In Memory of Erik Mikhailovich Galimov (July 29, 1936–November 23, 2020)

Abstract

November 23, 2020 saw the passing of Erik Mikhailovich GALIMOV, an outstanding scientist in the field of geochemistry; founder of the scientific school “The Global Carbon Cycle: Mantle–Crust–Ocean–Atmosphere”; author of more than 500 scientific publications, including five monographs; member national and foreign academies, many scientific societies, and associations; honorary doctor of domestic and foreign universities; and recipient of the Order of Honor (1999) and Badge of Honor (1986), Alfred Treibes Medal of the International Geochemical Society (2004), Vernadsky Gold Medal (2018), Vernadsky Prize (1984), and State Prize of the Russian Federation (2016). Galimov was born on July 29, 1936, in Vladivostok. In 1959, he graduated from the Moscow Gubkin Institute of Petrochemical and Gas Industry (MGIPGI; now the Russian State Gubkin University of Oil and Gas) as a mining engineer–geophysicist. Galimov began his career as an engineer in the Spetsgeofizika trust of the USSR Ministry of Geology, where from 1960 to 1963 he headed the Caspian geophysical expedition in Western Kazakhstan. In 1963, he created the problem laboratory of mass spectrometry at MGIPGI and headed it until 1972. He was the first to identify the geochemical specialization of oils and host rocks in various fields, the materials of which culminated in his candidate’s dissertation “Application of Mass Spectrometry to Study the Effect of Surface Leaching on the Isotopic Composition of Carbon in Carbonates,” which he defended in 1965. In 1970 he defended his doctoral dissertation “Geochemistry of Stable Carbon Isotopes.” These works garnered much attention in the scientific community, and in 1973 Academician A.P. Vinogradov invited him to the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, USSR Academy of Sciences (GEOKHI). Since that time, Galimov’s whole life has been associated with GEOKHI. There he founded and headed the laboratory of carbon geochemistry, where he founded the scientific school of organic and inorganic carbon geochemistry and educated many candidates and doctors of sciences. For many years, Galimov also taught lectures on carbon geochemistry at the Geological Faculty of Moscow State University (MSU), ultimately being elected an honorary professor there. From 1992 to 2015, he headed GEOKHI as its director and later served as a scientific advisor. From Galimov’s memoirs: “I came to the institute at the initiative of Alexander Pavlovich Vinogradov. I was engaged in the geochemistry of carbon isotopes, a great tool for penetrating a wide variety of fields. However, I was unfortunate: it was a terrible time for the institute, for science. I am writing these lines at the desk in Vinogradov’s old office. Almost nothing has changed since that first day at the appointment with Alexander Pavlovich. The same oak paneling, the same green cloth on the long conference table. Only life has become unrecognizIn Memory of Erik Mikhailovich Galimov