Ekaterina Feoktistova facts for kids
Ekaterina Alekseevna Feoktistova (born March 18, 1915 – died January 5, 1987) was a brilliant scientist from the Soviet Union. She was a talented chemist, engineer, physicist, and an expert in explosives. From 1947 until she retired, she worked on the top-secret Soviet atomic bomb project, even leading her own laboratory starting in 1952.
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A Young Scientist's Journey
When she was 18, Ekaterina started her career as a chemist at a textile factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine. She loved learning and continued her studies at Kharkov State University in 1934. The next year, she went to the Kiev Industrial Institute. In 1937, she moved to a special department at the Leningrad Chemical and Technological Institute. She graduated with top honors, earning a "red diploma" as an engineer-technologist. She even enrolled in a higher degree program while working as a research assistant. During these busy years, she also found time to fly planes and make exciting parachute jumps!
Working During Wartime
When Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in 1941, Ekaterina had to move to Sverdlovsk. There, she worked as an engineer at a scientific mining group in the Urals. In 1942, she became a senior engineer at a factory that made armaments. The next year, she moved to a special design office in Kuntsevo, near Moscow.
After the war in 1945, she returned to the Leningrad Institute as a research officer. She continued her studies and became a senior research officer. She earned her Ph.D. degree in 1947.
Joining the Secret Project
In December 1947, Ekaterina was sent to work at a very secret nuclear research facility called KB-11. This place was also known as Arzamas-16. Today, it is called the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics (VNIIEF).
At KB-11, she worked in Laboratory No. 2, led by a famous explosives researcher named Alexandr Belyaev. Her work involved studying TNT and RDX, which are types of explosives used in the first Soviet nuclear bombs. Her important contributions earned her a special state prize in 1950. In 1951 and 1952, she led a team that experimented with powerful magnetic fields and electric currents created by explosives. This research was based on ideas from the brilliant nuclear bomb designer Andrei Sakharov.
Leading a Laboratory
Ekaterina Feoktistova became a laboratory chief in 1952. In June 1955, her laboratory officially moved to a new nuclear research center called NII-1011 in Chelyabinsk-70 (now known as Snezhinsk). However, she stayed at KB-11 until 1958. During this time, she studied how explosives were affected by radiation from a nuclear reactor. She was one of the last scientists to move to NII-1011.
In the early 1960s, her research focused on improving the explosives used in nuclear weapons. She helped develop a new type of explosive called HMX (or octogen). This new material greatly increased the energy released by nuclear weapons. It was first tested with a small nuclear charge on October 21, 1968.
In 1969, she earned a higher degree, a Doctor of Science Ph.D., which is a very high academic achievement in the Soviet system. Even after she officially retired in 1979, she continued to work as a senior researcher at NII-1011. She trained many young student researchers and was a member of important committees that decided on new explosive materials and awarded Ph.D. degrees.
Ekaterina Feoktistova passed away in Snezhinsk in 1987.
Awards and Honors
Ekaterina Feoktistova received many important awards for her groundbreaking work:
- 1950: USSR Council of Ministers prize.
- 1952: Order of the Red Banner of Labour.
- 1956: Order of Lenin.
- 1951 & 1953: Stalin Prize (twice!).
- 1970: USSR State Prize.
- 1975: She was made a Freeman of Snezhinsk, which is a special honor from the city.
See also
In Spanish: Ekaterina Feoktistova para niños
