J U B I L E E S AND D A T E S

M I K H A I L G R I G O R ' E V I C H V O R O N K O V (ON H I S 5 0 T H B I R T H D A Y )

[ D e c e m b e r 6, 1971 was the 50th bi r thday and 30th y e a r of s c i en - tific, sc ien t i f ic -organiza t iona l , pedagogical , and public act ivi ty of the a s s i s t an t ed i t o r - i n - ch i e f of Khimiya Getero ts ik l icheskikh Soedinenii M. G. Voronkov, who is also the d i r ec to r of the I rkutsk Inst i tute of Organic Chemis t ry , Siber ian Branch, Academy of Sciences of the USSR (AS USSR), Corresponding Member of the AS USSR and the Acad- emy of Sciences of the Latvian SSR, Doctor of Chemica l Sciences, and p r o f e s s o r of the I rku t sk Polytechnic Insti tute.

P r o f e s s o r Voronkov was born in Orel . In 1938 he enrol led in the c h e m i s t r y depar tment of Leningrad State Univers i ty and graduated f rom the un ive r s i ty in Sverdlovsk in 1942. From 1944 to 1954 he worked in the cha i r of organic c h e m i s t r y of Leningrad Univers i ty , and f rom 1954 to 1961 he worked in the Insti tute of the C h e m i s t r y of Sil icates of the AS USSR, where he c rea ted and headed the l abora to ry of inorganic po lymer s .

In 1961, Voronkov was invited to l~iga to the Insti tute of Organic Synthesis of the AS Latvian SSR, where he headed the l abora to ry of

he te roorgan ie compounds. In the s a m e y e a r he defended his doctoral d i sse r ta t ion entit led "Heterolyt ic c leavage reac t ions of the si loxane bond." In 1970 he was named d i r ec to r of the I rku t sk Inst i tute of Organic Chemis t ry , Siberian Branch, AS USSR.

Voronkov ' s r e s e a r c h in the c h e m i s t r y of he te roorgan ic compounds (par t icu lar ly si l icon and sulfur compounds) and in organic and physical organic c h e m i s t r y is widely known. He is the author of 13 mono- graphs , t h ree of which were t r ans l a t ed into English and published in the United States, about 500 scient i f ic p a p e r s t h a t w e r e published in Soviet and foreign journals , and 100 au thor ' s ce r t i f i ca tes . Of g rea t e s t in teres t in his r e s e a r c h in he te roorgan ic c h e m i s t r y is a s e r i e s of invest igat ions devoted to a study of the h e t e r - olytic c leavage reac t ions of the s i loxane bond, the c rea t ion of biological ly act ive organosi l icon compounds, and the reac t ion of e l e m e n t a r y sulfur and hydrogen sulfide with organic subs tances .

A study of the he te rocyc l ic c leavage reac t ions of s i loxanes made it poss ib le for Voronkov to develop numerous methods for the synthes is of d ive r se organosi l ieon and si l icon he te roorgan ic compounds and to prove and theore t ica l ly subs tant ia te the high chemica l reac t iv i ty of organic s i loxanes . Voronkov demon- s t r a t ed that the re a re organosi l icon compounds that have high and specif ic biological act ivi ty. He d i scovered c l a s s e s of organosi l ieon compounds that have se lec t ive toxici ty and pronounced pharmacolog ica l act ivi ty.

A s e r i e s of invest igat ions by Voronkov and c o - w o r k e r s was devoted to the study of the capaci ty of some organic and heteroorganic compounds for complex formation and association. In particular, he estab- lished the associated state of a number of halogen derivatives of group IVB elements and the existence of interhalogen bonding in a number of organic halides.

Professor Voronkov's investigations of the reaction of sulfur and hydrogen sulfide with various com- pounds, which led to the discovery of simple and elegant methods for the synthesis of diverse classes of organic sulfur derivatives, are of great scientific and practical importance. His applied research (water- proofing, flame-protective treatment of materials, additives for lubricating oils, etc.) is also of serious significance for the national economy.

Trans l a t ed f rom Khimiya Getero ts ik l ichesk ikh Soedinenii, No. 12, pp. 1706-1707, December , 1971.

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P r o f e s s o r Voronkov is engaged in a g rea t deal of sc ien t i f ic -organiza t iona l , pedagogical , and edi tor ia l act ivi ty . Under his supervis ion , 15 m a s t e r ' s d i s se r ta t ions have been accompl ished, and th ree of his s tu- dents have defended the i r doctora l d i s se r t a t ions .

The edi tor ia l boa rd of Khimiya Gete ro t s ik l ichesk ikh Soedinenii wishes P r o f e s s o r Voronkov new scient i f ic ach ievements , success in his sc ien t i f i c -organ iza t iona l and pedagogical act iv i t ies , many yea r s of fruitful and c r ea t i ve act ivi ty, and good health.

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