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Death NoticeVictor Grigorievich Lifshits21 July 1941 - 20 July 2005 Published on 29 November 2005 Current comments and reminiscences on Lifshits:Victor Grigorievich Lifshits, a distinguished scientist in the field of semiconductor surfaces, a Corresponding (Associate) Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) died suddenly of a heart attack in Vladivostok on 20 July, 2005. Born in Kharkov, Ukraine on 21 July, 1941, Victor attended Kharkov State University, graduating in 1964 with a M.S. degree in solid-state physics. From there, he went to the Institute of Nuclear Physics at the Kazakh Academy of Sciences in Alma-Ata, where he stayed for 10 years and ultimately obtained his PhD in X-ray spectroscopy of solids in 1973. In 1975, Professor Philip G. Staros, who had recently moved from Moscow to Vladivostok to build a new laboratory for artificial intelligence at the RAS Institute of Automation and Control Processes, invited Victor to join his laboratory. Upon Staros untimely death, Victor oversaw the creation of the new laboratory to completion. From his initial focus on X-ray spectroscopy of solids, Victor turned his attention to the study of surface phenomena in single crystals of silicon. In 1985, Victor received a DSc degree from the Novosibirsk Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Branch of RAS. In 1986, Victor became Professor at the University of the Far East. In 1997, he created a new Faculty of Physics and Technology at the University, and served as Dean of the Faculty until his death. Victor was a man of great pedagogical talent, and teaching future researchers was one of the most important aspects of his scientific career. In 1989, he organized and became head of the Science and Technology Center of Semiconductor Microelectronics. More than 25 PhD theses had been written in the Center under Victor s supervision, and 10 of his PhD students had themselves gone on to obtain advanced DSc degrees. Working with his students and colleagues, Victor had discovered more than twenty new surface phases, and developed principles and new methods for growth of multilayered microstructures with embedded and buried surface phases. Co-adsorption of active adsorbates, growth kinetics of stable surface phases, their crystal structures and conducting properties were amongst the subjects studied in great depth. Some of these results were summarized in Victor s monograph Surface phases on silicon (Wiley, Chichester, UK, 1994), written together with two of his colleagues, A.A. Saranin and A.V. Zotov. This work brought him instant recognition in the surface science community. In 1997, Victor was elected a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and soon became a Member of the RAS Science Council on Semiconductor Physics. Victor received a number of awards for his achievements, including the Russian Federation State Prize in Science and Technology, and the title of Honorary Scientist of Russia. In recent years, Victor wrote a series of important reviews including the well-known Metallic Adsorbates on Semiconductor Surfaces (V. G. Lifshits, K. Oura, A. A. Saranin, A. V. Zotov, Landolt-Boernstain Series, 2001), and a course of surface science (Surface Science. An Introduction, K. Oura, V. G. Lifshits, A. A. Saranin, A. V. Zotov, M. Katayama, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg, 2003). In 2002 he became Chief Academic Secretary of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Two years later, he was elected Director of the RAS Institute for Automation and Control Processes, the very place to which he had dedicated almost thirty years of his life. Victor had so many plans for the future.Everyone who was lucky to have known Victor will remember his outstanding personality. He was a devoted friend, husband, father and grandfather. He was a joyful person with a remarkably wonderful sense of humor that brought pleasure to everyone around him. He was a poet, singer and musician who could sing folk songs and opera arias alike. His kindness and generosity knew no bounds. Here was a man who not only aimed to achieve his goals but always surpassed them. In his youth, he played basketball professionally and was regarded as one of the best players on the University team, despite only being 56. At one time, he even accepted a part-time position as a coach of Kazakhstan s women s basketball team. The spirit of a fighter has always been a part of his draw. And he died while playing tennis on the court. We have lost an extraordinary man, an outstanding scientist, and a great educator in physics. Sergey Gredeskul,Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva;
Yuri Kaganovskii,
Kenjiro Oura,
Robert Suris, |