To 75th Birthday of Prof. Nikolay V. Novikov, Academician of the National Academy of Ukraine
On April 10, 2007 Prof. Nikolay V. Novikov, Dr. Sci. (Eng.), Academician of the National Academy of Ukraine, Honoured Scientist and Technologist of Ukraine, Director of the V. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, will celebrate his 75th birthday and 52 years of his scientific and pedagogical activities.
Prof. N. Novikov is a scientist known by his works in mechanics of solids, materials science, technologies of mechanical engineering, and machining. In 2000 he received a Diploma of the International Academy Contenant for his scientific works in high technology.
In 1954 he graduated with honors from the Kiev Polytechnical Institute as a mechanical engineer, then worked as a lecturer and studied at the post-graduate courses. In 1958 N.V. Novikov defended his Cand. Sci. dissertation and worked at the Institute of Metalloceramics and Special Alloys of the UkrSSR Academy of Sciences. He was an active follower of the scientific school of G.S. Pisarenko, a Full Member of the Acedemy of Sciences of UkrSSR, and one of the organizers of the Institute of the Problems of Strength of the UkrSSR Academy of Sciences (1966), which is now named after Academician Pisarenko. From 1968 to 1977 Nikolay V. Novikov worked at the Institute as a head of a department and Deputy Director of Science. He was an active participant of the creation of a modern research base to study properties of structural materials at the Institute. New methods to assess the failure conditions, durability and reliability of devices and equipment, means of automatization of experiments were developed. For the development and application of new materials in the construction of the “Lunokhod” and other special equipment, Nikolay V. Novikov was awarded by the State Prize of the UkrSSR (1973).
In 1975 he defended his Doctor Science (Engineering) dissertation. The results of his studies of that period were reported in more than 100 scientific papers, including 6 books, and republished in USA, FRG, Poland and Germany. The collective book in two volumes “Strength of materials and constructions under extreme conditions” was awarded with a USSR State Prize in 1982.
Since 1977 up to now Dr. Sci. (Eng.) N.V. Novikov has worked as the Director of the Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Under his guidance the Institute has become a world-known science and technology center. The Institute members win grants and contracts for research projects from home and foreign companies and organizations, which make it possible to conduct fundamental studies in the material science of superhard materials in cooperation with foreign colleagues on unique devices in laboratories of France, Germany, USA and Japan. The research results are published in the world-leading journals.
Under supervision and with personal participation of N.V. Novikov, the theoretical principles of the superhard materials synthesis at extremely high pressures and temperatures, science-based methods to predict the fracture resistance of diamond-containing composite materials and high strength ceramics when operated in tools and products, new highly efficient technological processes have been developed at the Institute for Superhard Materials.
During these years new examples of ultrahigh pressure technique, new grades of high-strength thermostable diamonds, diamond polycrystals and composites have been developed; a novel superhard material – boron carbonitride – and the data on its physico-mechanical properties have been obtained.
For the first time the methods for assessing the strength and fracture toughness, for microtesting small diamond and cubic boron nitride single crystals have been theoretically substantiated and developed. Procedures for nanotesting of many compounds have been devised, in particular those using nanoindentation and tunneling microscopy.
A lot of credit go to N.V. Novikov for the development of new promising lines of the modern Materials Science: synthesis of large high-strength variously colored diamond crystals, synthesis of cBN; studies of the material behavior at ultrahigh pressures in diamond anvils; preparation of diamond and diamond-like films and coatings, high-temperature ceramics; applications of superhard materials in structural elements, electronics and space engineering. The methods of computer-aided modeling and nanotechnologies are widely used in studies of superhard materials. For his contributions to diamond synthesis, Prof. N.V. Novikov received the I.N. Frantsevich Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1996).
For the achievements in the development of new production technologies of superhard materials and tools made of them as well as technologies of using these tools in metalworking, rock destruction and other industries, N.V. Novikov was rewarded with the State Prizes in Science and Technology of the USSR (1981) and Ukraine (1996).
Prof. Novikov always gives much attention to training young scientists. For the years of his work at the Institute for Superhard Materials 40 scientists have been conferred their doctoral and 269 researchers their candidate of sciences degrees. 12 doctoral and 38 candidate dissertations have been written and defended under his direct supervision. For 22 years he headed a Specialized Academic Council of the Institute for conferment of academic degrees of Dr. and Cand. Sci. (Eng.) and for 6 years he has headed the Expert Council of the Higher Attesting Commission (VAK) of Ukraine in General Engineering and 20 other technical specialities.
N.V. Novikov is the author and co-author of more than 920 scientific publications, among which 16 books and 170 patents and USSR Author’s Certificates of inventions. He was the editor of 37 books.
For his scientific achievements Prof. N.V. Novikov was awarded with the State Prizes in science and technology of the UkrSSR, USSR and Ukraine (1973, 1981, 1996). He is a laureate of the Prizes of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine named after the prominent Ukrainian scientists E.O. Paton (1983) and I.N. Frantsevich (1996), a Honorary Professor and Doctor of Sciences of the National Technical University “Kharkov Polytechnical Institute” (1995, 1999) and a Honorary Doctor of Sciences of the National Technical University “Kiev Polytechnical Institute” (1998), of Technological Universities of Podoliya (2001), Zhenzhou (China, 2002) and Zhitomir (2004).
For his contribution to the progress of science, N.V. Novikov, Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, was awarded with the State Awards of Ukraine: the Order for Services of the Third Class (1998), the Order of Yaroslav the Wise of the Fifth Class (2002) and other orders, medals, and honorary decorations. The International Biography Center (Cambridge, UK) acknowledged him as a “Man of Achievements” (1994), awarded with a silver medal and a Diploma The 20th Century Award for Achievement (1995); his name was included into the book of 2000 prominent scientists of the 20th Century (1998). He was decorated with the gold World Lifetime Achievement Award by American Biographical Institute (1995), gold Order of Cyril and Methody (Bulgaria (1985),
Order of the Saint Nikolay Wonder-Worker of the International Foundation for Increasing Good on the Earth (1998), medals of Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria. In 2006 N.V. Novikov was rewarded with an International Socratus Award (Oxford, UK) and a Top Manager of Ukraine Diploma of a Laureate of the All-Ukrainian Contest of successful managers.
Under the guidance of Prof. N.V. Novikov the V.N. Bakul Institute for Superhard Materials of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has received a number of international prizes, including Golden Mercury for international cooperation and export of products (Addis Ababa, 1982); the Arch of Europe Gold Star for immeasurable contribution to the business world, for high standing and professionalism demonstrated by prestigious performance (Madrid, 1998); the SPI Gold Medal (Paris, 2000); the Odysseus Diploma from the “Kontenant” International Academy for the outstanding achievements in technology (Moscow, 2000), and the SPI Gold Medal of the International Association for Assistance to National Industry for production-commercial achievements (Paris, 2000).