The Demidov Prize (russian: Демидовская премия) is a national scientific prize in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

awarded annually to the members of the

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across t ...

. Originally awarded from 1832 to 1866 in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

, it was revived by the government of Russia's

Sverdlovsk Oblast Sverdlovsk Oblast ( rus, Свердловская область, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia located in the Ural Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg, formerly known as ...

in 1993. In its original incarnation it was one of the first annual scientific awards, and its traditions influenced other awards of this kind including the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

History

In 1831 Count Pavel Nikolaievich Demidov, representative of the famous

Demidov The House of Demidov (russian: Деми́довы) also Demidoff, was a prominent Russian noble family during the 18th and 19th centuries. Originating in the city of Tula in the 17th century, the Demidovs found success through metal products, a ...

family, established a scientific prize in his name. The Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences (now the

) was chosen as the awarding institution. In 1832 the president of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences, Sergei Uvarov, awarded the first prizes. From 1832 to 1866 the Academy awarded 55 full prizes (5,000 rubles) and 220 part prizes. Among the winners were many prominent Russian scientists: the founder of field surgery and inventor of the plaster immobilisation method in treatment of fractures, Nikolai Pirogov; the seafarer and geographer Adam Johann von Krusenstern, who led the first russian circumnavigation of the globe;

Dmitri Mendeleev Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...

, the creator of the periodic table of elements;

Boris Jacobi Moritz Hermann or Boris Semyonovich (von) Jacobi (russian: Борис Семёнович Якоби; 21 September 1801, Potsdam – 10 March 1874, Saint Petersburg) was a Prussian and Russian Imperial engineer and physicist of Jewish descent. Jac ...

, pioneer of the first usable electric motors; and many others. One of the recipients was the founder's younger brother, Count

Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato Count Anatoly Nikolaievich Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato (russian: link=no, Анатолий Николаевич Демидов; 5 April OS: 24 March 1813 – 29 April 1870) was a Russian industrialist, diplomat and arts patron of th ...

, in 1847; Pavel had died in 1840, making Anatoly the Count Demidov (note that Russia did not recognize Anatoly's Italian title of prince). From 1866, 25 years after Count Demidov's death, as was according to the terms of his bequest, there were no more awards. In 1993, on the initiative of the vice-president of the

Gennady Mesyats Gennady Andreyevich Mesyats (russian: Месяц, Геннадий Андреевич, February 29, 1936, Kemerovo, Russia) is a Russian physicist, founder of several scientific schools — high-current electronics and pulse electrophysics, ...

and the governor of the

Eduard Rossel Eduard Ergartovich Rossel (russian: Эдуард Эргартович Россель; born 8 October 1937) is a Russian politician, who was the governor (1995–2009) of Sverdlovsk Oblast, an oblast in Russia. He returned into office in 1995. ...

, the Demidov Prize traditions were restored. The prize is awarded for outstanding achievements in natural sciences and humanities. The winners are elected annually among the members of the

. According to the tradition every year the Demidov Scientific Foundation chooses three or four academicians to receive the award. The prize includes a medal, a diploma and $10,000. The awards ceremony takes place every year at the Governor's Palace of Sverdlovsk Oblast, in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

. The recipients of the Prize also give lectures at the

Ural State University The Ural State University (russian: Урáльский госудáрственный университéт и́мени А.М. Гóрького, , often shortened to USU, УрГУ) is a public university located in the city of Yekaterinburg, Sv ...

(''Demidov Lecture'').

Winners (1832-1866)

Winners (from 1993)

References

;Bibliography * (in Russian) N. A. Mezenin: ''Лауреаты Демидовских премий Петербургской Академии наук''. Л., Наука, 1987. * (in Russian) Yuri Alexandrovich Sokolov, Zoya Antonovna Bessudnova, L. T. Prizhdetskaya: ''Отечественные действительные и почетные члены Российской академии наук 18-20 вв.'' Геология и горные науки.- М.: Научный мир, 2000.

External links

Demidov Foundation short history

Demidov Prize and Demidov Lecturing at Lebedev Physical Institute web site
{{Authority control Physics awards Chemistry awards Mathematics awards Biology awards Awards established in 1993

History

Winners (1832-1866)

Winners (from 1993)

See also

References

External links