Alexander Prokhorov

Biography

Alexander Mikhailovich Prokhorov was born on July 11, 1916, in Atherton, Australia, to Russian revolutionary emigres who had fled from tsarist persecution. After the Russian Revolution, his family returned to the Soviet Union, where Prokhorov spent most of his life conducting research that brought him international fame. He studied physics at Saint Petersburg State University, graduating in 1939, before continuing his research at the Lebedev Physical Institute in Moscow. He married Galina Shelepina, and they had one son.

Prokhorov's scientific work was interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Soviet military. He was wounded twice and received several military awards, including the Medal for Courage and the Medal for the Victory over Germany. After the war, he returned to the Lebedev Physical Institute, completed his doctoral dissertation, and began his work in microwave spectroscopy, which became his lasting legacy.

Together with Nikolay Basov at the Lebedev Physical Institute, Prokhorov laid the groundwork for amplifying electromagnetic waves through stimulated emission of radiation. This research, done independently but parallel to American physicist Charles Hard Townes, led to the development of the maser in the early 1950s. Prokhorov and Basov were acknowledged for their work when they, along with Townes, received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964. They were recognized for their work in quantum electronics, which led to the creation of devices based on maser and laser principles.

In addition to his work on masers and lasers, Prokhorov contributed significantly to nonlinear optics, the study of open resonators, and the development of new types of lasers using crystals and semiconductors. He was the director of the General Physics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and taught at Moscow State University. He also edited the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, showing his wide-ranging interests beyond his main focus of research. He received the Lenin Prize in 1959 and the USSR State Prize in 1980, among many other accolades.

Prokhorov continued to work and publish research well into his later years. In 1996, he was awarded the Order for Merit to the Fatherland, 2nd class, recognizing his lasting contributions to Russian science. He passed away in Moscow on January 8, 2002, at the age of 85, leaving behind a profound impact on modern physics and technology.