and their derivatives are commerci ...
's chemistry, one of major developers of Soviet
chemical weapons
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...
program, also an author of a few drugs for
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
of
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
.
He proposed the method of getting the 5-hydroxypentan-2-one from
ethyl ethanoate and
oxirane
Ethylene oxide is an organic compound with the formula . It is a cyclic ether and the simplest epoxide: a three-membered ring consisting of one oxygen atom and two carbon atoms. Ethylene oxide is a colorless and flammable gas with a faintly swe ...
, also used in the industrial synthesis of
vitamin B
B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coex ...
. His scientific group synthesized compounds containing fluorine, along with nitro-, amino-hydroxy-isoquinoline-air and other groups.
Awards
*
Hero of Socialist Labour
The Hero of Socialist Labour (russian: links=no, Герой Социалистического Труда, Geroy Sotsialisticheskogo Truda) was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It repre ...
(1966)
*
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration b ...
(1966)
*
Lenin Prize (1972)
* Three
Stalin Prizes (1943, 1948 and 1950)
*
Order of the October Revolution
The Order of the October Revolution (russian: Орден Октябрьской Революции, ''Orden Oktyabr'skoy Revolyutsii'') was instituted on October 31, 1967, in time for the 50th anniversary of the October Revolution. It was conferr ...
*
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...
*
Order of the Red Banner of Labour
The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...
*
Order of the Red Star
The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...
See also
*
List of Russian inventors
This is a list of inventors from the Russian Federation, Soviet Union, Russian Empire, Tsardom of Russia and Grand Duchy of Moscow, including both ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities.
This list also includes those who were born in Rus ...
References
BiographyI.L. Knunyants ''Laboratory at Korovy Brod'', Chemistry and Life, N6, 1981Ivan Knunyants on warheroes.ru
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knunyants, Ivan
1906 births
1990 deaths
20th-century Russian chemists
Scientists from Shusha
Communist Party of the Soviet Union members
Bauman Moscow State Technical University alumni
Kyiv Polytechnic Institute alumni
Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences
Heroes of Socialist Labour
Stalin Prize winners
Lenin Prize winners
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner
Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour
Recipients of the Order of the Red Star
Polymer scientists and engineers
Armenian chemists
Russian chemists
Russian major generals
Soviet Armenians
Soviet chemists
Soviet major generals
Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery