Igor Nikolaevich Makarenko (1938-2005)

Igor Nikolaevich Makarenko was born on April 24, 1938 in the southern Russian city Postov-on-Don. He enrolled in Moscow University in 1955. Upon graduation in 1961 he worked for two years as an engineer in the defense industry. In 1963 Igor entered graduate school in the department of physics of Moscow University. His thesis was devoted to measuring thermo physical properties of refractory metals. In 1966 he started his career in the high pressure group of the Institute of Crystallography where he worked till his last day. There he was progressively promoted from positions of a junior scientist to a leading scientist. Working with high pressure Igor performed many fine experiments spanning the range from phase transitions of alkali metals, noble gases, and liquid crystals at moderately high pressures to equation of states and optical properties of solids at very high pressures. Igor was a leading person in carrying out the first neutron scattering experiments in a diamond anvil cell and studying the equation of state of deuterium up to 30 GPa. Mainly due to his efforts, a helium loading technique in diamond anvil studies became essentially routine in our group in early eighties. Igor was an exceptionally gifted experimentalist but the unfortunate recent situation in Russian science didn't allow him to demonstrate his talent in full. He passed away on November 17, 2005 at the age of 67 as a result of heart complications.

His friends and colleagues will miss him.

(Contributed by
Sergei M. Stishov, Professor
Director, Institute for High Pressure Physics
Russian Academy of Sciences)