Georgy Nikolaevich
Flyorov
1913-1990
Georgy Nikolaevich Flyorov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, an initiator of the Soviet atomic project, an Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1971), and a Hero of Socialist Labour (1949). He received the Lenin Prize (1967) and three USSR State Prizes (1946, 1949, 1975). Flyorov is known as a co‑discoverer of the spontaneous fission of uranium nuclei (1940) and as the founder of the scientific field devoted to the synthesis of new heavy and superheavy elements. He was born on 17 February (2 March) 1913 in Rostov‑on‑Don. Flyorov graduated from the Leningrad Polytechnic Institute in 1938, where he began his scientific career under the supervision of I.V. Kurchatov. In 1940, together with K.A. Petrzhak, he discovered spontaneous fission of uranium nuclei – a major fundamental finding in nuclear physics. In 1941 Flyorov volunteered for military service and flew as an attack pilot in the 74th Attack Aviation Regiment. In 1942, while at the front, he wrote to I.V. Stalin, noting the sudden halt of publications on nuclear topics abroad and arguing for the immediate start of work in the USSR to develop an atomic bomb. That letter helped accelerate the launch of the Soviet atomic project. In 1943 he was recalled from the front and joined Laboratory № 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences (the future I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy). He took part in developing the first Soviet atomic bomb, working on methods for neutron initiation of a chain reaction. In the postwar period Flyorov turned to heavy‑ion physics. In 1957 he was among the founders and became the first director of the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Dubna, a position he held until his death. Under his leadership, unique heavy‑ion accelerators were built in Dubna and a scientific school for synthesizing new elements was established. At the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions, elements with atomic numbers 102 through 107 were synthesized for the first time. In 1999 element 114 was named flerovium (Fl) in his honor. Flyorov authored more than 200 scientific publications. His awards include three Orders of Lenin, the Order of the October Revolution, two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour, and the Orders of the Patriotic War (1st and 2nd class), among other state decorations. He died on 19 November 1990 in Dubna and was buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow. A street in Dubna and the Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions at JINR bear his name.
Address: Moscow, Akademika Flerova St.
