Published on: 2026-04-15
Source: Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University of Peter the Great –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
On April 15, it was the 130th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding scientist, the first Soviet laureate of the Nobel Prize named after Nikolay Nikolaevich Semyonov.
Nikolay Semyonov was born on April 15, 1896, in Saratov. Graduating with honors from the Samara Real School, he entered the mathematics department of the physics and mathematics faculty of Saint Petersburg University. Even during his student years, fate brought him together with Abram Fedorovich Ioffe: the latter recognized the talent of the young researcher and invited him to the physics laboratory of the Saint Petersburg Polytechnic Institute.
In March 1917, Semyonov graduated with honors from the university and continued to work in the physics department, maintaining connections with the Polytechnic. He became an active participant in the famous Ioffe seminar in the “Experimental Physics” department, and in 1919 helped the mentor establish the physics and mechanics faculty. From 1920, Nikolai Nikolaevich began teaching at the Polytechnic Institute, progressing from associate professor to professor and dean of the physics and mechanics faculty (1928–1930). Nikolai Semyonov worked at the Polytechnic until 1941. In memory of the great scientist, an assembly hall in the Research Building was named after him.
In the 1920s of the last century, alongside working at the Polytechnic Institute, Semen Ioffe headed the laboratory of electronic phenomena at the Physical-Technical Institute upon invitation. Here, under his wing, future academicians grew — V. N. Kondratyev and Y. B. Khariton. In 1927, they jointly published the book “Electronic Phenomena,” which summarized global achievements in the application of new physical concepts to the problems of chemical structure. This became an important milestone in the formation of chemical physics as an independent scientific discipline.
In 1922, Nikolay Semyonov became the deputy director of FTI, and his laboratory turned into a chemical-physical sector. In 1931, based on it, the Institute of Chemical Physics was created. Nikolay Nikolaevich headed it practically until the end of his life, turning it into one of the leading centers of science.
A key direction of Semyonov’s research since the mid-1920s became the study of chain reactions. Using the example of the oxidation of phosphorus vapors at low pressure, the scientist and his colleagues first identified the regularities of branched chain processes. In the work “Towards the Theory of Combustion Processes,” he thoroughly revealed the mechanism of these phenomena, laying the foundation of the most important kinetic theory. It became the basis for the development of many industrial chemical processes.
In 1929, Nikolay Semyonov was elected a corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, and in 1932 — a full member.
The pinnacle of Semenov’s achievements was the awarding to him and the Oxford University professor Cyril Hinshelwood in 1956 of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry “For research on the mechanism of chemical reactions.” This discovery is considered one of the greatest of the 20th century. Nikolay Nikolaevich became the first Soviet scientist — the holder of this prestigious award and the only one — in the field of chemistry. On December 11, 1956, in Stockholm, Nikolay Semenov gave a Nobel lecture “On some problems of chain reactions and the theory of combustion.”
The scientific schools of Semenov and Hinshelwood in the 1940s–1970s confirmed and developed the theory of branched-chain reactions; established the connection between the structure of substances and the characteristics of their reactions; clarified the role of inhibitors and catalysts; proved the applicability of the theory to polymerization reactions, nuclear processes, and uranium fission.
Among Semenov’s other outstanding achievements is the theory of thermal explosion and combustion of gas mixtures, along with the method of measuring the magnetic moment of an atom in a nonuniform magnetic field, developed jointly with Pyotr Kapitsa.
The merits of Nikolai Nikolaevich were highly appreciated both in our country and abroad. He was twice Hero of Socialist Labor, laureate of two Stalin and Lenin Prizes, awarded nine Orders of Lenin, Orders of the October Revolution and the Red Banner of Labor, a gold medal named after M. V. Lomonosov — the highest award of the Academy of Sciences.
The authority of Nikolai Nikolaevich is recognized worldwide. He was elected as a member and honorary member of numerous academies and scientific societies, including the English Chemical Society, the London Royal Society, the German Academy “Leopoldina”, the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, the French Academy of Sciences, the academies of sciences of Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, India, and the New York Academy of Sciences. He became an honorary doctor of eight foreign universities.
Semyonov educated many outstanding scientists, among whom were academicians V. N. Kondratyev, N. M. Emanuel, Yu. B. Khariton, and Ya. B. Zeldovich. His legacy continues to inspire new generations of researchers, reminding us that genuine science knows no boundaries—neither disciplinary nor geographical.
Please note; This information is raw content received directly from the information source. It represents an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.