The Symposium agenda

The Symposium agenda will include two sessions: memorial and scientific one.

Taking into account the great importance of two Stepanov’s results – the finding of the universal relation between absorption and luminescence spectra of complex molecules (Stepanov relation), and prediction of phenomena of negative luminescence, a special session “Thermodynamics of light-matter interaction” (TLMI’2013) will be organized during the Symposium.

Curriculum vitae of B.I.Stepanov

Boris Ivanovich Stepanov (April 28, 1913, St. Petersburg – December 7, 1987) was one of the founders of the Belarusian school of physics, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences (1953), Doctor of Sciences (1949), Professor (1953), Honored Science Worker of the Byelorussian SSR (1967), Honorary member of the University of Szeged (Hungary, 1971). He was a Hero of Socialist Labor (1973), a veteran of World War II and a Supreme Soviet deputy of BSSR in 1971-1986.

B.I. Stepanov was born in St. Petersburg. He finished nine-year school, thereafter studied at the factory training school and in 1930 entered the University of Leningrad. He worked as a laboratory assistant at the State Optical Institute (SOI) since 1934. B.I. Stepanov graduated from the University in 1936. In the same year he entered the postgraduate study at the SOI, and three years later he defended his candidate dissertation on the topic «The investigation of resonance perturbations in the spectra of diatomic molecules». In July 1941 he volunteered for the front, fought in the 162-partisan group of the Leningrad front, and then fought on the Stalingrad front. In January 1943, B.I. Stepanov was withdrawn from the Army for research in the SOI, which was then in the evacuation in Yoshkar-Ola. In 1948 Boris Ivanovich defended his doctoral dissertation on the topic «The calculation of the vibration frequencies of complex organic molecules». Until 1953 B.I. Stepanov worked in the SOI (from 1951 as a head of the laboratory). At the same time he worked at the Leningrad Institute of Fine Mechanics and Optics (LIFMO). He was one of the founders of the Engineering and Physical Department of the LIFMO. B.I. Stepanov was the Associate Professor, the Professor of the department of theoretical physics (1946-51).

In 1956 B.I. Stepanov was invited to the Academy of Sciences (AS) of BSSR. He took an active part in the organization of the Institute of Physics of AS of BSSR. In 1955-1973 he headed the laboratory and in 1957-1985 was the director of the Institute of Physics. At the same time since 1953 Boris Ivanovich was the Professor of Belarusian State University and until 1963 he headed the department of spectral analysis. In 1985-1987 he was a member and an advisor of the Presidium of AS of the BSSR. Since 1964 to the end of his life B.I. Stepanov was an editor-in-chief of the all-USSR «Journal of Applied Spectroscopy», which was published in Minsk.

Stepanov was communist party of Soviet Union member since 1939 and in 1971-1986 he was a deputy of Supreme Soviet (Council) of BSSR.

Stepanov's studies cover fields of spectroscopy, luminescence, quantum electronics, non-linear optics, laser optical holography and history of optics.

In 1939 he developed the theory of anomalies in spectra of diatomic molecules on the basis of numerical assessment of levels interaction parameters from empirical data. In 1948 Stepanov suggested effective techniques for the calculation of vibrational spectra of complex organic compounds. Well-composed theory of polyatomic molecules was stated in two-volume classical monography «Vibrations of molecules» (co-authors – M.V. Vol’kenshtein and M.A. Yel’yashevich), which was awarded State Prize of USSR in 1950.

In 1950th Stepanov developed quantum-mechanical theory of luminescence of comlex compounds, which let uniformly describe characteristics of luminescence and main pieces of evidence. In 1957 he showed that absorbance and luminescence spectra of complex compounds are connected by individual molecules properties independent relation (universal Stepanov relation).

In 1959 Stepanov developed theoretical basis of spectroscopy of negative luminous fluxes and on its basis predicted existence of new optical phenomena – negative luminescence and negative photoeffect.

In 1964 Stepanov together with his apprentices suggested simple probabilistic techniques of energy and time characteristics of laser systems. All aspects of generation process were uniformly considered in large series of works. For this series Stepanov and his co-authors (V.P. Gribkovskiy, A.S. Rubanov, A.M. Samson) were awarded State Prize of BSSR in 1976.

Stepanov’s works, devoted to the discovery of new class of laser media – organic dyes, gained wide recognition. Initially, in 1964, B.I. Stepanov together with A.N. Rubinov and V.A. Mostovnikov theoretically predicted and three years later (simultaneously with scientists from USA and Germany) carried out generation on the series of dyes. Series of lasers with gradually tuned frequency in a wide range of spectrum was created in the Institute of physics of the Academy of Sciences of BSSR.

In 1970th Stepanov in cooperation with A.S. Rubanov and E.V. Ivakin founded the fundamentals of dynamic holography, developed new techniques of optical beams transformation. They discovered the phenomenon of phase conjugation by four-wave interaction. The work on holography (co-authors – A.P. Apanasevich, A.S. Rubanov, E.V. Ivakin) was awarded State Prize of USSR in 1982.

B.I. Stepnaov gave significant attention to the questions of the history of science. Splendid essays on the history of optical science were issued from his pen.