Vladimir E. Fortov (1946-2020)

It is with great sadness we need to announce that an outstanding Soviet and Russian scientist, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences from 2013 to 2017, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Vladimir Evgenievich Fortov has passed away on November 29, 2020.

Vladimir E. Fortov belongs to the group of scientists, whose work determines the modern state of physical and engineering science. He was one of the first people to apply strong shock waves to a generation of intense pulses of electric currents and to also investigate the physical and chemical properties of materials under extreme pressure and temperatures. He was the first to carry out the detailed measurement of the properties of perspective working media for magneto-hydrodynamic and magnetic flux compression electric generators. Vladimir E. Fortov has made a unique scientific input in an entirely new field of physics, the physics of dense plasmas, and has made key contributions to the understanding and expanding knowledge of the basic properties of matter under extreme conditions.

Vladimir E. Fortov has published over 900 scientific papers and 30 monographs, many of which are available in several languages; he has chaired workshops and conferences, national and international, has taken part in summer schools, courses and advisory committees, served as an editorial board member of Russian and foreign scientific journals.

In addition to his scientific contributions, Vladimir E. Fortov has always acted as a true intellectual leader, who has built and successfully supervised a number of research groups, and has been a dedicated mentor to many young scientists, students and post docs. More than 10 doctoral and more than 30 candidate dissertations have been defended under his supervision.

Vladimir E. Fortov was a member of a number of foreign academies and scientific societies, including Academia Europaea, National Academy of Sciences (NAS), Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), Max Planck Society, National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Along with numerous Russian prizes and medals Vladimir E. Fortov received during his career, he was awarded more than 15 international scientific and state awards, among them the prestigious L.P. Karpinsky Prize in Physics and Chemistry (1997), P. Bridgeman Prize for Achievements in High Pressure Physics and Technology (1999), Max-Plank Award for Physics (2002), Alfven Prize of European Physical Society (2003), A.Einstein’s Gold Medal of UNESCO for Achievements in Science and International Collaboration (2005), Honoured Legion Order, France (2006), “Global Energy” International Prize (2013).

Russian and world science lost a brilliant researcher, extraordinary leader, talented teacher, a person of the strong vision, highest moral principles and great personal courage.

Office of Prof. Vladimir E. Fortov
November 29, 2020

Памяти Владимира Фортова, obituary (in Russian) by A. Oganov (Vedomosti, November 30, 2020)
Vladimir Fortov on Wikipedia