Alumni of the School of Physics and Technology - Its Matter of Proud

Abstract

Recently, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University celebrated two memorable events. 65 years ago, nuclear physicists graduated from the University for the first time. 50 years ago, School of Physics and Technology was established on the base of the Department of nuclear Physics. 2872 young people have graduated from the School since that time. If the alumni of the Department of Nuclear Physics are taken into account then total number of the nuclear alumni is 3428. 733 alumni graduated from the School with diplomas with distinction. 78 persons more graduated with such diplomas from the Department. Among the nuclear alumni there are over one thousand Doctors and Candidates of Science, 28 Academicians and Corresponding Members of the Academy of Sciences, Hero of Socialist Labor O.I. Pavlovsky, Hero of Ukraine V.G. Baryakhtar, authors of three inventions which were registered in the Soviet register of inventions, directors of the largest research institutions and enterprises, heads of physical laboratories all over the Ukraine and abroad, well-known political figures and managers of science. More than one hundred alumni are laureates of different prizes: State Prizes of USSR, Ukrainian and other Republics, Prizes of Academies. What is the secret of such a high efficiency in educating the specialists? The answer is simple: the secret consists in so-called "fiztech" system of education that was introduced from the very first days of functioning of the Department of Nuclear Physics. This system is based on the fundamental education in Mathematics and Physics as well as on including of the students into real research carried out in physical institutions (first of all - national Science Center "Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology") for which the School prepares the specialists. Leading researchers of these institutes give lectures on special issues, supervise the students' research projects. Students start to carry out the research on the third-fourth year. Experimental equipment of the institutes is available for the students' research, for the BSc and MSc thesis preparation, for the industrial practice, etc.  In the paper below, one can find biographical data on the most outstanding alumni of the Department of Nuclear Physics and School of Physics and Technology, which had become Academicians. We hope, it will be interesting for those indifferent persons and, especially, for the youth.