Victor EREMENKO
(1932 - 2017)

is an outstanding Ukrainian scientist in the field of low temperature physics, whose scientific activity covers low-temperature magnetism, spectral and magneto-optical phenomena, magnetic phase transitions in antiferromagnets, superconductivity and the galvanomagnetic phenomena in metals, the exciton processes in antiferromagnetic, semiconducting and molecular crystals. Senior Fellow and Advisor to the Directorate of B.Verkin Institute of Low Temperature Physics and Engineering (ILTPE) of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (since 2006), director of ILTPE (1991-2006), head of the Department of Spectroscopy for Magnetic and Molecular crystals at ILTPE (1986-1994), head of Department of Magnetism and Magnetooptics at ILTPE (1963-1986), head of the laboratory of electric conductivity and superconductivity at ILTPE (1961-1963).

The Editor in Chief for the journal "Low Temperature Physics" (1990), a member of the editorial board of the publishing house «Cambridge Scientific Publishers» (Cambridge, England) and the journals "Space science and technology" (Kiev, Ukraine) and "Solid State Physics" (St. Petersburg, Russia). An Honored Worker of Science of Ukraine (1982), a laureate of State Prize for Science and Technology (1971, 1986), has three academic awards (1985, 1987, 2004). He was awarded the Order "For merits» III degree (2002) and diploma of the Parlament of Ukraine (2010).

A Full Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences (1967), a Professor (1968), a Corresponding Member of NAS of Ukraine (1972), a Full Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1978), A member of the European Academy of Sciences, Literature and the Arts (2003). A Fellow member of the American Physical Society (2000), an honored worker of space industry of Ukraine (2007), an Honorary Fellow of the G.V. Kurdyumov Institute of Physics of Metals of NAS of Ukraine (2002), an Honorary Doctor of V.N. Karasin National University in Kharkov, an Honorary professor of I.I. Mechnikov National University in Odessa  (2010).

Victor V. Eremenko was born July 26, 1932 in Kharkov. In 1955 V. Eremenko graduated from the Department of Physics and Mathematics at Kharkov State University as a "low-temperature physicist". In 1955-1961 he was a PhD student, and simultaniously worked at the Kiev Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, where in 1959 he defended his PhD thesis "Optical and photoelectric phenomena in CdS crystals at low temperatures", which was the world-first observation of the existence of exciton-impurity complexes and the first introduction the idea itself.

In April 1961, according to the decision of the Presidium of NAS of Ukraine, he was transferred to ILTPE (Kharkov), where he worked since then. In 1966 he defended his thesis for the degree of Full Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences "Optical spectroscopy of antiferromagnets". For a long time V. Eremenko taught at Kharkov State University (1966-1999) at the Department of Magnetism, which then led by his disciples since 1968. V. Eremenko has co-authored the textbook "Lectures on magnetism" (published by KSU, 1972), and extended publication in Moscow (2006, Phys.-Math. Lit. Publishers). His teaching work has been awarded with the "Peter Mogila" Medal of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, and with the title of Soros Professor.

V. Eremenko’s contribution to low temperature physics is remarkable: more than 400 publications, which, include in addtition to the aforementioned textbook, three monographs ("Introduction to the spectroscopy of magnetic materials" (Naukova Dumka, 1975), "Magneto-optics and spectroscopy of antiferromagnets" (Naukova Dumka, 1989), "Magnetic and magnetoelastic phenomena in antiferromagnets and superconductors "(Naukova Dumka, 2004). The latter two monographs were published in English by Springer (1992) and Cambridge Scientific Publishers (2008).

V.  Eremenko’s pioneering scientific results have been awarded with:

1. State Prize of Ukraine (1971) for the discovery, experimental and theoretical study of the intermediate state in antiferromagnets under the first order phase transitions induced by strong magnetic fields.

2. Azerbaijan State Prize (1986)  for the outstanding results in optical spectroscopy of antiferromagnets (observation and study of resonance splitting of exciton bands of light absorption, exciton-magnon excitations, etc.).

3. Prize of the USSR and the Polish National Academies of Sciences (1987) for the magneto-optical studies of inhomogeneous magnetic states in the vicinity of magnetic phase transitions induced by external magnetic field.

4. K.D. Sinelnikov Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (1985) for optical visualization of collinear antiferromagnetic domains, the development of methods of switching of collinear antiferromagnetic domains in the crystals with different magnetic symmetry.

5. He was elected a Fellow Member of the American Physical Society (2000) "For pioneering works in magnetooptics of antiferromagnets, the discovery of mixed and intermediate states in antiferromagnets near magnetic phase transitions, the discovery of photoinduced long-lived states in magnetic insulators and high-temperature superconductors".

6. L.V. Shubnikov Prize of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (2004) for his pioneering studies of magnetoelastic effects in Shubnikov’s phase of superconductors, especially the magnetic quantum oscillations of the magnetostriction.

The pioneering results include the observation of magnetic quantum oscillations of the chemical potential in semimetals (bismuth, antimony); observation and study of the exciton-magnon excitations in antiferromagnets, including  antiferromagnetic solid oxygen; observation, experimental and theoretical study of the effect of delocalization of the magnetic impurity states; investigation of new magneto-optical phenomena in aniferromagnets which in modern physical publications are known as "linear magneto-optical effect" and "quadratic magnetic rotation of the polarization plane of light"; observation, experimental and theoretical study of the exchange modes of antiferromagnetic resonance; observation, experimental and theoretical investigation of electromagnons, in particular excitation of exchange magnetic fluctuations by an AC electric field.

In 2006-2011 V. Eremenko obtained significant results on high-temperature superconductivity, strongly correlated electron systems and nanomagnetism.

V. Eremenko paid much attention to international scientific cooperation. He collaborated actively with the American Physical Society, the American Institute of Physics, which translates and republishes the journal "Low Temperature Physics" (V. Eremenko is the editor), cooperated actively with the International High Magnetic Field Laboratories in Grenoble (France) and Wroclaw (Poland). V. Eremenko is a member of the Scientific Council in the latter one.

V. Eremenko is one of the brightest and most talented Ukrainian physicists and organizers of science, he is a founder of his own scientific school. More than 50 of his disciples were awarded PhD degree, 14 of them became Full Doctors. Two of his disciples (N.F. Kharchenko and S.L. Gnatchenko) have been elected Full Members of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, and A.I. Zvyagin has been elected a Corresponding Member of the National Academy of Sciences. There are also 12 laureates of State Prize of Ukraine in Science and Technology (1971, 1990, 1991, 2004, 2011) among V. Eremenko’s disciples.