PHYSICISTS from Ukraine

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Ukrainian Physicists of all time. This list of famous Ukrainian Physicists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Ukrainian Physicists.

1. George Gamow (1904 - 1968)

With an HPI of 68.83, George Gamow is the most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 56 different languages on wikipedia.

George Gamow (sometimes Gammoff; born Georgiy Antonovich Gamov; Russian: Георгий Антонович Гамов; 4 March 1904 – 19 August 1968) was a Soviet and American polymath, theoretical physicist and cosmologist. He was an early advocate and developer of Georges Lemaître's Big Bang theory. Gamow discovered a theoretical explanation of alpha decay by quantum tunneling, invented the liquid drop model and the first mathematical model of the atomic nucleus, worked on radioactive decay, star formation, stellar nucleosynthesis, Big Bang nucleosynthesis (which he collectively called nucleocosmogenesis), and molecular genetics. In his middle and late career, Gamow directed much of his attention to teaching and wrote popular books on science, including One Two Three... Infinity and the Mr Tompkins series of books (1939–1967). Some of his books remain in print more than a half-century after their original publication.

2. Georges Charpak (1924 - 2010)

With an HPI of 66.53, Georges Charpak is the 2nd most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 70 different languages.

Georges Charpak (French: [ʃaʁpak]; born Jerzy Charpak, (1 August 1924 – 29 September 2010) was a Polish-born French physicist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1992.

3. Moshé Feldenkrais (1904 - 1984)

With an HPI of 59.91, Moshé Feldenkrais is the 3rd most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Moshé Pinchas Feldenkrais (Hebrew: משה פנחס פלדנקרייז, May 6, 1904 – July 1, 1984) was a Ukrainian-Israeli engineer and physicist, known as the founder of the Feldenkrais Method. Feldenkrais' theory is that "thought, feeling, perception and movement are closely interrelated and influence each other."

4. Abram Ioffe (1880 - 1960)

With an HPI of 57.51, Abram Ioffe is the 4th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Abram Fedorovich Ioffe (Russian: Абра́м Фёдорович Ио́ффе, IPA: [ɐˈbram ˈfʲɵdərəvʲɪtɕ ɪˈofɛ]; 29 October [O.S. 17 October] 1880 – 14 October 1960) was a prominent Soviet physicist. He received the Stalin Prize (1942), the Lenin Prize (1960) (posthumously), and the Hero of Socialist Labor (1955). Ioffe was an expert in various areas of solid state physics and electromagnetism. He established research laboratories for radioactivity, superconductivity, and nuclear physics, many of which became independent institutes.

5. Evgeny Lifshitz (1915 - 1985)

With an HPI of 53.95, Evgeny Lifshitz is the 5th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Evgeny Mikhailovich Lifshitz (Ukrainian: Євге́н Миха́йлович Лі́фшиць, Russian: Евге́ний Миха́йлович Ли́фшиц; 21 February 1915 – 29 October 1985) was a leading Soviet physicist and brother of the physicist Ilya Lifshitz.

6. Ivan Puluj (1845 - 1918)

With an HPI of 53.08, Ivan Puluj is the 6th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Ivan Pavlovych Puluj (Ukrainian: Іван Павлович Пулюй, pronounced [iˈwɑn pʊˈlʲuj]; German: Johann Puluj; 2 February 1845 – 31 January 1918) was a Ukrainian physicist and inventor who discovered X-rays independently of Wilhelm Röntgen. His contributions were largely neglected until the end of the 20th century.

7. Anatoly Alexandrov (1903 - 1994)

With an HPI of 52.32, Anatoly Alexandrov is the 7th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Anatoly Petrovich Aleksandrov (Russian: Анатолий Петрович Александров, 13 February 1903 – 3 February 1994) was a Russian physicist who played a crucial and centralizing role in the former Soviet program of nuclear weapons. During his lifetime, Aleksandrov was the recipient of many honors, civil citations, and state awards for this work and was also the director of the Kurchatov Institute and the President of the Soviet Academy of Sciences from 1975 until 1986.

8. Dmitri Ivanenko (1904 - 1994)

With an HPI of 51.44, Dmitri Ivanenko is the 8th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Dmitri Dmitrievich Ivanenko (Ukrainian: Дмитро́ Дми́трович Іване́нко, Russian: Дми́трий Дми́триевич Иване́нко; July 29, 1904 – December 30, 1994) was a Soviet theoretical physicist of Ukrainian origin who made great contributions to the physical science of the twentieth century, especially to nuclear physics, field theory, and gravitation theory. He worked in the Poltava Gravimetric Observatory of the Institute of Geophysics of NAS of Ukraine, was the head of the Theoretical Department Ukrainian Physico-Technical Institute in Kharkiv, Head of the Department of Theoretical Physics of the Kharkiv Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Professor of University of Kharkiv, Professor of Moscow State University (since 1943).

9. Matvei Bronstein (1906 - 1938)

With an HPI of 50.64, Matvei Bronstein is the 9th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Matvei Petrovich Bronstein (Russian: Матве́й Петро́вич Бронште́йн, December 2 [O.S. November 19] 1906 – February 18, 1938) was a Soviet theoretical physicist, a pioneer of quantum gravity, author of works in astrophysics, semiconductors, quantum electrodynamics and cosmology, as well as of a number of books in popular science for children. He was married to Lydia Chukovskaya, a writer and human rights activist.

10. Vladimir Veksler (1907 - 1966)

With an HPI of 50.41, Vladimir Veksler is the 10th most famous Ukrainian Physicist.  His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.

Vladimir Iosifovich Veksler (Russian: Владимир Иосифович Векслер; Ukrainian: Володимир Йосипович Векслер; March 4, 1907 – September 22, 1966) was a prominent Soviet experimental physicist.