Alexander Mikhailovitch Kuznetsov (Sasha)

A long-time outstanding representative of the ISE, good colleague and friend, and a sparkling and noble personality, Alexander Mikhailovitch Kuznetsov (borne Jan. 5, 1938) passed away on Feb, 13, 2009. Sasha was a leading international figure in the exciting areas where electrochemistry bridges chemical physics, physical chemistry and even biophysical sciences.
Sasha Kuznetsov graduated from the highly reputed Moscow Physical-Engineering Institute and the Theoretical Department of the Institute of Electrochemistry of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1961. He then joined forces with Prof. Revaz R. Dogonadze. Based on earlier work by Dogonadze and Yurij Chidzmazhev, they set out to what became the real pioneering comprehensive quantum mechanical theory of electron transfer processes in solution environment and at electrochemical interfaces, later to extend to a general theory of chemical processes in chemical, electrochemical and biological systems. Sasha published his scientific achievements in four books, thoroughly written in good, tutorially appealing prose.and about 350 original papers. He maintained his colleagues were related to the increasingly hot topic of single-molecule electrochemical electron transfer. He also developed into a fine lecturer. Matters all of a sudden came to seem so straightforward also to students when explained by Sasha.
Sasha's scientific merits were awarded internationally. He was an often invited visiting professor at high-ranking universities in Europe and the USA. He was elected foreign member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences, a winner of the prestigious Leverhulme Fellowship in the UK, and a recipient of the Humboldt Professorship in Germany. His colleagues in Russia and countries where he had worked lately enjoyed strong support in their efforts towards awarding him Frumkin Memorial Medal of the ISE. Sadly, his premature passing away prevented him from receiving this well-deserved award. No less importantly, his achievements have forever substantiated the strong and unique heritage of the Theoretical Department at the Frumkin institute.

Alexei Kornyshev
Galina Tsirlina
Jens Ulstrup

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