Person

Prokhorov, Aleksandr Mikhailovich (1916 - 2002)

Born
11 July 1916
Atherton, Queensland, Australia
Died
8 January 2002
Russia
Occupation
Nobel laureate and Physicist

Summary

Aleksandr Prokhorov was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize in physics in 1964, with Charles Hard Townes and Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov, for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle. His distinguished career was acknowledged by many other awards, including the Lomonosov Gold Medal, Five Orders of Lenin, Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class, Medal for Valor.

A memorial plaque was unveiled in 1987 at his birthplace, Atherton, Queensland.

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Details

Chronology

1939
Education - Graduated with honours in physics from the Leningrad University, USSR
1941 - 1944
Military service - Second World War.
1944 - 1946
Career position - Scientist at the Laboratory of Oscillations, USSR Academy of Sciences
1946
Education - Science degree, Lebedev Institute of Physics, USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow
1946 - 1954
Career position - Senior Research Associate at the Laboratory of Oscillations
1948
Award - Mandelstam Prize
1950s
Education - Doctorate, Lebedev Institute of Physics, USSR Academy of Sciences
1954 - 1973
Career position - Head of the Laboratory of Oscillations
1959
Award - Lenin Prize
1964
Award - Nobel Prize in Physics (jointly with Charles Hard Townes and Nicolay Gennadiyevich Basov) - for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle
1966 -
Award - Full Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences
1969 -
Career position - Editor-in-chief of the Great Soviet Encyclopaedia
1969
Award - Gold Star of Hero of Socialist Labor
1973 - 1981
Career position - Chief of the Department of General Physics and Astronomy
1981 -
Career position - Director of the Institute of General Physics
1986
Award - Gold Star of Hero of Socialist Labor

Published resources

Book Sections

  • Beale, R, 'Aleksander Mikhailovich Prokhorov' in Australia's Nobel Laureates - Adventures in Innovation (Sydney: ABIE Australian Business and Investment Explorer, 2004), pp. 64-73. Details

Journal Articles

Resources

Resource Sections

See also

Rosanne Walker

Created: 30 June 1997, Last modified: 22 October 2025

EOAS ID: biogs/P002655b.htm

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