Leonid Ivanovich Sedov (russian: Леонид Иванович Седов; 14 November 1907 – 5 September 1999) was a leading Soviet expert on hydro- and aerodynamics and applied mechanics. In 1930 Sedov graduated from the

Moscow State University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

, where he had been a student of

Sergey Chaplygin Sergey Alexeyevich Chaplygin (russian: Серге́й Алексе́евич Чаплы́гин; 5 April 1869 – 8 October 1942) was a Russian and Soviet physicist, mathematician, and mechanical engineer. He is known for mathe ...

, with the degree of Doctor of Physics and Mathematical Sciences. He later became a professor at the university. During World War II, he devised the so-called ''Sedov Similarity Solution'' for a

blast wave In fluid dynamics, a blast wave is the increased pressure and flow resulting from the deposition of a large amount of energy in a small, very localised volume. The flow field can be approximated as a lead shock wave, followed by a self-similar sub ...

. In 1947 he was awarded the . He was the first chairman of the USSR Space Exploration program and broke first news of its existence in 1955. He was president of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) from 1959 to 1961. Until recently, it had been thought that Sedov was the principal engineer behind the Soviet Sputnik project.

Awards

1981 -

Allan D. Emil Memorial Award The Allan D. Emil Memorial Award is presented every year at the Congress of the International Astronautical Federation. It has been presented annually, since 1977, for an outstanding contribution in space science, space technology, space medici ...

References

Bibliography

Reference to 1955 announcementObituary notice
in ''Minutes of General Assembly Meetings, 2000'' section *Sedov, L. I., 1959, ''Similarity and Dimensional Methods in Mechanics'', 4th edn. Academic. * L.I. Sedov, A course in continuum mechanics. Volumes. I-IV. Wolters-Noordhoff Publishing, Netherlands, 1971. *Sedov, L. I., "Propagation of strong shock waves," ''Journal of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics'', Vol. 10, pages 241–250 (1946). (See also: Barber–Layden–Power effect) *Reference to confusion with Ukrainian physicist

Sergei Korolyov Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...

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1907 births 1999 deaths Soviet physicists Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Members of the French Academy of Sciences Heroes of Socialist Labour Recipients of the Order of Lenin Stalin Prize winners Soviet inventors Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Soviet space program personnel Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery Baranov Central Institute of Aviation Motors employees Foreign members of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts {{Russia-physicist-stub