Vavilov, Sergei Ivanovich

Vavilov, Sergei Ivanovich vəvēˈləf [key], 1891–1951, Russian physicist. In 1932 he became director of the P. N. Lebedev Physical Institute, which he organized around the laboratory of the Soviet Academy of Sciences. In 1945 he became president of the academy. He is known for his work in radiation, luminescence, the creation of cold light through the conversion of ultraviolet rays, and optics.

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