Data about the children and grandchildren of Academician Ioffe. It was the Ukrainian for the first time

Abram Fedorovich Ioffe - physicist, academician, founder of a scientific school, laureate of the Lenin (1961) and Stalin Prizes, Hero Socialist Labor. Born on October 29, 1880 in the small town of Romny, Poltava province. There was no gymnasium in Romny - there was only a men's real school, which he entered. In 1902 he graduated from the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology and in 1905 from the University of Munich, where he worked for V. K. Roentgen. Upon returning to his homeland in 1906, he worked at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. IN physical laboratory Institute, headed by V.V. Skobeltsyn, Ioffe in 1906-1917. brilliant work was carried out to confirm Einstein's quantum theory of the external photoelectric effect, to prove the granular nature of the electronic charge, to determine magnetic field cathode rays (master's thesis, St. Petersburg University, 1913). Along with this, A.F. Ioffe continued and generalized in his doctoral dissertation (Petrograd University, 1915) the research begun in Munich on the elastic and electrical properties of quartz and some other crystals.

In 1913 he received the title of Master of Physics, and in 1915 for the study of the elastic and electrical properties of quartz - the degree of Doctor of Physics. In 1913 he was elected professor.

Along with intensive research work, A.F. Ioffe devoted a lot of time and effort to teaching. He lectured not only at the Polytechnic Institute, where he became a professor in 1915, but also at the well-known courses of P.F. Lesgaft, at the Mining Institute and at the university. The most important thing in this activity of Ioffe was the organization in 1916 of a seminar on new physics at the Polytechnic Institute. Since 1918 - head of the physical and technical department of the State University, organized at his suggestion. X-ray and Radiological Institute in Petrograd, and then until 1951 - director of the Physico-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, created on the basis of this department.

Abram Fedorovich is credited with organizing a new type of faculty at the Polytechnic Institute in 1919: physical and mechanical, of which he was also the dean for more than 30 years. His scientific work was concentrated within the walls of the Physicotechnical Institute, one of the laboratories of which he always headed, although the topics of his research, as well as the name, underwent changes. In the 20s, the main direction of work was the study of mechanical and electronic properties solid.

The beginning of the 1930s was marked by the transition of the Physicotechnical Institute to new topics. The main focus was nuclear physics. A.F. Ioffe dealt with it directly. Since the beginning of the 30s, A.F.’s own scientific work. Ioffe focused on another problem - the problem of semiconductor physics, and his laboratory at the Physicotechnical Institute became a semiconductor laboratory.

On his initiative, starting in 1929, Physicotechnical Institutes were created in large industrial cities(Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Sverdlovsk, Tomsk), Institute chemical physics Academy of Sciences of the USSR. During the war, Ioffe took part in the construction of radar installations in Leningrad, and during the evacuation to Kazan he was the chairman of the Naval and Military Engineering Commissions. In 1952–1955 he headed the laboratory of semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

In 1950 A.F. Ioffe developed a theory on the basis of which the requirements for semiconductor materials, used in thermo-batteries and providing maximum value their efficiency. Following this, in 1951 L.S. Stilbans under the leadership of A.F. Ioffe and Yu.P. Maslakovets developed the world's first refrigerator. This was the beginning of the development new area technology - thermoelectric cooling.

Ioffe is the author of many monographs and textbooks. His Lectures on Molecular Physics (1919) were very popular; he wrote the 1st volume of the Course of Physics - Basic Concepts from the Field of Mechanics. Properties of thermal energy. Electricity and magnetism (1927, 1933, 1940), as well as (together with N.N. Semenov) the first part of the 4th volume Molecular physics(1932, 1935). In the mid-1930s, under his leadership, a discussion took place on the principles of constructing a physics course for technical universities; One of the results of these heated discussions was the publication of a wonderful course on general physics by G.S. Landsberg. Ioffe was a member of many academies of sciences: Gottingen (1924), Berlin (1928), American Academy of Sciences and Arts (1929), honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina" (1958), Italian Academy of Sciences (1959), honorary doctor of the University of California (1928) , Sorbonne (1945), universities of Graz (1948), Bucharest and Munich (1955).

Abram Fedorovich Ioffe is rightfully considered the father of Soviet physics; his discoveries raised the prestige of physicists in the young country of the Soviets in scientific world, and founded by academician higher schools and the institutes still produce qualified specialists every year.

In October 1880, a boy was born to the merchant Fyodor Vasilyevich Ioffe and Rachel Abramovna Weinstein (at that time a housewife). IN various sources The date of birth of the heir is listed as either October 17 or October 29. They named him in honor of his maternal grandfather - Abram.

The family lived in the town of Romny, which belonged to the then Poltava province, where the boy entered a secondary school and studied there from 1889 to 1897. During his studies, Abram made good acquaintance with many young men, among others was Stepan Timoshenko, a famous scientist, in the future referred to as the father of applied mechanics in the USA. Ioffe carried his friendship with Timoshenko throughout his life and communicated with him for decades.

In 1902, a diploma from St. Petersburg Institute of Technology was received, after which Ioffe accepted the position of assistant to the head of the laboratory at the University of Munich, headed by Wilhelm Roentgen, and in 1906 he was appointed senior employee of the laboratory of the St. Petersburg Polytechnic.

Five years later, he converted to Lutheranism because he met his love and future wife. She, unlike himself, was not Jewish origin. After this they were able to get married.

In the same 1911, a young scientist calculated the charge elementary particle electron, using the same technology as Millikan. Both scientists, each separately, conducted an experiment with a drop of oil and balanced charged metal particles in gravitational and electric fields. But the domestic physicist published the results of these works in 1913, and Millikan a little earlier. In force given circumstance the experience today bears Milliken's name.

Over the next few years, Abram Fedorovich was actively engaged in scientific activities, and the result of hard work was work on a dissertation and its defense, receiving a master’s degree in 1913, and soon a doctor of science in 1915. New status opened wide horizons for promising scientists and from 1919 to 1940 he held the position of dean of physics and mathematics at the Leningrad Polytechnic University. A competent teacher is invited to the Mining Institute and to Higher courses as a teacher, where he enjoys teaching classes.

Abram Ioffe contributed significantly to the emergence in 1918 of the Physics and Technology Department at the Institute of Radiology and Radiation in Petrograd. This institute received independent status in 1923 and subsequently acquired the name - Physico-Technical Institute. The educational institution still bears the name of its founder.

Until 1951, Ioffe was the head of the Physics and Technology Institute of the Academy of Sciences (Leningrad) and at the same time the laboratory of semiconductor materials (until 1955).

The Agrophysical Institute, founded in 1932, also appeared with the active assistance of Ioffe, and he managed his brainchild until 1960. In addition, the outstanding physicist helped organize higher educational institutions in Leningrad, as well as in Kharkov, Sverdlovsk and Tomsk.

Most of the theoretical work Russian physicist refers to solid state physics, but general physics he also studied with enthusiasm. Ioffe's contribution to the research of semiconductor materials is invaluable. In the research that formed the basis of his doctoral dissertation in 1905, he developed a solution to the problem of elastic aftereffect in crystals. Many of the physicist's studies are devoted to the photoelectric effect, in which Ioffe calculated the charge of a particle - an electron and showed the static nature of the elementary photoelectric effect. These works date back to 1913.

Despite the fact that Abram Fedorovich enthusiastically studied theoretical materials And scientific literature, he loved to test all assumptions and hypotheses personally. During his life, he conducted hundreds of experiments and experimentally determined that ion permeability in crystals really exists. Using X-rays, he examined plastic deformation. In the process of studying the properties of crystals, he came to the conclusion that their destruction occurs at a certain air temperature and with a specific tensile strength. This observation had great practical significance, since in this way Ioffe determined the real strength of crystals. Since 1922, this discovery of his has been actively used in science and practical developments.

Despite the fact that Ioffe held a leadership position for many years, he did not immerse himself in paperwork and bureaucratic affairs. He devoted every free minute to science, having solved thousands of problems in physics during his life. In the problem of quartz anomalies, he determined that they are inextricably linked with the appearance of volumetric electric charges inside quartz.

Ioffe proved that even an insignificant amount of impurities can affect electrical conductivity dielectrics. He also suggested ways to clean crystals and deal with their increased voltage. Suggested latest materials who had great value for practical development and application of knowledge in the field of electrical engineering.

The scientist wrote many works, including publications related to such topics as the substantiation of the theory of light in experiment (1913). However most The author's works are devoted to solid state physics, semiconductor and dielectric materials. Abram Ioffe was the editor of several academic publications, compiled many monographs and successfully developed textbooks. on his textbooks More than one generation of talented Russian scientists has grown up in physics.

Most famous books Ioffe is “Basic Concepts of Modern Physics,” published in 1949, and “Physics of Semiconductors,” published in 1957.

Greater role for development physical science played by the fact that Ioffe found a solution to the problem of using the thermoelectric and thermoelectric properties of semiconductors. This phenomenon was actively used in experiments and made it possible to convert light and thermal energy into electrical energy. Abram Fedorovich also had a hand in developing the theory of thermoelectric generators and the same kind of refrigerators.

Ioffe founded a school of physicists, in which talented people passionate about science studied. Many of them subsequently achieved great success, and the most outstanding ones received the Nobel Prize for their discoveries - such as L. D. Landau and P. L. Kapitsa.

Abram Ioffe was awarded many titles and prizes, some posthumously (Lenin Prize, 1961). In 1955, the scientist received the star of the Hero of Socialist Labor, as a member of the scientific academies of Boston, Berlin and Göttingen.

Awards and titles

IN popular culture

Addresses in St. Petersburg

(October 17 (29), 1880, Romny, Poltava province - October 14, 1960, Leningrad) - Russian and Soviet physicist, organizer of science, usually called the “father of Soviet physics”, academician (1920), vice-president of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1942-1945 ), the creator of a scientific school that produced many outstanding Soviet physicists, such as A. Alexandrov, M. Bronstein, J. Dorfman, P. Kapitsa, I. Kikoin, B. Konstantinov, I. Kurchatov, N. Semenov, J. Frenkel and other.

Biography

Born in 1880 in the family of a merchant of the second guild, Faivish (Fyodor Vasilyevich) Ioffe, and housewife Rachel Abramovna Weinstein. He received his secondary education at a real school in the city of Romny, Poltava province (1889-1897), where he established friendly relations with Stepan Timoshenko, with whom he maintained contact into adulthood.

1902 - graduated from the St. Petersburg Technological Institute. 1905 - graduated from the University of Munich in Germany, where he worked under the guidance of V. K. Roentgen and received a Ph.D.

From 1906 he worked at the Polytechnic Institute, where in 1918 he organized the Faculty of Physics and Mechanics to train physics engineers. In 1911 he accepted Lutheranism to marry a non-Jewish woman. Professor since 1913.

In 1911, A.F. Ioffe determined the charge of the electron, using the same idea as R. Millikan: in electric and gravitational fields charged metal particles were balanced (in Millikan's experiment - oil droplets). However, Ioffe published this work in 1913 (Milliken published his result a little earlier, so the experiment received his name in world literature).

From 1913 to 1915 he lectured at the Courses of P. F. Lesgaft.

In 1913 he defended his master's thesis and in 1915 his doctoral dissertation in physics. Since 1918 - corresponding member, and since 1920 - full member Russian Academy Sci.

In 1918 he created and headed the physical and technical department at the State Radiological and Radiological Institute, being also the President of this institute (the director was Professor M.I. Nemenov). In 1921 he became director of the Physico-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, created on the basis of the department and now named after him. In 1919-1923 - Chairman of the Scientific and Technical Committee of Petrograd Industry, in 1924-1930 - Chairman of the All-Russian Association of Physicists, from 1932 - Director of the Agrophysical Institute.

Abram Ioffe is one of the initiators of the creation of the House of Scientists in Leningrad (1934). At the beginning Patriotic War appointed Chairman of the Commission on military equipment, in 1942 - chairman of the military and military engineering commission at the Leningrad City Party Committee.

In December 1950, during the campaign to “fight cosmopolitanism,” Ioffe was removed from the post of director and removed from the Academic Council of the institute. In 1952 he headed the laboratory of semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences. In 1954, the Institute of Semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences was organized on the basis of the laboratory.

Author of works on experimental substantiation of the theory of light (1909-1913), solid state physics, dielectrics and semiconductors. Ioffe was the editor of many scientific journals, the author of a number of monographs, textbooks and popular books, including “Basic Concepts of Modern Physics” (1949), “Physics of Semiconductors” (1957) and others.

The greatest merit of A.F. Ioffe is the founder of a unique physical school. The first stage of this activity was the organization in 1916 of a seminar on physics. Ioffe invited young scientists from Polytechnic Institute and St. Petersburg University, who soon became his closest associates in organizing the Physico-Technical Institute. On Ioffe's initiative, starting in 1929, Physicotechnical Institutes were created in large industrial cities: Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Sverdlovsk and Tomsk. Behind his back, both students and other colleagues called Abram Fedorovich “Papa Joffe” with love and respect.

Under the leadership of A.F. Ioffe, future Nobel laureates P.L. began their scientific careers. Kapitsa, N.N. Semenov, L.D. Landau, the greatest scientists A.P. worked. Alexandrov, A.I. Alikhanov, L.A. Artsimovich, M.P. Bronstein, Ya.G. Dorfman, Ya.B. Zeldovich, I.K. Kikoin, B.P. Konstantinov, I.V. Kurchatov, I.E. Tamm (also future laureate Nobel Prize), Ya.I. Frenkel, Yu.B. Khariton and many others.

A.F. Ioffe died in his office on October 14, 1960. He was buried on the Literary Bridge of the Volkov Cemetery; a monument by M. K. Anikushin was erected on his grave.

Awards and titles

• Hero of Socialist Labor (1955).
• Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1933), laureate of the Stalin Prize (1942), Lenin Prize (posthumously, 1961).
• Ioffe was a member of many academies of sciences: Göttingen (1924), Berlin (1928), American Academy of Sciences and Arts (1929), honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina" (1958), Italian Academy of Sciences (1959), honorary doctor of the University of California (1928) , Sorbonne (1945), universities of Graz (1948), Bucharest and Munich (1955).

Memory

• The Ioffe crater on the Moon and the research vessel “Akademik Ioffe” were named in honor of A.F. Ioffe.
• In November 1960, the name of A. F. Ioffe was assigned to the Physico-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences
• In 1964, a monument to A.F. Ioffe was erected in front of the Physicotechnical Institute building. The same bust was installed in the Bolshoi assembly hall Physicotechnical Institute im. A. F. Ioffe.
• Memorial plaques are installed on the buildings where Abram Ioffe worked.
• A street in Adlershof (German) bears the name of A.F. Ioffe. Abram-Joffe Straße).
• October 30, 2001, the area between the main buildings of the Physicotechnical Institute named after. A. F. Ioffe and Polytechnic University, from which Kurchatova Street begins, was given the name Academician Ioffe Square.

In popular culture

The name of Academician Ioffe is known to the broad mass of ordinary workers thanks to V. S. Vysotsky’s song “Morning Gymnastics”:

Addresses in St. Petersburg

• Politekhnicheskaya st., building 26 - Main building of the Physicotechnical Institute named after. A.F. Ioffe, which A.F. Ioffe led until 1950 and where he lived until 1953.
• Kamennoostrovsky prospect, building 47, apt. No. 18 (1953-1956).
• Kutuzov embankment (1956-1960).

IOFFE ABRAM FEDOROVICH

(b. 1880 – d. 1960)

Soviet physicist, organizer of physical research in the USSR, teacher. Academician of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (1916), RAS (1920), USSR Academy of Sciences (its vice-president in 1942–1945), Honored Scientist of the RSFSR (1933), Hero of Socialist Labor (1955). Founder and director (1918–1951) of the Physico-Technical Department of the State Radiological and Radiological Institute, director of the Physico-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, director of the Institute of Semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences (since 1955). His main works are devoted to solid state physics. His work laid the foundation for physics and semiconductor technology. The head of a large school of physicists. Laureate of the Stalin (1942) and Lenin Prizes (1961, posthumously). Author of the biographical book “Meetings with Physicists.”

When it comes to Abram Fedorovich Ioffe, one gets the impression that most major domestic physicists mid-20th century, directly or indirectly, were students of this St. Petersburg academician. Although he was not a Nobel laureate, his contribution to physics and to the creation of the domestic scientific school of physicists is enormous. He practically created a school comparable in level to the schools of E. Rutherford in Cambridge and M. Born in Göttingen. Famous Soviet physicists came out of Ioffe’s school, many of whom themselves became the founders of their own schools: academicians A. P. Aleksandrov, A. I. Alikhanov, L. A. Artsimovich, P. L. Kapitsa, B. P. Konstantinov, G. V. Kurdyumov, I. V. Kurchatov, P. I. Lukirsky, I. V. Obreimov, N. N. Semenov, Yu. B. Khariton; Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences Ya. I. Frenkel, Academicians of the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences A. K. Walter, V. E. Lashkarev, A. I. Leipunsky, K. D. Sinelnikov and many others. Among scientists he was called the “father of Soviet physics” or even “Papa Ioffe.” In many ways, the successes of Soviet physics were predetermined by his personal qualities - his great talent as an experimental physicist, outstanding organizational skills, and the ability to quickly and accurately navigate complex problems new physics, which was born at that time, his amazing flair for the new, which allowed him to understand the significance of nuclear physics already in the 1920s, and in the 1930s - the physics of semiconductors and polymers. Extremely important quality Ioffe's comprehensively gifted personality was the gift of a Teacher and Ioffe's highest responsibility to the country where physics was in its infancy. He raised a new type of physicists - “physically minded” people who could quickly understand the essence of new problems that unexpectedly arise in front of them, and not just have a good knowledge of all the theory and practice of certain established issues of technology.

Abram Fedorovich was born on October 29, 1880 in Romny, Poltava province, into the family of a merchant of the 2nd guild. Since in the small town there was no gymnasium, but only a men’s real school, he entered it. It is noteworthy that Ioffe’s classmate turned out to be S.P. Timoshenko, who later became a prominent mechanic. Abram became interested in physics while still in school. He often emphasized that this did not happen due to the influence of teachers, but rather in spite of it: the level of teaching at the school was very low. The gifted young man dreamed of entering a university, but, as is known, before the revolution, to enter universities it was necessary to know ancient languages, which were taught only in gymnasiums. Therefore, after graduating from real school, Ioffe chose the St. Petersburg Institute of Technology, where, in his opinion, to the greatest extent you could learn physics. Outstanding scientists taught at this institute, in particular I. I. Borgman, N. A. Gezehus, B. L. Rosing. Along with physics, Ioffe worked a lot in the field of its biological applications, which was more than unusual at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, and also did purely engineering work, mainly during summer internship.

In 1902, a graduate of the Institute of Technology, having secured recommendations, went to Munich to gain experience in setting up an experiment to test the resonance theory of smell and sense of smell that he had created during his years at the school. In those years, the best, according to the reviews of St. Petersburg professors, experimental physicist V. K. Roentgen worked there. At first, Abram was an intern and lived on his own funds, and then received a position as an assistant. Between the Nobel Prize laureate and the aspiring physicist, fruitful and most trust relationship. During his years of work in the Roentgen laboratory (1903–1906), Ioffe conducted a series of major studies, among which was an experiment to determine the “energy power” of radium, work on the mechanical and electrical properties of crystals, etc. These studies secured his reputation as a physicist who thought deeply about the mechanisms of the processes he studied and carried out experiments with exceptional accuracy that expanded the understanding of atomic energy. electronic phenomena in solids. Already in his doctoral dissertation, completed in the Roentgen laboratory in Munich, Ioffe showed the skill of an experimenter and solved the important issue of elastic aftereffect in crystals at that time, for which he was awarded a doctorate with highest honors.

In 1906, Abram Fedorovich, refusing Roentgen’s flattering offer to stay to continue research and teaching work in University of Munich, returned to Russia and took a position as a senior laboratory assistant at the St. Petersburg Polytechnic Institute. In 1906–1917, in the physics laboratory of the Ioffe Institute, he performed brilliant work to confirm Einstein’s quantum theory of the external photoelectric effect, prove the granular nature of the electronic charge, and determine the magnetic field of cathode rays. In 1913, after the defense master's thesis, he became an extraordinary professor, and in 1915, having defended his doctoral dissertation, he became a professor in the department of general physics at his institute. For research on the elastic and electrical properties of quartz and some other crystals, the Academy of Sciences awarded him the Prize in 1914. S. A. Ivanova.

In addition to these important studies, Ioffe was engaged in theoretical developments in the area thermal radiation, in which they received further development classical studies of M. Planck. And the results of research on the electrical conductivity of ionic crystals (co-authored with M.V. Milovidova-Kirpicheva) were subsequently, after the end of the First World War, brilliantly reported by him at the Solvay Congress in 1924 and, having caused a lively discussion among its famous participants, they received full recognition. Along with intensive research work, Abram Fedorovich devoted a lot of time and effort to teaching. He lectured not only at the Polytechnic Institute, but also at the well-known courses of P. Lesgaft in the city, at the Mining Institute and at the university. However, the most important thing in this activity of Ioffe was the organization in 1916 of a seminar on new physics at the Polytechnic Institute. It was during these years that Ioffe, first a participant and then the leader of the seminar, developed that remarkable style of conducting such meetings, which created him well-deserved fame and characterized him as the head of the school. Ioffe's seminar at the Polytechnic Institute is rightfully considered the most important center in the field of crystal physics.

In October 1918, on Ioffe’s initiative, a physico-technical department was created at the X-ray and Radiological Institute (soon reorganized into the Physico-Technical Institute), and a year later - a physico-mechanical department at the Polytechnic Institute, of which he was also dean for more than 30 years. The creation of the Institute of Physics and Technology later gave rise to an extensive network of research institutes in physics (15 affiliated institutes, including physics and technology institutes in Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, Tomsk, etc.).

His broad outlook and ability to foresight, his outstanding talent as a scientist and organizer allowed Ioffe to carry out the reform of physics in the USSR, train a large group of physicists, show the importance of physics for technology and national economy. Until 1954, Ioffe was the director of the Physico-Technical Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and then headed the Institute of Semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

The scientific work of A.F. Ioffe in the 1920s was focused on the study of the mechanical and electronic properties of solids; from the beginning of the 1930s, nuclear physics became one of the main directions. The scientist quickly appreciated its future role in the further progress of science and technology. Therefore, nuclear physics has firmly entered the scope of work at the Physicotechnical Institute. At the same time, Ioffe's own scientific work focused on another problem - the problem of the physics of semiconductors as new materials for electronics. He created a method for determining the main parameters characterizing the properties of semiconductors and a system for classifying these materials (1931–1940). These works served as a prerequisite for the development of new areas of semiconductor technology - the creation of thermo- and photoelectric generators and refrigeration devices. In the late 1930s, Ioffe proposed a mechanism for rectifying current in semiconductors, which found application in the production of diodes, and put forward the idea of ​​plasma thermoelectricity. All these works were distinguished by phenomenal scrupulousness and accuracy, as well as an invariable desire to reduce all observed effects into a single harmonious scheme - traits absorbed by all students of Ioffe’s school.

However, the life of the prominent physicist was not cloudless. His fate was affected by all the methods of moral terror, with the help of which the authorities tried to excommunicate many prominent scientists from science. True, Ioffe never conflicted with the authorities, he always emphasized his loyalty and even devotion to the system, which gave him the opportunity to occupy major administrative posts in science and directly influence public policy in this area. But the authorities felt that he was a stranger to them in spirit: firstly, he worked in Munich and absorbed the spirit classical science, not dependent on anything other than the truth. Therefore, he was considered “difficult to manage”, always had own opinion and was not afraid to express it openly. Secondly, Abram Fedorovich, although he had been a member of the CPSU since 1942, did not actively participate in political events. Well, and thirdly, Ioffe was a Jew, and the authorities, especially during the years of the struggle against cosmopolitanism, “forgot” about the fifth point only when they had no choice - without the help of Jewish scientists it was difficult to solve the most important defense problems . Thus, during the war, Ioffe participated in the construction of radar installations in Leningrad, and during the evacuation to Kazan he was the chairman of the Naval and Military Engineering Commissions.

You should at least remember atomic problem or the problem of creating missile weapons. Back in the winter of 1920, in cold and hungry Petrograd, the Atomic Commission was created, in which direct participation A.F. Ioffe also received. He considered it necessary to carry out atomic research quickly and intensively and to put work on atomic physics in special conditions. Center scientific research became the X-ray Institute, and later the Physico-Technical Institute, headed by him. A galaxy of talented researchers united around him. The famous Leningrad Physics and Technology Institute, which today bears the name of Academician Ioffe, was called differently: “Parnassus of new physics”, and “The Mighty Handful”, and even “Papa Ioffe’s Kindergarten”. Academician I.K. Kikoin recalls: “It really was a kindergarten - in the sense that the main force, the main army of the institute’s employees were 1st, 2nd, 3rd year students. They did science at the Physico-Technical Institute, which means they did science - physics - in the country. But the garden must also bear fruit. This Physics and Technology kindergarten has borne fruit, and, I would say, the fruit is not bad. For example, Soviet nuclear technology, atomic energy - this is the fruit of the very garden that Abram Fedorovich Ioffe planted and nurtured.”

The academician had a special nose not only for talent, but he could even predict in which direction this or that scientist would be able to prove himself with the best side. Thus, Abram Fedorovich contributed to the reorientation of I.V. Kurchatov in the early 1930s from ferroelectric to nuclear issues. And when, during the Great Patriotic War, Ioffe, as an unsurpassed scientist-organizer, was offered to lead this direction, he again nominated Kurchatov, who in that difficult year of 1943 was not yet an academician, but served in the navy, dealing with the issues of neutralizing German mines and developing a demagnetization method warships.

Many physicists owe their growth and career to Ioffe, but there were also plenty of envious people. Colleagues at the Academy - Academician V. F. Mitkevich and Corresponding Member A. A. Maksimov - were especially zealous. The latter spared no paper to prove that Abram Fedorovich was “irresponsible.” Soviet citizen" He wrote on the pages of the magazine “Under the Banner of Marxism”: “The self-praise of Academician A.F. Ioffe, who ascribes to himself the merit that belongs to the entire team of Soviet physicists and was achieved under the leadership of the party and government, is a style of boasting, sensationalism, exaggeration, and outright deception.” He was echoed by A.K. Timiryazev, professor of the Faculty of Physics of Moscow State University: “We must hope that the Soviet public will fully reveal where the enemies and where the friends of Soviet physics are, and will appreciate the slanderous statements of Academician. Joffe." This was a direct call for violence. But Ioffe was not arrested either then or later. Apparently, his high international authority and generally loyal position towards the authorities saved him from repression. Nevertheless, the clouds were gathering, especially at the height of the campaign to combat “rootless cosmopolitanism.” The name Joffe was mentioned more and more often among the “rootless”. In October 1950, he was summoned by the President of the USSR Academy of Sciences, S.I. Vavilov, and after a long conversation, he offered to resign as director of the Leningrad Physics and Technology Institute. Abram Fedorovich wrote a statement asking to be relieved of his position as director and transferred to head of the laboratory at the same institute. On December 8, 1950, the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences approved this decision and appointed A.P. Komar director of the LPTI.

However, the situation at the institute remained difficult. The new leadership openly bullied Ioffe, and although he difficult time felt moral support friends and colleagues, his situation sometimes became unbearable. The atmosphere in which Ioffe lived and worked during that period is well conveyed by the history of the discussion of his book “Basic Concepts of Modern Physics” (1949). This was the first post-war book that quite popularly and clearly outlined the foundations of modern physics: the theory of relativity, statistical, atomic and nuclear physics. Readers received it well, and the first scientific reviews were very friendly. But as soon as the rumor spread that Ioffe had been removed from the post of director of the institute, devastating reviews almost simultaneously appeared in special journals, which pointed out “very large ideological breakdowns” (and this in a book on physics!) and the inconsistency of problems with “dialectical materialism” . Naturally, Ioffe made the traditional admission of mistakes. From the perspective today his speech could be considered unprincipled, but who knows what feelings the disgraced academician experienced in those days, what defense tactics he chose?

Ioffe was forced to leave the institute completely. The Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences organized a special semiconductor laboratory for him, allocated staff and premises. In 1950, the scientist developed a theory on the basis of which requirements were formulated for semiconductor materials used in thermopiles and ensuring their maximum efficiency. Following this, in 1951, L. S. Stilbans, under the leadership of A. F. Ioffe and Yu. P. Maslakovets, developed the world's first refrigerator. This marked the beginning of the development of a new field of technology - thermoelectric cooling. The corresponding refrigerators and thermostats are now widely used all over the world to solve a number of problems in radio electronics, instrument making, medicine, space biology and other fields of science and technology.

If you try to compile a list of Abram Fedorovich’s scientific and civic achievements, it will take more than one page. He is the author of numerous monographs, articles, textbooks and a number of memoirs. His last organizational creation was the creation of the Institute of Semiconductors of the USSR Academy of Sciences. And since 1954, the number of publications by the venerable scientist in scientific journals, reflecting his scientific activity, increased sharply. His performance could not but cause surprise and admiration. It is not for nothing that one of A. F. Ioffe’s books on thermoelectricity was called the “Bible on Thermoelectricity.” Abram Fedorovich was a member of many academies of sciences: Gottingen (1924), Berlin (1928), American Academy of Sciences and Arts (1929), honorary member of the German Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina" (1958), Italian Academy of Sciences (1959), honorary doctor of the University of California (1928 ), Sorbonne (1945), universities of Graz (1948), Bucharest and Munich (1955). Twice he was awarded the USSR State Prize (1942, 1961 - posthumously) and was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor (1955).

Abram Fedorovich died on October 14, 1960, two weeks before his 80th birthday, and was buried on the Literary Bridge. The name of the outstanding physicist is immortalized not only in his deeds and the memory of grateful descendants, but also in the name of his favorite brainchild - the Physicotechnical Institute. A. B. Ioffe, in front of whose building there is a monument to his creator - “Papa Ioffe”.