Anna Gelman facts for kids

Anna Dmitrievna Gelman (born Nikitin) was a smart Soviet and Russian chemist and engineer. She lived from 1902 to 1991. Anna Gelman made many important discoveries in chemistry. She was the first to create special alkene compounds with platinum. She also found new forms of elements like plutonium and other actinides. Her work helped make radionuclides, which are used in many fields.

Early Life and Education

Anna Gelman was born on February 18, 1902, in Biysk, a town in Siberia. Her mother was a seamstress, and her father worked with wood. When Anna was seven, her father passed away. She helped her mother care for her three younger siblings.

Anna started school at age eight and was a very good student. She even got a special certificate for her excellent grades. She went to Biysk Women's High School. Because she studied so hard, she didn't have to pay school fees.

She finished high school in 1921. However, her education wasn't enough to get into Tomsk University. This university was about 450 kilometers (280 miles) away. For two years, Anna taught at an orphanage in Tomsk. During this time, she also studied on her own.

Later, she was accepted into a one-year course in Leningrad. This city was very far from her home, about 3400 kilometers (2100 miles). In Leningrad, she married August Ansovich Gelman, who was a border guard. After that, she lived and taught in different border areas of Siberia and Central Asia.

Starting Her Chemistry Career

In 1928, Anna moved to the Crimea for health reasons. In 1930, she began studying at the Crimean Pedagogical Institute. She focused on chemistry and also worked at a bromine factory in Saki.

Her husband died in the spring of 1932. That autumn, she graduated from the institute. She was advised to continue her studies at the Leningrad Pedagogical Institute. She passed the entrance exams for postgraduate studies.

The course leader, I.I. Chernyaev, told her she had the knowledge. But he thought she was too old for science at 30. Anna was upset by this comment. Because of her strong reaction, Chernyaev decided to take her on as his student.

From 1932 to 1936, she was a graduate student. She also worked as a senior researcher. This was at the Institute of National Economy and Leningrad State University. In 1934, she published her first work. It was about aviation materials.

From 1936 to 1938, she was a part-time assistant professor. She taught inorganic chemistry at the university. In 1938, Chernyaev invited her to Moscow. She became a doctoral student there. She earned her Ph.D. in 1941. She then worked as a senior researcher until 1949.

Key Discoveries and Contributions

Anna Gelman was the first to find ways to create special ethylene compounds with platinum. Her doctoral work in 1941 explained how ethylene reacted with platinum salts. She discovered new platinum compounds using other substances like propylene and butene.

During World War II, the Academy of Sciences moved to Kazan. In 1943, Anna received a telegram from Joseph Stalin himself. He thanked her for her support of Soviet forces. Her doctoral research was published as a book in 1945. After the war, she received the Order of the Badge of Honour. This was for her important scientific work. She continued her research on platinum-alkene compounds. These compounds were later used in a process called homogeneous catalysis.

Working with Plutonium

In 1945, Chernyaev asked Gelman to work on isolating uranium and thorium compounds. Then, in 1947, she worked on separating plutonium from uranium. At that time, plutonium was very new and hard to get in the Soviet Union.

Anna Gelman and her colleague L.N. Essen found clever ways to work around this. They used other elements to act like plutonium. This helped them develop a method to purify plutonium. This method was tested at a special institute. It was then used at a large plutonium production plant. The goal was to produce pure plutonium dioxide.

Gelman worked at this plant until 1951. The staff, many of whom were young graduates, faced health risks. This was because safety procedures were still being developed. Plant workers sometimes got sick from breathing in tiny particles of radioactive materials. Anna Gelman and her colleagues created the first safety rules for handling plutonium. They won state awards in 1949 and 1951 for their work.

Later Research and Discoveries

In 1952, Gelman returned to Moscow. She brought 50 grams of plutonium dioxide for researchers to use. This plutonium helped students with their doctoral studies. These students later became important researchers at the plutonium plant. Anna also became a part-time deputy chief at the plant.

She married Boris Musrukov, who was the director of the plant. He later became a major-general. In 1955, he became the director of Arzamas-16. This was a secret city known for its scientific work. Anna raised his two children. After they separated, his daughter Elena stayed with Anna.

In 1954, Anna Gelman moved to a new "hot" laboratory. This lab was for studying radioactive elements. She became the director of this lab. She invited colleagues to join her research on transuranium elements. She stayed at this lab for the rest of her career.

Her team studied different actinides. They published their research internationally. In 1967, Gelman and her students N.N. Krot and M.P. Mefod'eva made a big discovery. They found new forms of plutonium and neptunium. Gelman and Krot later received a State Prize for this discovery.

Anna Gelman kept in touch with her old workplaces. She also connected with other research centers. These included the Mayak plutonium plant and others in Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. Her work continued to improve ways to isolate plutonium and neptunium salts.

In 1971, Gelman suggested that N.N. Krot, then 38, take over as laboratory director. She remained in a consulting role. Anna Gelman passed away on March 29, 1991, in Moscow. She was buried in Novokuntsevo cemetery.

Awards

• 1949: State Prize of the USSR, Order of the Red Banner of Labour, D.I. Mendeleev award.
• 1951: Council of Ministers Prize.
• 1982: D.I. Mendeleev award (with N.N. Krot and F.A. Sakharov)
• 1984: State Prize of the USSR.