ALFEROV, ZHORES I.

ALFEROV, ZHORES I. (1930– ), Russian Nobel laureate in physics. Alferov was born in Vitebsk, U.S.S.R. (now Vitsyebsk, Belarus), and graduated with a degree in physics (1952) from the Lenin Electrotechnical Institute in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). From 1953 he was a staff member of the Ioffe Physico-Technical Institute in St. Petersburg, where he obtained his D.Sc. in physics and mathematics (1970) and which he directed from 1987. His academic appointments included dean of the Faculty of Physics and Technology at St. Petersburg Technical University. His main research interests concerned the theory and practical applications of semiconductors. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics (2000) jointly with Herbert Kroemer and Jack S. Kilby for his contributions to the double heterostructure concept. His research is of fundamental importance to the development of electronics, lasers, solar power usage, and communication technology. His honors include membership in the Russian (formerly U.S.S.R.) Academy of Sciences (1972), of which he was vice president from 1989, and the Lenin Prize of the U.S.S.R. (1972). (Michael Denman (2nd ed.)