A physicist who linked reactor theory to scientific education
“Quickly, with concentration, without rushing, we hurried.”
Vasily Stepanovich Fursov was a theoretical physicist who connected reactor calculations with the institutional work of the Soviet atomic project. With Dubovsky and Povzner, he calculated plutonium accumulation in F-1 and developed methods for screening graphite and uranium. He later provided scientific leadership for the launch of A-1 and the production of weapons-grade plutonium, then spent decades shaping Moscow State University's physics faculty and training the researchers of the nuclear state.
Career Timeline
- 1931–1939Assistant and associate professor, Moscow State University
- 1938–1941Acting head of theoretical physics, Moscow State University
- 1941–1944Red Army political officer and artillery-battery commissar
- 1944–1947Senior researcher and theoretical-sector head, Laboratory No. 2
- 1947–1951Scientific director of reactor A-1, Combine No. 817
- 1951–1954Deputy to Kurchatov for uranium-graphite reactors
- 1954–1989Dean of Moscow State University's physics faculty