Zinaida Ershova (1904-1995)

Zinaida Ershova was born on October 23, 1904 in Moscow, in the family of a public servant. After graduating from high school in 1923, she was admitted to the Department of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University, enrolled in a radiochemical laboratory, and since then has connected her life with radioactive elements.

In the summer of 1924, the University students made the memorable acquaintance with the Deputy Director of the Radium Institute of the Academy of Sciences (RIAN) established in 1922, an outstanding scientist Vitaly Khlopin. Since then, the entire scientific life of Zinaida Vasilyevna was under the care, both personal and professional, of V. Khlopin. In the young fragile woman, he saw an inquisitive mind, an organized nature, and a great desire to do science. It was V. G. Khlopin who advised the young graduate of Moscow State University to engage with the Moscow Plant of Rare Elements, where the first industrial production of radium in our country was being developed.

In January 1930, Ershova started working in the radium shop of the plant. At first, Zinaida Vasilyevna worked as an ordinary employee; later she headed of the physical laboratory. At the end of 1931, the production of radium was launched by the plant. This was a great victory for the team, which mainly consisted of recent university graduates.

In December 1936, an important event occurred in the life of Zinaida Vasilyevna. She was sent to Paris for a scientific internship at the Radium Institute, in the laboratory of Marie Curie, where under the supervision of Irene Joiliot-Curie she independently carried out, and later published in 1937 in the Journal de Physique, a work on the topic: "Defining the 238U/235U ratio in UY". Later, in 1943, based on the data obtained at the Radium Institute, Z. V. Ershova, working at the Moscow Institute of Fine Chemical Technology named after M. V. Lomonosov, defended her PhD thesis.

In 1938, a new stage in the life of Z. V. began Ershova. Upon the recommendation of V. G. Khlopin she was commissioned to work at   Giredmet (State Research and Planning Institute for the Rare Metal Industry), and appointed the head of the radium laboratory.

Work in Giredmet was interrupted by the War. Ershova and her family were evacuated to Kazakhstan.

In February 1943, Z. V. Ershova received a call from the government agency: “you are to return to Moscow urgently to carry out specialized work." The challenge was related to the fact that Giredmet was assigned to perform certain work to tackle the uranium problem, and I. V. Kurchatov tasked the laboratory headed by Z. V. Ershova Kurchatov with obtaining uranium carbide and uranium metal. These materials were produced in Giredmet in 1944. The materials were delivered to I. V. Kurchatov's enterprise for the purpose of nuclear physics research and conducting experiments necessary to design and construct experimental F-1 reactor, the first ever in our country and Europe.

In 1945, a pilot plant was unit at the plant in the city of Elektrostal to produce metallic uranium ingots weighing several kilograms. The work was led by Z. V. Ershova.

Since that time, Z. V. Ershova became one of the most prominent scientists of the nuclear industry. Her authority in scientific, industrial, and administrative circles was very high. Behind her back, she was called "the Russian Madame Curie".

At the beginning of the Uranium Project, the country had only two institutes that worked with radioactive substances. These were RIAN and Giredmet. It was clear that a broad-profile research Institute for solving chemical, metallurgical and many other special tasks was needed. In her memoirs Zinaida Vasilyevna wrote: "As the head of the laboratory, I took responsibility for raising the issue of establishing a new institute before the country's leaders." The proposal was stated in a memo to A. P. Zavenyagin, one of the members of the Special Committee. A positive decision was obtained quickly enough. In December 1944, the State Defense Committee issued a resolution on the organization of the Institute of Special Materials (later NII-9, the Institute of Inorganic Materials named after Academician A. A. Bochvar). Engineer-Colonel V. Shevchenko was appointed the Director.

The requirements specification for the design of the Institute was developed by the beginning of 1945 by specialists of Giredmet, Z. V. Ershova, V. Nikolsky and N. Povitsky.

In early 1946, Z. V. Ershova together with a group of Giredmet specialists is transferred to work at NII-9, and is appointed the head of the first radiochemical laboratory. This was a very important event for the Institute and its Director, V. Shevchenko. At that time, Z. Ershova was one of the few specialists of the Institute who had special education and production experience of work with radioactive elements. She was familiar with the I. V. Kurchatov, and was on friendly terms and in close business relations with V. Khlopin. Madam Yershova had a high academic authority among the leaders of the Uranium Project. This was very helpful during the organization of the Institute.

Despite the modest official position, merely Head of the laboratory, during the first two years, Z. V. Ershova along with V. Shevchenko, was the de facto director the Radiochemical Department of the Institute.

The most stressful and responsible period for VNIINM was during 1946-1949. To make the first Soviet nuclear bomb, the Institute had to develop technologies for processing irradiated uranium, producing plutonium preparations, metal plutonium and its products in three and half years, introduce these technologies into industry and create a technology to produce polonium from irradiated bismuth. All of the above was accomplished by August of 1949, when the first Soviet nuclear bomb was tested. The first Director of the Institute V. Shevchenko and Head of the Laboratory Z. Yershova, and Head of Department A. A.

Laboratory headed by Z. V. Ershova worked on the development of methods for obtaining quantities of plutonium compounds from irradiated uranium. The laboratory developed a pilot unit, which played the major role in the development of technology for obtaining plutonium preparations, as well as in the establishment of the special plant at the Mayak Combine. Starting in 1947, uranium blocks irradiated in the F-1 reactor of the Institute of Atomic Energy began to arrive at the plant to be processed into plutonium preparations. Late at night on December 18, 1947, young employees of the laboratory, in the presence of Z. V. Yershova obtained, for the first time in USSR, usable quantities of plutonium (73 micrograms). It was a tremendous victory!

In early 1948, Z. V. Ershova switches fully to the subject of polonium, and establishes a new laboratory. The problem of developing a technology for producing large amounts of polonium from metal bismuth irradiated in the reactor was brought forth. Polonium was necessary for the neutron fuses of atomic weapons. Under the scientific supervision of Z. V. Ershova and D. M. Ziva the technology called "the wet technology” was developed. In early 1948, Z. V. Ershova’s laboratory developed a pilot unit for producing polonium and manufacturing Po-Be neutron sources. The first Russian nuclear bomb, tested in 1949, used polonium produced at this facility.

In addition, Z. V. Ershova was a recognized leader in research and engineering activities related to tritium.

In 1952, the Academic Council of the Institute awarded Z. V. Ershova the academic degree of Doctor of Engineering without a dissertation.

In the early 1960s, the designers of atomic weapons in USSR abandoned the use of polonium. A new problem arose related to the use of polonium in small-scale nuclear power engineering to develop isotope-based sources of heat and electricity. During this period, the development of a new field of research for Soviet radiochemists, solid polonium compound chemistry, was initiated. These studies were conducted at VNIINM under the scientific supervision of Z. V. Ershova. A unique set of activities was carried out to study the interaction of polonium with a large number of elements of the periodic table of D. I. Mendeleev. For the complex of these works, Z. V. Ershova was awarded in 1968 with the V. G. Khlopin Prize by USSR Academy of Sciences. V. Khlopin.

The widespread use of polonium in isotope energy engineering in our country began in the 1960s. In 1965, two polonium-based Orion units were manufactured. These were used in current sources on Kosmos-84 and Kosmos-90 communications satellites. In 1968, 1970, and 1972, as part of national lunar rover program, three thermal units were produced to heat the equipment of Lunokhod-1 and Lunokhod-2 self-propelled stations. This was a great achievement by Z. V. Yershova's laboratory Ershova.

For her contribution to the development of USSR's nuclear project, Z. V. Ershova was awarded Stalin Prizes in 1949, 1951 and 1954. In 1968, she was nominated for the V. G. Khlopin USSR Academy of Sciences Award "for a series of studies of the chemistry of polonium".

In 1989, Zinaida Ershova left VNIINM after having dedicated more than 40 years to the Institute.

Z. Yershova died in April 25, 1995. She was buried at the Vagankovo Cemetery.