Evgeny Alekseevich
Chudakov
1890-1953
Evgeny Alekseevich Chudakov was a Soviet scientist and educator, a leading specialist in mechanical engineering and automotive technology, an Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and a two-time laureate of the Second-Degree Stalin Prize (1943, 1951). He was born in the village of Sergiyevskoye, Tula Province. In mid-1918, he proposed to the Supreme Council of the National Economy (VSNKh) the creation of a specialized research organization for the automotive industry. The proposal was approved, and already in November of the same year, a group of specialists led by Chudakov organized the Scientific Automotive Laboratory (NAL) under the VSNKh. On its basis, the Scientific Automobile and Engine Institute (NAMI) was founded in 1921, tasked with solving key problems of automotive engineering: designing new models of vehicles and engines, and researching materials and technologies. Throughout NAMI’s existence, Evgeny Alekseevich was one of its leaders, holding the position of deputy director for scientific work. The theoretical and experimental research conducted by Chudakov at NAL and NAMI formed the basis for a new scientific discipline – the theory of the automobile. He was the first to teach courses on automotive engineering at the Moscow Higher Technical School (MVTU), where he also established a specialized department. From 1932, following the opening of the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army in Moscow, he headed its automotive department for ten years. After being elected a Corresponding Member (1933) and then a Full Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1939), Chudakov’s scientific activities expanded significantly, moving beyond automotive topics. He took on general issues of developing mechanical engineering and machine science, studying the country’s productive forces, and problems of scientific organization. During the period of the USSR Academy of Sciences’ relocation to Moscow, he actively participated in organizing and leading the Commission on Machine Science (1935-1938) and in founding the academic Institute of Machine Science, becoming its director from its very establishment. For more than three years, Chudakov served as Vice-President of the Academy of Sciences, making significant contributions to the development of technical sciences and the implementation of scientific achievements in the national economy. As a member of the Council for Scientific and Technical Expertise of the USSR State Planning Committee (Gosplan), he actively participated in developing and implementing plans for introducing new technology into various branches of mechanical engineering. In 1944, Evgeny Alekseevich chaired the Editorial Board for the preparation of the country’s first encyclopedic reference book, “Mechanical Engineering” (Mashinostroyeniye). This fundamental 15-volume publication was prepared in a remarkably short time – just a few years. For major scientific works in the field of mechanical engineering, E.A. Chudakov was twice awarded the Stalin Prize (1943, 1951). He was also awarded two Orders of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner of Labour, and several medals.
Address: Moscow, Bolshaya Semyonovskaya str., 38
