Vladimir Alexandrovich Koptsik

Vladimir Alexandrovich Koptsik
Born(1924-02-26)February 26, 1924
DiedApril 2, 2005(2005-04-02) (aged 81)
EducationMoscow State University
Scientific career
InstitutionsFaculty of Physics of Moscow State University
Academic advisorsA.V. Shubnikov

Vladimir Alexandrovich Koptsik (Russian: Владимир Александрович Копцик; 26 February 1924 – 2 April 2005) was a Soviet crystallographer and physicist. In 1966 Koptsik was the first to publish the complete atlas of all 1651 antisymmetry space groups.[1] In 1972 he published Symmetry in science and art with extensive coverage of dichromatic and polychromatic symmetry.[2][3]

Life

Career

Koptsik was born on 26 February 1924 in Ivanovo. In 1941-1944 he worked as a turner in a defence plant in Moscow. Koptsik graduated from Moscow State University in 1949. He then began post-graduate work under the supervision of A.V. Shubnikov and submitted his candidate's dissertation in 1953.[4]

In 1953 Koptsik was hired as an assistant to Shubnikov in the new department of Crystallography and Crystal Physics at MSU. He progressed through various positions, earning his doctorate in 1963, becoming full professor in 1967, and head of department from 1968 to 1974 succeeding Shubnikov.[5]

Koptsik is known for his contributions to the physics of electrically and magnetically ordered crystals, the tensor representation of anisotropic media, the theory of crystal symmetry, and the symmetry aspects of structural phase transitions.[6]

From 1966 Koptsik was a member of the Committee on International Crystallographic Tables of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr); in 1983 he became a member of the subcommittee on nomenclature of n-dimensional crystallography.[7][8]

Works

The majority of Koptsik's works were published in Russian. Books published by Koptsik:

  • Shubnikov groups: handbook on the symmetry and physical properties of crystal structures (1966)[1]
  • Symmetry in Science and Art (1972);[2] English translation (1974)[3]
  • Problem exercises for crystal physics (1982 and 1988)[9]

Koptsik published 300 academic papers.[4] Selected papers available in English:

  • Polymorphic phase transitions and symmetry (1957)[10]
  • A general sketch of the development of the theory of symmetry and its applications in physical crystallography over the last 50 years (1968)[11]
  • Views of Aleksei Vasil'evich Shubnikov on crystallography and crystal physics (on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth) (1977)[12]
  • Symmetry principle in physics (1983)[13]
  • Generalized symmetry in crystal physics (1988)[14]
  • Symmetry bases. The contemporary symmetry theory in solids (1994)[15]

Honours and awards

References

  1. ^ a b Koptsik, V.A. (1966). Shubnikov groups: handbook on the symmetry and physical properties of crystal structures (in Russian), Moscow: Moscow University
  2. ^ a b Shubnikov, A.V.; Koptsik, V.A. (1972). Symmetry in science and art (in Russian). Moscow: Nauka.
  3. ^ a b Shubnikov, A.V.; Koptsik, V.A. (1974). Symmetry in science and art. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 9780306307591.
  4. ^ a b The Editors (2005), Vladimir Aleksandrovich Koptsik (February 26, 1924 – April 2, 2005), Crystallog. Reports, 50(5), 890-891
  5. ^ The Editors (1999), Vladimir Aleksandrovich Koptsik (on the occasion of his seventy-fifth birthday), Crystallog. Reports, 44(4), 710-712
  6. ^ The Editors (1984), Vladimir Aleksandrovich Koptsik: sixtieth birthday greeting), Crystallog. Reports, 29(3), 371
  7. ^ de Wolff, P. M., Belov, N. V., Bertaut, E. F., Buerger, M. J., Donnay, J. D. H., Fischer, W., Hahn, Th., Koptsik, V. A., Mackay, A. L., Wondratschek, H., Wilson, A. J. C. and Abrahams, S. C. (1985), Nomenclature for Crystal Families, Bravais-Lattice Types and Arithmetic Classes, Acta Cryst. A41, 278-280
  8. ^ Janssen, T., Birman, J.L, Dénoyer, F., Koptsik, V.A., Verger-Gaugry, J.L., Weigel, D., Yamamoto, A., Abrahams, S.C., and Kopsky, V. (2002), Report of a subcommittee on the nomenclature of n-dimensional crystallography. II. Symbols for arithmetic crystal classes, Bravais classes and space groups, Acta Cryst. A58, 605-621
  9. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1982 and 1988), Problem exercises for crystal physics, Moscow: Moscow State University
  10. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1957), Polymorphic phase transitions and symmetry, Sov. Phys. Cryst., 5(6), 889-898
  11. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1968), A general sketch of the development of the theory of symmetry and its applications in physical crystallography over the last 50 years, Sov. Phys. Cryst., 12(5), 667-683
  12. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1977), Views of Aleksei Vasil'evich Shubnikov on crystallography and crystal physics (on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth), Sov. Phys. Cryst., 22(3), 383-386
  13. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1983), Symmetry principle in physics, J. Phys. C:Solid State Phys., 16, 23-24
  14. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1988). "Generalized symmetry in crystal physics" (PDF). Comput. Math. Applic. 16 (5–8): 407–424. doi:10.1016/0898-1221(88)90231-3.
  15. ^ Koptsik, V.A. (1994), Symmetry bases. The contemporary symmetry theory in solids in Advanced mineralogy, vol. 1, ed. by Marfunin, A.S., 50-55, ISBN 978-3-540-57254-1