Boris LAZARENKO

(Борис Романович Лазаренко)

11 November 1910, Moscow, Russia – 26 August 1979, Chișinău, R. Moldova)

Engineer, Doctor Нabilitate of technical sciences (1949), Full Professor (1950), Full Member of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (1961).

He was a 1936 graduate of „M. V. Lomonosov” University (Moscow, Russia). His career ladder was as following: in 1936-1948 – Head of a Laboratory at the All-Union at the Research Institute of the USSR Minister of Electronic Industry; in 1948-1961 – the Director of the Central Research Laboratory of the Electronic Processing of Materials of the USSR Academy of Sciences; in 1955-1961 – Scientific Secretary of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the Chief Adviser at the Presidium of the Academy of Sciences of the People’s Republic of China.

In 1961 was nominated Director of the Institute of Energetics and Automation of the Academy of Sciences of the Moldavian SSR, later reorganized into the Institute of Problems of Electrophysics, and then into the institute of Applied Physics, whose founder and the first Director he was in 1964-1979. He was also Vise President of the Academy of Sciences of the Moldavian SSR in 1974-1979.

Together with his wife Dr N.I. Lazarenko, Academician Lazarenko, developed the technology of the electric spark processing of materials that was the base of a new direction in the technologies of the processing of metal surfaces. It was an innovative method based on using electrical energy to treat materials of any hardness. It marked a new era in mechanical manufacturing technology. A large number of scientists and engineers deal with the EDM in machine-tool industry all over the world. In China, for example, more than 200 manufacturers are engaged in the production of EDM machine-tools, producing annually about 5000 EDM units and more than 45,000 СNC WEDM machines.

The Lazarenkos started to work in that area in 1943, investigating ways to prevent the erosion of tungsten electrical contacts due to sparking. They failed in this task but found that the erosion was more precisely controlled if the electrodes were immersed in a dielectric fluid. This led them to invent an EDM machine used for working difficult-to-machine materials such as tungsten. The technological operation may be of two kinds: (1) when the shape of the processed material depends on the shape of the tool surface, and (2) when the shape of the processed material does not depend on the shape of the tool surface but depends on the geomantic placement of them. As an electrode-tool a thin wire is used, thus ensuring a precise processing. There were 5 generations of machines, the latest one being that working via a PC software. It is used for processing of aeronautic, cosmic, and electronic equipment parts, when the total automation of the process is required. The technology of electrophysical materials processing is also used in arts – in making inscriptions and pictures by an electric brush on the surfaces of metals or glass, covered by a thin electro-conductive film.

Many economically developed countries produce equipment, installations and devices for electric spark material processing (the procedure also called EDM there)so as to solve certain problems of cosmic, electronic, machine-building, and other industries.

A lot of current scientific investigations deal with the studies of the erosion behavior of elecro-conductive materials in plasma, that is, spark plasma sintering, also known as field assisted sintering technique. It was Academician Lazarenco who was the first to discover the principles of these processes. He developed a theory of electrodynamics of electrical erosion of metals; he demonstrated that under certain conditions in a liquid may appear all known forms of electric sparks; he also suggested the ways of practical applications of the studied phenomena. During his last years, Academician Lazarenko was dealing with the behavior of living organisms under the actions of magnetic and electric fields.

He was the holder of the title „Om Emerit”, laureate of the 1946 USSR State Prize. He was awarded by the orders „The Red Banner of Labor”, „The October Revolution”, „Badge of Honor”.

He was the scientific adviser of more than 30 PhD and Doctor of Sciences degrees holders. He was the author and co-authors of over 150 scientific publications. The main of them are: Электроискровая обработка металлов (1957, 2nd ed, 1965); Физические основы электроискровой обработки металлов (1959); Spark machining of metals // URSS Academy of sciences. USA New York, 1959; Проблемы электрической обработки материалов (1961); Новые применения электричества в промышленности и сельском хозяйстве // Электронная обработка материалов, 1965, No. 1; Ближайшие перспективы электрической обработ­ки материалов // Электронная обработка материалов, 1975, No. 1; Механизм прохождения электрического тока через элек­тролит // Электронная обработка материалов, 1979, No. 1. He had 50 patents. He was the initiator and the first Editor-in-Chief (1965-1979) of the journal Электронная обработка материалов, edited also in English by Pleiades Publishing and distributed by Springer under the name Surface Engineering and Applied Electrochemistry.

Nowadays, one of the laboratories of the Institute of Applied Physics is named after him: Laboratory of Electrophysical and Electrochemical Treatment of Materials Boris Lazarenko

References

  • M. Bologa. Boris Lazarenko (1910-1979) // Åžtiința, 1966, nr. 9.
  • М. Болога. Памяти Бориса Романовича Лазаренко // Электронная обработка материалов, 1979, nr. 5
  • В. Казаков. Многоликое электричество. Chișinău, 1974.
  • М. Болога. Создатель нового способа обработки материалов // Наука Советской Молдавии. Chișinău, 1982.
  • Б. А. Беленький. Цех – полигон науки. Chișinău, 1984.
  • Б. А. Беленький. И повторить себя в учениках. Chișinău, 1988.
  • А.Д. Верхотуров, А.Е. Гитлевич, В.В. Михайлов. Борис Романович Лазаренко – автор выдающихся открытий в технике xx века. учÑ‘ный и организатор науки (к 100-летию со дня рождения). Электронная обработка материалов, 2011, 47 (1).
  • А.Д. Верхотуров, П.С. Гордиенко, Л.А. Коневцов, Е.С.Панин. Некоторые комментарии к обобщениям механизма электроискрового воздействия на материалы (К 100-летию Б. Р. Лазаренко). Вестник Дальневосточного отделения Российской академии наук, 2010, 1.