ACADEMICIAN ILYA ROMANOVICH PRIGOGINE  (on the occasion of the 100th birth anniversary)

Ilya Romanovich Prigogine, an outstanding scientist of Russian origin specializing in physical chemistry and chemical thermodynamics, professor of the University of Brussels, was born in Moscow in 1917. In 1921, his family left Russia. They first lived in Lithuania for about a year, then moved to Germany where they lived until 1929, and after that finally settled in Belgium. In 1940, Ilya Prigogine graduated from the Free University of Brussels where he taught after graduation until the end of his life. Without severing ties with the University of Brussels, starting from 1967 the scientist spent part of his time in the USA, serving as a professor at the University of Texas. In 1977, Prigogine was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for research in thermodynamics of irreversible processes and especially for studies in dissipative structures. Ilya Prigogine was a member of academies of many countries worldwide, including Russia, was awarded honorary doctorates by several dozens of universities, and received numerous prestigious scientific awards. Prigogine died in Brussels in 2003.