Biography. Brief biography of C

Lebedev Sergey Alekseevich - Director of the Institute of Precise Mechanics and Computer Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences, Moscow.

Born on October 20 (November 2), 1902 in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod province (now the region) in a family of teachers. Russian. In 1921 he entered the Moscow Higher Technical School at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, which he graduated in 1928 with a diploma in electrical engineering. While still a student, S.A. Lebedev became interested in the problems of stability of power systems. He began to work simultaneously as a teacher at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University and as a junior researcher at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute (VEI).

Continuing to work on the problem of sustainability, S.A. Lebedev organized a group at VEI, which then took shape in the laboratory of electrical networks. Gradually, the subject of the laboratory is expanding, and problems of automatic regulation begin to fall into the circle of its interests. This led to the creation of an automation department on the basis of this laboratory in 1936, the management of which was entrusted to S.A. Lebedev.

After the separation of the electrical engineering faculty of MVTU in 1930 into an independent Moscow Power Engineering Institute, he became a teacher at MPEI. Since 1936 he has been a professor. Already in 1939, S.A. Lebedev, bypassing the candidate's degree, defended his doctoral dissertation on the theory of artificial stability of power systems. In 1941 he was awarded the degree of Doctor of Technical Sciences.

During the war, he continued research and developed a torpedo homing at emitting or reflecting radiation targets, as well as an automatic target homing system for an aviation torpedo and a stabilization system for a tank gun when aiming. The creation of such systems required an enormous amount of computation. It was this circumstance that led the scientist to understand the need to automate computational processes. As you know, abroad the principles of computer engineering and electronic accounts were developed by von Neumann, the classical computer architecture is called "von Neumann". The scientific feat of Lebedev lies in the fact that in the conditions of information isolation of those years, he came to the same conclusions as von Neumann, but six months earlier.

In February 1945 S.A. Lebedev was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, and in May 1946 he was appointed director of the Institute of Energy of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR in Kiev. In 1947, after the division of this institute, he became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR.

The developed theoretical calculations allowed S.A. Lebedev to move on to practical work. At the end of 1947, the institute began to create a model of a digital electronic calculating machine (MESM), a test run of which took place on November 6, 1950. During the demonstration, the machine calculated the factorials of natural numbers and solved the parabola equation. In 1951, the MESM was accepted by the commission for operation, and in 1952 important scientific and technical problems in the field of thermonuclear processes, space flights, rocket technology, and long-range transmission lines were already being solved.

In 1947, S.A. Lebedev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and in 1950 he was awarded the Stalin Prize for the development and implementation of a compounding device for power plant generators to increase the stability of power systems and improve the operation of electrical installations (together with L.V. Tsukernik).

In parallel with the final stage of work on the MESM, in 1950, the development of the first Large (later renamed to High-Speed) Electronic Computing Machine began. The development of BESM was carried out already in Moscow, in the laboratory of the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering of the USSR Academy of Sciences, headed by S.A. Lebedev.

S.A. Lebedev combined the talent of a scientist-researcher with the remarkable abilities of an organizer and inspirer of works. He knew how to select a strong team, to captivate it with work and to concentrate all efforts to solve a common problem. In the 1950s, when there was a shortage of scientific personnel, Lebedev made a bet on young people - and he was not mistaken. He gathered around him talented students - graduates and graduates of Moscow State Technical University, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. For the students of S.A. Lebedev, the development of BESM became the start of scientific activity, later many of them became famous scientists, academicians.

As a result, the colossal work was rewarded with a victory - the conceived computer was created. The first launch of BESM took place in the fall of 1952, and it passed state tests in 1953. In the same year, Lebedev became director of the Institute of Precise Mechanics and Computer Science.

On October 23, 1953 S.A. Lebedev was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He became the first academician specializing in calculating devices. Realizing how important it is to train specialists for a new direction, from 1953 until the end of his days S.A. Lebedev headed the Department of Electronic Computing Machines at the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.

In 1954 S.A. Lebedev was awarded the Order of Lenin.

After the creation of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences in February 1955, ITM and VT were tasked with preparing BESM for serial production. Almost all large computing centers of the country were equipped with BESM-2 machines. At BESM-2, calculations were carried out during the launch of artificial earth satellites and the first spacecraft with a person on board. The report on our achievements presented by S.A. Lebedev in October 1955 in Darmstadt (FRG) at the International Conference on Electronic Computing Machines made a sensation - the BESM was recognized as the fastest machine in Europe. Its performance turned out to be a record - 8000 operations per second.

By the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 1, 1956 for the design, creation and commissioning of a high-speed electronic calculating machine "BESM" Lebedev Sergey Alekseevich awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor with the Order of Lenin and the Hammer and Sickle gold medal.

After the triumphant victory of BESM, under the leadership of Lebedev, work immediately began on the next version of the computer, with improved characteristics: increased speed, more memory, increased time of stable operation. This is how the following versions of the BESM family appeared - BESM-2, BESM-3M, BESM-4. These machines were already mass-produced, first in dozens of copies, then in hundreds.

The best in the BESM series is the famous BESM-6 - the world's first serial "million-strong" (1 million operations per second). The chief designer implemented in it many revolutionary solutions for that time, thanks to which the machine survived three generations of computing technology and was produced for 17 years. During this time, about 450 machines were produced, which is an absolute record for a supercomputer class computer. Until now, the last copy of BESM-6 has survived, operating near St. Petersburg at the Training Center of the Navy.

In 1969, S.A. Lebedev (together with a group of employees of the ITM and VT of the USSR Academy of Sciences and the SAM plant) was awarded the USSR State Prize for the development and introduction into production of the BESM-6 computer.

The development of BESM-6 is a vivid example of the creative approach to the creation of a computer, characteristic of S.A. Lebedev's school, taking into account all the possibilities of the technical base, mathematical modeling of structural solutions, as well as production to achieve the best characteristics of the machine. The production of BESM computers created real conditions for the emergence of several domestic schools for the development of software for these computers, original in their architecture.

The role of the scientist is also great in the development of computer software. S.A. Lebedev was one of the first to understand the importance of system programming and the importance of cooperation between programmers-mathematicians and engineers in the creation of computer systems that include software as an integral part. On his initiative, a mathematical software laboratory was organized at ITMiVT, which developed system software for all systems created at the institute.

The creative energy of S.A. Lebedev was enough to conduct both scientific projects and specialized ones intended for defense purposes. On his initiative, in 1955, special vehicles Diana-1 and Diana-2 were developed to aim fighters at air targets. The continuation of this work led to the creation of a whole series of computers designed to solve the problems of anti-missile defense. On the basis of these machines, the country's first anti-missile defense system was created, for which S.A. Lebedev, together with a team of the main participants in the work, was awarded the Lenin Prize in 1966.

On the basis of BESM-6, the AS-6 multicomputer complex was created, which was used for 15 years in spacecraft flight control centers for processing information in real time. In 1975, during a joint flight of the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft, the AS-6 complex, processing information, calculated the flight path data in 1 minute, while the American side took such a calculation half an hour.

S.A. Lebedev managed to form a domestic school of research and development, which for many years held leading positions in the world in a number of areas. Only in the mid-1970s, a gradual lag behind Western developers began. This was largely due to the copying of the IBM series, as well as the emerging gap in the area of ​​the element base. None of the types of S.A. Lebedev's machines was a copy of any foreign computer, everything was created on its own scientific basis, using original approaches to solving theoretical and applied problems. And this is the manifestation of the high intellectual abilities of a truly outstanding scientist and his scientific feat.

He was awarded 4 Orders of Lenin (03/27/1954; 06/01/1956; 11/09/1962; 11/01/1972), the Order of the October Revolution (04/26/1971), 2 Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (05/16/1947; 02/23/1957), medals.

Laureate of the Lenin (1966), Stalin (1950) and State (1969) prizes of the USSR.

In 1996, the International Computer Society IEEE Computer Society awarded S.A. Lebedev its highest award - the Computer Pioneer Award medal for outstanding innovative work in the field of computer technology. The medal was awarded to his family.

The Russian Academy of Sciences has established the S.A. Lebedev Prize, which is awarded once every two years to Russian scientists who have made a great contribution to the development of domestic computing technology. The Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Science of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which he headed for 20 years, has been named after him since 1975.

In Kiev, a monument to S.A. Lebedev and a memorial plaque on the building of the institute where he worked are erected, a street is named after him. In Moscow, a memorial plaque was installed on the house where he lived.

S. A. Lebedev was born on November 2, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod. In 1921, Lebedev entered the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at the Moscow Higher Technical School, from which he graduated in 1928, becoming an electrical engineer. The results of his further work were used in the operation of domestic power plants and high-voltage transmission lines. In 1939, Lebedev defended his doctoral dissertation on the theory of artificial stability of power systems.

During the war, Lebedev was engaged in the development of homing torpedoes, developed a system for stabilizing a tank gun when aiming. For this work, Lebedev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor and the medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945".

In 1945 Lebedev was elected a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR and became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR. At the end of 1947, this institute began to create a model of a digital electronic calculating machine (MESM), a test run of which took place on November 6, 1950. During the demonstration, the machine calculated the factorials of natural numbers and solved the parabola equation.

At the same time, Lebedev in laboratory No. 1 of ITM and VT in Moscow worked on the creation of BESM - a high-speed electronic calculating machine. Lebedev himself developed the BESM structure and drew up a plan for the implementation of the project for its development; he constantly monitored the progress of this project, which was successfully completed in April 1953.

In June 1953, Lebedev was appointed director of ITM and VT, which has been named after him since 1975. On October 23, 1953, Lebedev was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences in the Department of Physical and Mathematical Sciences. He became the first academician specializing in calculating devices. For the creation of BESM, Lebedev was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1954, and in 1956 he was awarded the title of Hero of Socialist Labor.

After the creation of the Computing Center of the USSR Academy of Sciences in February 1955, ITM and VT were tasked with preparing BESM for serial production. Almost all large computing centers of the country were equipped with BESM-2 machines. At BESM-2, calculations were carried out during the launch of artificial earth satellites and the first spacecraft with a person on board.

In order to draw attention to the scientific and technical achievements of our country, in October 1955, in Darmstadt (Germany), at the International Conference on Electronic Computing Machines, foreign specialists read a report by Lebedev on BESM. This report created a sensation: BESM turned out to be the best computer in Europe!

After the success of BESM, Lebedev began to think over the principles and architecture of the new M-20 computer, which was supposed to become the fastest in the world. To work with this computer, many textbooks were written, and courses on studying the M-20 and programming for it were included in the program of universities.

In parallel with the development and creation of general-purpose computers, Lebedev paid great attention to work related to the country's defense. On his initiative, in 1955, special vehicles Diana-1 and Diana-2 were developed to aim fighters at air targets. The future academician and director of ITM and VT V.S.Burtsev took part in these works, their continuation led to the creation of a whole series of computers designed to solve anti-missile defense problems. On the basis of these machines, the country's first missile defense system was created, for which its authors, including Lebedev and Burtsev, received the Lenin Prize.

The pinnacle of Lebedev's work on the creation of universal computers was the world's most famous domestic computer BESM-6 (1967). Based on the results of work on BESM-6, Lebedev with a group of ITM and VT employees, which included the future academician V. A. Melnikov and the future chief designer of the modular conveyor processor (the best computer in Russia in the 90s) A. A. Sokolov, received the State Prize ...

SA Lebedev set himself the goal of creating a computer with a speed of 100 million op / s. The work began with a computer complex for the air defense system, known as the S-300, which is still being mass-produced in a modernized form. The element base worked out on machines for the S-300 was used in the development of MVK Elbrus 1.

S. A. Lebedev died on July 3, 1974 and did not see these new machines, just as he did not see MVK Elbrus 2, which was the result of many years of work by the ITM and VT team.

Another important result was the AS-6 multi-machine real-time information and computing complex, which was actively used in spacecraft flight control centers.

Throughout his life, S. A. Lebedev trained scientific personnel, brought up young people by personal example. He headed the computer department at MIPT, gave lectures, and personally supervised the scientific work of many graduate and postgraduate students. For twenty years, 15 high-performance computers were created under his leadership.

In the process of designing, adjusting and putting into operation of the MESM, BESM, M-20 machines, he acted as a chief designer, as a commissioning engineer, and if circumstances required, then as an installation technician. Later, with the emergence of qualified specialists, Lebedev entrusted them with a significant part of the work, leaving for himself the most difficult areas associated with the substantiation of innovations, with the theoretical substantiation of the structure and parameters of the computer.

The Russian Academy of Sciences has established the S. A. Lebedev Prize, which is awarded once every two years to Russian scientists who have made a great contribution to the development of domestic computing technology.

S.V. Lebedev, an outstanding Russian chemical scientist, the founder of the industrial method for producing synthetic rubber, was born on July 25, 1874 in Lublin (now in Poland). He was the third child in the family. My father taught Russian literature at school, but at the age of 32 he became a priest. When Sergei was nine years old, his father died of consumption, and the fate of the family changed. Sergei was sent to his grandfather and grandmother, after which he moved to Warsaw with his mother, but they had little money and they lived modestly.

In 1885, Sergei entered the 1st grade of the Warsaw gymnasium, and already in the 5th grade, he realized that he wanted to become a chemist. After graduating from high school (1895), he became a student of the natural sciences department of the Physics and Mathematics Faculty of St. Petersburg University and, already in his third year, began scientific research under the guidance of the famous chemist A.E. Favorsky.

In 1899, Sergei Vasilyevich was carried away by social movements, took part in strikes and gatherings. At one of the demonstrations he was arrested, but three days later he was released with a subscription to immediately leave St. Petersburg. However, the expulsion did not last long, and in the fall he received permission to continue his studies at the university.

After graduating from university (1900) with a first-degree diploma, Lebedev began to give physics lessons in secondary schools and work in a laboratory at the Zhukov brothers' soap factory.

In 1902, Sergei Vasilyevich was invited to St. Petersburg University as a laboratory assistant in the department of technical and analytical chemistry. In 1904-1905. his scientific career was interrupted by conscription, but at the end of his service he went to Paris and worked at the Sorbonne with Professor Victor Henri.

Returning to the university, in 1906-1916. Sergey Vasilievich is engaged in research of the processes of polymerization of unsaturated hydrocarbons. In 1915 he became a professor at the Women's Pedagogical Institute.

Lebedev's main works are devoted to polymerization processes. In 1909-1910. the scientist published works on the polymerization of isoprene and diisopropenyl, in 1910 he received a sample of synthetic butadiene rubber. His work "Research in the field of polymerization of two-ethylene hydrocarbons" (1913) became the scientific basis for the industrial synthesis of rubber.

In 1913, Lebedev defended his master's thesis, was elected assistant professor of St. Petersburg University and professor of the Neurological Institute, and in 1914 began experiments in the field of polymerization of acetylene and ethylene hydrocarbons.

In 1916, the scientist became a professor at the Military Medical Academy in Petrograd, and since 1925 he simultaneously headed the oil laboratory he organized at the Leningrad University (since 1928 - the synthetic rubber laboratory).

In 1930, under the leadership of Lebedev, the construction of a pilot plant and a research laboratory began (now the Scientific Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber named after S.V. Lebedev). The plant produced divinyl and then rubber in large volumes. Later, tires for tires were made from this rubber.

In 1931, Lebedev was awarded the Order of Lenin for his outstanding services in solving the problem of obtaining synthetic rubber.

Since 1932, according to Lebedev's method, a synthetic rubber industry for the first time in the world began to be created in the USSR.

In the 1930s S.V. Lebedev carried out a series of studies in the field of hydrogenation of ethylene hydrocarbons, established the dependence of the rate of addition of hydrogen at a double bond on the size, nature and location of substituents in the ethylene molecule. Developed methods for obtaining thickeners of lubricating oils from petroleum fractions used in the production of high-viscosity lubricants for aircraft engines.

The scientific activity of the scientist was recognized by the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. In 1928 he was elected a corresponding member, and in 1932 - a full member of the academy.

July 7, 1932 S.V. Lebedev took part in the ceremonial launch of the first large synthetic rubber plant in Yaroslavl, and in May 1934 he died of typhus. He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra, in the necropolis of artists, and his grave is located not far from the graves of P.I. Tchaikovsky and A.P. Borodin, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.I. Kuindzhi. On the monument there is a laconic inscription: “Academician Sergei Vasilievich Lebedev - the inventor of synthetic rubber”.

The gravestone of S.V. Lebedev at the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg

SCIENTIFIC BIOGRAPHY FACTS

In 1908, at a meeting of the Russian Chemical Society, S.V. Lebedev made a preliminary report on the rate of polymerization of acrylic acid esters. However, soon after leaving work in this area, the scientist began classical studies of the processes of polymerization of diene hydrocarbons. And already at the December meeting of 1909, Lebedev demonstrated a rubbery thermopolymer divinyl. It is difficult to imagine how a scientist could achieve such amazing results in such a short time. It should be noted that Sergei Vasil'evich actually did all the work alone, and he was only partially helped by two volunteers from St. Petersburg University.

Caricature 1913 Protection of S.V. Lebedev master's thesis

As a result of the research, the scientist received only 19 g of the substance, and made a report on the outstanding discovery in just half an hour - Lebedev was always distinguished by strict logic of presentation, clarity of language. After the meeting, many of those present remained in the hall to congratulate the scientist. In response to congratulations, Lebedev remarked: “You see, two years of work - and only half an hour of results. This is the life of a chemist: behind every word - years of work. But on the other hand, this is our strength. "

Sergei Vasilievich was always very demanding of himself and others. He said that a chemist must be a laborer, a thinker, a researcher of a substance. The scientist extremely highly appreciated the ability to choose the right experiment and set it up well in order to get a reliable answer to the question of interest. "The winner in science is the one," he said, "who works correctly." Many instruments in the laboratory were designed and assembled by his hands. With great dexterity and skill he performed the duties of a glassblower, mechanic, fitter and taught his students to work in the same way. At work, he was never nervous. His most harsh condemnation: "This is not good."

First, to obtain divinyl, the scientist used oil, then replaced it with alcohol, and potatoes served as the raw material for the alcohol. Thus, at first, it took 500 kg of selected potatoes to make one car tire.

From the memoirs of Anna Petrovna Lebedeva, the scientist's wife: “Sometimes he lay on his back, and it seemed to me that he was asleep, and he suddenly took out a notebook and wrote chemical formulas in it ... In general, I noticed many times how Sergei Vasilievich, sitting in a concert and, apparently, excited by the music, he would suddenly hastily take out his notebook or, if it was not there, hastily took a poster and began to write down chemical formulas on it and then hid it in his pocket.

In 1926, by order of I.V. Stalin, the Soviet government announced an international competition for the best work on the synthesis of SC with a prize of 100 thousand rubles. The deadline for the end of the competition was set on January 1, 1928. According to the conditions, in addition to the description of the method, it was required to submit 2 kg of SC and the developed scheme for its production at the factory. Raw materials for the UK were supposed to be affordable and cheap, and rubber from this raw material was not lower in quality than natural and in cost not higher than it. Lebedev immediately organized a group of seven of his students and staff and got down to work.

The conditions of the competition were so strict that none of the samples submitted by the world's leading laboratories fully met all the requirements. However, the method developed by Lebedev was recognized as the best and was the only one awarded in the competition. The examination showed that the divinyl yield per consumed alcohol is 22% instead of 20% indicated by Lebedev in the description of the method (later the divinyl yield was increased to 40%).

The method for obtaining SC from alcohol was recognized as very valuable, and the necessary funds were allocated for its further development. In the fall of 1928, Lebedev presented to the Glavkhimprom a plan for further work necessary to draw up a project for a pilot plant. During 1930, the Experimental Plant Liter "B" was built in Leningrad.

The name of S.V. Lebedev are worn by:

• Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber named after Academician S.V. Lebedeva (FSUE NIISK) is the largest Russian scientific center for research in the field of rubbers and latexes. The Research Institute of Synthetic Rubber was established on the basis of the former SK Liter “B” Experimental Plant, which also bore his name since 1935.
• Memorial Museum-Cabinet of S.V. Lebedev in St. Petersburg (st.Gapsalskaya, 1).
• The street on which he lived in recent years. In 1949, in connection with the 75th anniversary of the academician, it was named Lebedev Street. Since 1956, the street has been called Akademik Lebedev Street.
• Prize named after S.V. Lebedev, awarded by the Russian Academy of Sciences since 1995 for outstanding work in the field of chemistry and technology of synthetic rubber and other synthetic polymers.

Perhaps you have read or seen articles on the portal about how the domestic industry of electronic computing technology developed. If not, then before reading this material, I recommend that you familiarize yourself with at least the first part.
So, the main figure in this story was the scientist Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, who paved the way for all the current developments in Russia and the former Soviet Union. In 1948 he designed the first in the USSR "MESM" computer - the Small Electronic Counting Machine. His merits and work are remembered to this day. Prestigious awards, streets in cities are named in his honor, and most importantly, ITMiVT proudly bears his name - the Lebedev Moscow Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computational Engineering.

Within its walls, Sergei Alekseevich developed the most productive computer in the USSR "BESM" - the Big Electronic Counting Machine, which in many respects surpassed even the Western counterparts of that time. In the Soviet Union, this was completely nonsense. Despite its name, "BESM" was more compact than another popular computer "Strela". The BESM required 100 square meters indoors, and the Strela as much as 800. Despite the reduced dimensions, the BESM was much more productive than the Strela. Again, you can read more about the hardware.

Today we will talk about a quiet, modest man who did his job without wanting fame or money. He did this for himself, for his Motherland, for the future, which has already become real for you and me. There will not be a beautiful story of the "American Dream" of an ambitious entrepreneur who gave up everything for the sake of his business. This story is about an ordinary person like you and me, who loved his family, loved his job, loved to study and teach, worked hard and hard, dreaming to change the world.

Childhood

Young Lebedev

Sergei Lebedev was born on October 20, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod in Tsarist times.

Sergei's parents

Father Alexei Lebedev was a teacher and writer, and mother Anastasia Petrovna was a hereditary noblewoman. In addition to Sergei, Alexei and Anastasia also had the eldest daughter Tatyana.

Tatiana Alekseevna Lebedeva (Mavrina)

Just like Sergei, Tatyana Alekseevna was an outstanding person, but in the absolutely opposite area - in the creative one. All her life she was engaged in book illustrations and painting.

Tatiana Lebedeva in her youth

From 1921 to 1929 she studied at the Moscow Higher Artistic and Technical Institute "VKHUTEMAS", now known as RAZHViZ (Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture) named after Ilya Glazunov. For her work, in 1981, Tatiana was awarded the honorary order of the Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

So Sergey had worthy people in his family, who served as an example for him, thanks to whom they brought up love for the homeland, courage and patience in the young man, without which he could not achieve such heights. In the same year as his sister, Sergei entered the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical School.

Student years

During his studies, Sergei loved sports. Active hobbies were an integral part of his life. He often took part in group hikes in the mountains, skiing and river rafting. And all this did not interfere with the pursuit of science.

The topic of his thesis was the problem of power system installations. The whole process of writing the thesis took two years. The process was led by the Russian and Soviet electrical engineer Karl Adolfovich Krug, who owns many scientific works on induction motors, as well as on the problems of converting electric current.

After defending his diploma, Sergei becomes a teacher at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MEI). In 1936, he received the title of professor, having defended his doctorate on the theory of stability of energy systems. In 1939 he defended his thesis for a doctorate. In the early 1940s, Sergei was engaged in the design of the famous Kuibyshevskaya hydroelectric power station (now the Zhigulevskaya hydroelectric power station) on the Volga River. Even today, this hydroelectric power station is the second largest hydroelectric power plant in Europe.

He combined his main work with a hobby, which consisted in the development of a device for calculating differential equations. This project, which Sergey worked on, became the starting point before designing the famous MESM (Small Electronic Computing Machine).

The Great Patriotic War

Unfortunately, the Great Patriotic War postponed the plans of the young scientist for several years. Wanting to defend his homeland, in 1941, Sergei joined the ranks of the people's militia, since he was not subject to military conscription due to his age. As a result, he was not taken to the front, since VEI (All-Russian Electrotechnical Institute) urgently moved to Sverdlovsk for the period of hostilities, where Lebedev continued to engage in teaching.

At this time, Sergei's family was in poverty. They had to live in barns and other temporary shelters. In 1943, the threat of an attack by the fascist invaders on Moscow passed. And all the staff of the institute, together with Sergei, returned back to the white stone.

Experienced, incredibly terrible and bloody era influenced the scientist in the future. One of the applications of his computers was the development of anti-aircraft defense technology. Lebedev himself personally participated in the work on them together with the USSR army. He was not interested in the murder weapon. What he worked on was intended to protect the homeland from military incursions from the air. So many modern Russian defense complexes also take roots from the developments of Sergei Alekseevich.

Creation of MESM

At first, the scientist's attempts to develop the creation of computing devices were not taken seriously by the organizational bureau of the Soviet Union. The scientist almost lost heart, but on the recommendation of his friends, Lebedev moved to the Kiev Institute of Energy to take the post of its head.

In 1947, the institute was divided into two separate institutions, one of which was engaged in heat power engineering, and the other in electrical engineering. Lebedev became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering, which finally allowed him to organize a laboratory in which, together with his colleagues, he began to develop the first computer.

In one of the points above, I mentioned that Lebedev was working on the design of the Kuibyshev hydroelectric power station and at the same time was engaged in research in the field of computer technology. Because of the Great Patriotic War, he had to postpone these studies on the back burner. At that time not a single computer had been created in any country in the world. So, if not for the attack of Nazi Germany, the USSR could have become the country in which the world's first computer was developed. But this happened a little later.

In 1949, Lebedev began the first work on the design of the MESM. About 42 people took part in its creation. After the launch, it was debugged around the clock. Lebedev himself did not leave his workplace for days, remaining with his brainchild. After successful testing by engineers, it was recorded that the machine could solve complex equations that would take a long time to solve even for a well-educated person.

After that, a report on the work done was sent to the supervisory authorities. This time the work of the scientist was duly appreciated by the authorities. For this, in 1952, Lebedev was appointed head of the institute in Moscow.

The building in which the work on the MESM was carried out is located in Feofaniya on Akademika Lebedev Street, 19

MESM is the first computer developed in Europe.

BESM

Having gained vast experience in the development of MESM, Sergei Lebedev immediately applied it to the creation of another project - the Large Electronic Computing Machine (BESM). There is a legend that Lebedev wrote down the entire scheme of the new computer on the packages of Kazbek cigarettes. Lebedev himself chuckled sarcastically when asked about the veracity of this legend.

And only a few saw the huge thick notebooks covered with diagrams of the computer in the smallest detail.

BESM was the most productive computer in Europe at the time. She could perform ten thousand operations per second. Due to such computational capabilities, BESM complexes were actively used in research and military institutes for complex calculations requiring high accuracy. The launch of the first artificial satellite, and then a man into space, would have been impossible without the computers created by Lebedev.

Later, Lebedev developed the next generations of BESM - (BESM-2 - BESM-6), as well as a separate line of supercomputers M-20, M-40, M-50. You can learn more about all this in our article about the "early computers" released in the Soviet Union.

In the early 1970s, Sergei Lebedev, who was an academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was faced with a difficult task - to create a computer with a computational speed of about 100 million operations per second. At that time, even abroad, there was no computer with a similar performance. This is how the Elbrus project was born, which lives on to this day.

Lebedev chose this name for a reason. In his youth, being a lover of outdoor activities, he managed to conquer the highest mountain peak in Russia and Europe - Elbrus.

I must say on my own that there is a certain symbolism in this. After all, creating a high-class and super-productive computer, which has no analogues anywhere else, is just as difficult as conquering Elbrus.

At that time, there was a tendency to copy Western computers IBM. Lebedev was an ardent opponent of this, since he believed that without unique developments and inventions of his own technologies, domestic science could stop developing and begin to degrade. Unfortunately, Lebedev's words did not really affect anything. And over time, clones of IBM began to become the main models of Soviet computers.

Fortunately, today, albeit in a very dubious implementation, the creation and development of domestic computer technology is beginning to improve. I really hope and believe that in the future the quality indicators of Russian technological products and industries will improve. And perhaps we will use devices that are being developed and assembled in our native land.

Last years

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev died in the summer of July 3, 1974 at the age of 71 from a serious illness. All his life he was surrounded by the best people - his family, friends, colleagues. He was a very caring and hardworking person. He loved his homeland. While still in his native Volga places, he vowed to serve his fatherland forever and continued to do this until the end of his days.

During the analysis of the documentation belonging to the scientist, one folder was allocated - these were the drawings and detailed descriptions of the very first MESM computer, created by Lebedev. It was signed with the words “Keep forever”.

Academician Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) - an outstanding electrical engineer, power engineer and the founder of domestic computer technology.

The first half of his life, Sergei Alekseevich devoted to the problems of electric power engineering and automation, and the second - to the creation of electronic digital computing technology. And everywhere he was accompanied by a huge scientific success, which entailed the recognition of his services not only in our country, but also abroad.

Sergey Alekseevich was born on November 2, 1902 in Nizhny Novgorod in the family of the writer Alexei Ivanovich Lebedev and Anastasia Petrovna Mavrina. From childhood, the future scientist was fond of technology, photography, loved music, fine arts, theater.

Years of study at the Moscow Higher Technical School. N.E. Bauman (MVTU), then the Institute of Mechanics and Mathematics, were for Sergei Alekseevich a time not only of intensive studies, but also of the first scientific searches.

After graduating from the institute in 1928 S.A. Lebedev becomes a teacher at the Moscow State Technical University. N.E. Bauman and a junior researcher at the All-Union Electrotechnical Institute (VEI), where he worked until 1946. At VEI, Sergey Alekseevich dealt with the problems of stability and regulation of power systems. In the same years, his abilities as a leader and organizer of science were manifested.

In 1935 S.A. Lebedev received the title of professor, in 1939, without being a candidate of sciences, he defended his doctoral dissertation related to the theory of artificial stability of power systems developed by him. For 10 years he was the head of the VEI automation department. During the war, Sergei Alekseevich completely switched to defense topics.

In 1945, under the leadership of the scientist, one of the country's first electronic analog computers was created for solving systems of ordinary differential equations, which are often found in problems related to power engineering.

In 1946 S.A. Lebedev was invited to the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine as director of the Institute of Energy. A year later, the Institute of Energy split into two, and S.A. Lebedev became the director of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Here, together with L.V. Tsukernikom Lebedev carried out research on the management of power systems and the development of automation devices that increase the stability of power systems. In 1950 they were awarded the USSR State Prize.

Solving problems of electrical engineering and power engineering with the help of analog computers, S.A. Lebedev came to the formulation of the problem of creating a digital machine.

In 1946, at the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Sergei Alekseevich headed research in the field of computer technology, the result of which was the creation of the first domestic computer - a small electronic calculating machine (MESM).

At the beginning of 1957 S.A. Lebedev writes: “... In 1948−1949. I have developed the basic principles of building electronic calculating machines. Taking into account their exceptional importance for our national economy, as well as the lack of any experience in their construction and operation in the Union, I decided to create a small electronic calculating machine as soon as possible, on which it would be possible to study the basic principles of construction, check the methodology for solving individual problems and gain operational experience ... ”.

In the minutes of the Academic Council of the Institute of Electrical Engineering and Heat Power Engineering of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, it was noted "According to foreign literature, the design and construction of the machine has been going on for 5-10 years, we want to build the machine in 2 years."

In the book How It Began, the main assistants of S.A. Lebedeva L.N. Dashevsky and E.A. Shkabar is recalled: “... At the end of 1951, a very representative commission of the USSR Academy of Sciences arrived in Feofania from Moscow to commission the MESM. This commission was headed by Academician M.V. Keldysh. I passed the MESM exams for three days. And although the exams were not competitive, since she had no competitors, everyone was terribly worried. Academicians with impenetrable faces walked from the MESM premises, where they asked her all sorts of "tricky tasks," to Sergei Alekseevich's office and there they conferred for a long time. And our MESM went public. The jubilation was universal. Finally, the tests were completed, and the commission decided: to take the car into operation from December 25, 1951. "

25 years after the creation of the first universal computer in our country, a documentary film "Keep forever" was shot, which included the most unique footage of the operation of this machine. Only a few minutes on the screen MESM counts (executes the program), but these shots make a very strong impression and are remembered forever.

After MESM, the creation of a specialized computer SESM began for solving systems of linear algebraic equations. The main ideas for constructing the SESM were put forward by S.A. Lebedev.

In 1950 S.A. Lebedev began the development of BESM (High-Speed ​​Electronic Counting Machine). In March 1950, he was appointed head of the laboratory of the Institute of Precise Mechanics and Computer Science (ITMiVT), the director of which was Academician M.A. Lavrentiev. In the first quarter of 1953, BESM was established, and in April 1953 it was accepted into operation by the State Commission. Due to the shortage of cathode-ray tubes, which were then supplied only for the "Strela" computer, for the first three years the BESM was operated with memory on acoustic mercury tubes, which reduced its performance several times. In 1956 BESM was adopted by the State Commission for the second time - with memory on potentioscopes.

In 1956, the report of S.A. Lebedev about BESM at an international conference in Darmstadt made a sensation - BESM was at the level of the best American machines and the fastest in Europe.

In 1953, Sergei Alekseevich was elected a full member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. At a banquet on the occasion of the election of new members of the Academy S.O. Schmidt said: "Today we have chosen two remarkable scientists as Academicians - SA Lebedev and AD Sakharov."

In 1955 S.A. Lebedev began development of the M-20 (the number in the name indicated the expected performance - 20 thousand op./s). At that time no other machine in the world had such a speed of computation. In 1958, the State Commission adopted the M-20 and recommended it for serial production. For the first time in domestic practice in M-20 S.A. Lebedev, in order to increase productivity, the combination of the operation of the arithmetic unit and the selection of instructions from memory, the introduction of buffer memory for the data arrays to be printed, the combination of input and output of data with the count, etc. were implemented. Later, semiconductor versions of the M-20 were developed, implementing the same architecture: - M-220 and M-222.

In April 1959, a delegation of Soviet computer specialists headed by Academician S.A. Lebedev, visited the United States of America, in particular, IBM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard, Philadelphia, Washington, National Bureau of Standards in New York. And everywhere they were warmly greeted by representatives of universities, the largest firms in America. The obstacles caused by the Cold War did not prevent the scientists of the two countries from fruitfully communicating, sharing their accumulated experience in the field of creating computer technology and discussing all the problems that arose.

Under the leadership of S.A. Lebedeva ITMiVT, after completing work on lamp BESM-2 and M-20, began designing a semiconductor BESM-6, which had a speed of 1 million op./s. State Commission chaired by M.V. Keldysh accepted BESM-6 with a high appraisal and recommended it for serial production. BESM-6 had complete software. Many leading programmers of the country took part in its creation.

On the basis of BESM-6, computing centers for collective use for scientific organizations, systems for automating scientific research in nuclear physics and other fields of science, information and computing systems for processing information in real time were created. It was used to simulate the most complex physical and control processes, in software design systems for new computers. BESM-6 was produced by the Moscow plant SAM for 17 years.

For the development and implementation of BESM-6, its creators (from ITMiVT - S.A. Lebedev, V.A.Melnikov, L.N. Korolev, L.A. Zak, V.N. A. Sokolov, A. N. Tomilin, M. V. Tyapkin, from the CAM plant - V. A. Ivanov, V. Ya. Semeshkin) were awarded the State Prize.

ITMiVT, together with the SAM plant, based on BESM-6, developed the AC-6 computing system, the modular organization and unified exchange channels of which made it possible to build decentralized multi-machine computing systems. The AC-6 operating system provided operation in the modes of batch processing, remote batch processing, time sharing, and real time. AS-6 was used for data processing and control in space experiment systems, as well as in a number of computing centers of large research organizations.

For 20 years, Sergei Alekseevich headed the team of thousands of the Institute of Precision Mechanics and Computer Engineering (ITMiVT) of the USSR Academy of Sciences.

Specialized computers created under the leadership of S.A. Lebedev for the missile defense system, became the basis for achieving strategic parity between the USSR and the United States during the Cold War. In 1952-1955. student of S.A. Lebedeva V.S. Burtsev developed specialized computers "Diana-1" and "Diana-2" for automatic data retrieval from the radar and automatic tracking of targets. Then for the anti-missile defense (ABM) system, the general designer of which was G.V. Kisunko, in 1958 the M-40 tube computer was proposed, and a little later the M-50. The creators of the first missile defense system received the Lenin Prize. Among them were G.V. Kisunko, S.A. Lebedev and V.S. Burtsev. See the release of the next series of high-performance computers, which were developed by ITMiVT, S.A. Lebedev did not have a chance. Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev died on July 3, 1974 in Moscow. He is buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.

Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev, a talented scientist and organizer, is rightfully considered the founder of domestic computer technology. The name of S.A. Lebedev now wears ITMiVT, which has a small museum. The students of S.A. Lebedev created their own scientific schools and teams.

The world scientific community recognized the merits of S.A. Lebedev in 1996, having awarded him the title of "Pioneer of Computer Engineering".

“... He lived and worked during the period of rapid development of electronics, computer technology, rocketry, space exploration and atomic energy. As a patriot of his country, Sergei Alekseevich took part in the largest projects of I.V. Kurchatov, S.P. Koroleva, V.M. Keldysh, who ensured the creation of the shield of the Motherland. In all their works, the role of electronic computers created by Sergei Alekseevich, without exaggeration, is enormous. His outstanding works will forever be included in the treasury of world science and technology, and his name should stand next to the names of these great scientists, ”wrote academician B.Ye. Paton.

Prepared by:

Smolevitskaya M.E. - Pioneer of domestic computer engineering Sergei Alekseevich Lebedev (1902−1974) // Problems of cultural heritage in the field of engineering: collection of articles. - Issue 4. - M., 2003 .-- P.64−89.