Lev Petrovich Gor'kov (; 14 June 1929 – 28 December 2016) was a Russian-American research physicist internationally known for his pioneering work in the field of

superconductivity Superconductivity is a set of physical properties observed in superconductors: materials where Electrical resistance and conductance, electrical resistance vanishes and Magnetic field, magnetic fields are expelled from the material. Unlike an ord ...

. He was particularly famous for developing microscopic foundations of the Ginzburg–Landau theory of superconductivity ( Vitaly Ginzburg was awarded the 2003 Nobel prize in physics for developing, together with

Lev Landau Lev Davidovich Landau (; 22 January 1908 – 1 April 1968) was a Soviet physicist who made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics. He was considered as one of the last scientists who were universally well-versed and ma ...

, that phenomenological theory). Gor'kov was a professor of physics at

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Fl ...

, and a program director in Condensed Matter at the

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory The National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MagLab) is a facility at Florida State University, the University of Florida, and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, that performs magnetic field research in physics, biology, bioengineeri ...

. He was one of the Magnet Lab's founding scientists.

Biography

Gor'kov was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and received his academic training when he was at

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

, after which he entered Kapitza Institute for Physical Problems, and eventually joined the Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics. In 1966, he was awarded the

Lenin Prize The Lenin Prize (, ) was one of the most prestigious awards of the Soviet Union for accomplishments relating to science, literature, arts, architecture, and technology. It was originally created on June 23, 1925, and awarded until 1934. During ...

, Russia's highest award for scientific achievement, in recognition of his groundbreaking work on superconductivity. In 1981, he received the Bardeen Prize (with Alexei Abrikosov and Vitaly Ginzburg). In 1988, he received the Landau Prize, the highest award in Russia for theoretical physics. In 1992, less than a year after the collapse of the Soviet Union, he left Moscow for the United States at age 63. In 2004, he was a co-recipient of the prestigious Eugene Feenberg Award, given to recognize researchers who have advanced the field of many-body physics. In 2005, he became an elected member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

, one of the very highest honors that can be bestowed on any U.S. scientist or engineer. He belonged to the last generation of scientists who were direct disciples of Soviet theorist

. Gor’kov's contributions to physics reflect the unique style of the Landau Institute. In addition to his duties at the Magnet Lab, Gor'kov maintained his RAS membership and continued to perform research for the Landau Institute. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Ugo Fano Gold Medal of the Rome International Center for Materials Science Superstripes RICMASS for his key prediction of two electronics components in cuprate high temperature superconductors. Gor'kov died on 28 December 2016 at the age of 87. On June 24–26, 2019, The Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics hosted an International Conference in his honor.

References

External links

National High Magnetic Field Laboratory faculty profile

Lev P. Gor'kov
Site of RAS
Gor'kov, Lev P.
NAS Section: Physics
Research for Landau Institute for Theoretical Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation

Ugo Fano Gold Medal 2015, RICMASS, Rome, Italy

Publications of Lev Gor'kov 1955-2016
* Modern Trends in Condensed Matter Physics, Lev Gor'kov Memorial Conference, http://gorkovconf.itp.ac.ru/gorkov2019/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Gorkov, Lev Petrovich 1929 births 2016 deaths Scientists from Moscow Fellows of the American Physical Society Florida State University faculty Full Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Full Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology alumni Academic staff of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology Recipients of the Lenin Prize Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian physicists American physicists