Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky

      Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky was a Russian scientist who was born on 12th March, 1863 in St.Petersburg. His most important contributions to science were the development of the ideas of the biosphere and the noosphere.

     He graduated from the Physics and Mathematics Department of St.Petersburg in 1885. From 1890 to 1911 he taught mineralogy and crystallography at the University of Moscow. In 1912 he was made a full member of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

     Through his work in mineralogy, Vernadsky became interested in the distribution of chemical elements in the Earth’s crust, hydrosphere and atmosphere - the field known as geochemistry.

       Vernadsky was one of the first scientists to suggest the possibility of using radioactive elements as sources of energy, and he organized special commission to look for uranium ores in Russia.

      However, Vernadsky is probably best known for his development of the idea of the biosphere of the Earth and his ideas on the evolution of the biosphere into the noosphere. For Vernadsky, the biosphere had existed since the very beginning of the Earth’s history and it was constantly evolving.

      Vernadsky believed that human reason and combined scientific efforts could overcome the negative results of technology and could lead to a safe future for everyone.

       Thanks to Vernadsky our country started to create an atomic industry and the raw material basis for it.

       He was an outstanding mineralogist, geochemist, crystallographer and theoretical geologist and the founder of many scientific establishments.

       The difficult war years seriously affected Vernadsky’s health. Vladimir Ivanovich died on 6 th January, 1945, at the age of 82. He served his country as a passionate partiot who repeatedly said- ‘Men’s task is to be of maximal use for those around  him”.