Yakov Zeldovich

Yakov Zeldovich
Yakov Zeldovich
Яков Зельдович
	Zeldovich on a 2014 Russian Post stamp
Born	Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich; (Я́ков Бори́сович Зельдо́вич); 8 March 1914; Minsk, Minsk Governorate, Russian Empire; (now Minsk in Belarus)
Died	2 December 1987 (aged 73); Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
Resting place	Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow
Siglum	YaB
Citizenship	USSR
Alma mater	Saint Petersburg State University
Known for	Sunyaev–Zeldovich effect; ZND detonation model; Zeldovich approximation; Zeldovich equation of state; Zeldovich factor; Zeldovich mechanism; Zeldovich number; Zeldovich pancake; Zeldovich radiation; Zeldovich antidynamo theorem; Harrison–Zeldovich spectrum; Zeldovich streaming model; Zeldovich regularization; Zeldovich spontaneous wave; Zeldovich–Liñán–Dold model; Zeldovich–Taylor flow; BZT fluid; Shvab–Zeldovich formulation; ZFK equation; von Weizsäcker–Zeldovich problem; LSZK EOS; Pauli–Zeldovich cancellation; Activation energy asymptotics; Diffusive–thermal instability; Gravitational memory effect; Method of matched asymptotic expansions; Primordial black hole; Self-similar solution of the second kind; Vector current conservation hypothesis;
Awards	Friedmann Prize (2002); Dirac Medal (1985); Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1983); Bruce Medal (1983); Kurchatov Medal (1977); Lenin Prize (1957); Hero of Socialist Labor (1949, 1954, 1956)
	Scientific career
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Institute of Chemical Physics; Moscow State University; Sternberg Astronomical Institute
Thesis	Theory of Nitrogen Oxidation (1939)
Doctoral advisor	Aleksandr Frumkin
Doctoral students	Sergei Kopeikin; Marina Romanova;
Other notable students	Rashid Sunyaev; Roman Juszkiewicz; Igor Novikov; Sergei Shandarin; Alexei Starobinsky; Vladimir M. Lipunov; Victor Shvartsman; Varun Sahni; Deborah Dultzin

Yakov Borisovich Zeldovich ForMemRS (Russian: Я́ков Бори́сович Зельдо́вич, Belarusian: Я́каў Бары́савіч Зяльдо́віч; 8 March 1914 – 2 December 1987), also known as YaB, D.S. was a leading Soviet physicist of Belarusian origin, who is known for his prolific contributions in physical cosmology, physics of thermonuclear reactions, combustion, and hydrodynamical phenomena.

From 1943, Zeldovich, a self-taught physicist, started his career by playing a crucial role in the development of the former Soviet program of nuclear weapons. In 1963, he returned to academia to embark on pioneering contributions on the fundamental understanding of the thermodynamics of black holes and expanding the scope of physical cosmology.