Alla Masevich

Alla Genrikhovna Masevich (Russian: Алла Генриховна Масевич; 9 October 1918 — 6 May 2008) was a Soviet and Russian astronomer. She graduated from Moscow State Pedagogical University. She served as deputy chairman of the Astronomical Council of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in 1952, and worked closely with Viktor Ambartsumian. She became a professor of space geodesy at the Moscow Institute of Geodesy and Cartography in 1972.[1]

Alla Masevich
Born
Alla Genrikhovna Masevich

(1918-10-09)October 9, 1918
Tiflis, Democratic Republic of Georgia
DiedMay 6, 2008(2008-05-06) (aged 89)
Moscow, Russia
Alma materGosudarstvennom Astronomuheskom Institut
Scientific career
FieldsAstronomy

She is known for her work in organizing groups to observe some of the first Russian satellites (1956–57). Masevich was the Russian delegate to the International Astronautical Federation Congress following the 1957 Sputnik launch and presented a paper on optical tracking of satellites.[2]

Career

From 1952 to 1987 she held the prestigious position of Deputy Chairman of the Astronomical Council of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.[3] During her tenure at the Academy, she led a team in 1957 to monitor Soviet satellites which included Sputnik.

In 1961 she visited London and, with Sir Patrick Moore, gave a talk at the Royal Festival Hall.

In 1987 she left the Academy to become Chairman of the Astrosoviets, the Astronomical Council of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union.[3][4]

Awards and honors
  • Foreign membership into the United Kingdom’s Royal Astronomical Society (1963)[3]
  • Galaber Medal of the International Astronautic Federation[5]

Personal life

She was born in Tiflis as the eldest child of Natalia Zhgenti, a Georgian nurse, and Genrikh Masevich, a lawyer.[6] Masevich married Iosif Friedlander and they had one daughter together, Natasha Friedlander.[3]

References
  1. Lankford, John, ed. (1997). History of Astronomy An Encyclopedia. Garland Publishing. p. 320. ISBN 0-8153-0322-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. Evert Clark (1957-10-21). "Soviet Technical, Political Gains Spur Shift in Attitude on Defense". Aviation Week. Retrieved 2019-08-04.
  3. "Her name is Masevich, Alla Genrikhovna Masevich | The Channel". ingeniumcanada.org. Retrieved 2019-11-23.
  4. Services, United States Dept of Commerce Office of Technical (1959). Information on Soviet Bloc International Geophysical Cooperation. U.S. Department of Commerce, Business and Defense Services Administration, Office of Technical Services.
  5. Gurshtein, Alexander A. (2014), "Masevich, Alla Genrikhovna", in Hockey, Thomas; Trimble, Virginia; Williams, Thomas R.; Bracher, Katherine (eds.), Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers, New York, NY: Springer, pp. 1407–1409, Bibcode:2014bea..book.1407G, doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-9917-7_9357, ISBN 978-1-4419-9917-7, retrieved 2022-11-11
  6. The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science:L-Z by Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie, Joy Dorothy Harvey, p. 851

Sources


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