Mikhail Shultz


Mikhail Mikhaylovich Shultz, was a Soviet/Russian physical chemist, and an artist.
In Soviet Union, Russia, and outside Shultz is primarily known for his research in the chemical thermodynamics of heterogeneous chemical compounds, electrochemistry of glasses, membrane electrochemistry; for works in the field of ion exchange and phase equilibria of multicomponent compounds, and theory of glass electrode; Shultz also worked on thermal protection system for the Soviet Buran spacecraft and credited with research in optical fibers in 80s.
His works helped to contribute into creation of early pH-meters and ionometry, production organisation, instrumentation and materials commonly used in medicine, chemical and nuclear industry, aviation rocket and space technology, agriculture and many other areas.

Biography

Mikhail Shultz was a son of Mikhail Alexandrovich Shultz and a great-grandson of the Russian physicist Dmitry Aleksandrovich Lachinov.
M. Shultz was a descendant of the German sculptor, the Danish royal medallist Anton Schultz who carried out orders the Russian Court as early as Copenhagen, and arrived at the service in Russia with Peter the Great.
He was born on 1 July 1919 in Petrograd, in 1937—graduated with honours from high school.
1937–1941—a student of the chemical faculty of the Leningrad State University, in 1938—joined the All-Union Chemical Society named by D. I. Mendeleev, in 1941–1945—a volunteer on The Great Patriotic War, first lieutenant, chief of the chemical service of battalion.

Scientific career

  • 1947—graduated with honours from the Chemical faculty of the Leningrad State University;
  • 1947—1950 – the postgraduate under the supervision of Professor Boris Petrovich Nikolsky).
  • 1951—the Candidate of chemical sciences.
  • 1950–1959—the Assistant and from 1953—the associate professor of physical chemistry chair of the Leningrad State University Chemical faculty, cooperation with Professor Aleksey Vasilyevich Storonkin, his second teacher, in the field of thermodynamics of heterogeneous systems.
  • 1956–1972—Head of Laboratory of the electrochemistry of glass, which he founded in the Research Institute of Chemistry of the Leningrad State University, which together with a number of other institutions was carrying out the government order to develop means of pH-metry, he organised a systematic study of electrode properties of glasses, depending on their composition.
  • 1965—the Doctor of chemical sciences, approved in the rank of professor exercises.
  • 1967—1972—the dean of the Leningrad State University Chemical faculty.
  • 1972—the corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
  • 1972–1998—the director of the Institute of Silicate Chemistry ; in that period a new building was constructed and the institute square tripled.
  • 1975–1990—the cchief-editor of the magazine Physics and Chemistry of Glass» of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
  • 1979—the academician.

Scientific accomplishments

Mikhail Shultz is the author of fundamental works on physical chemistry, thermodynamics, chemistry and electrochemistry of glass, membrane electrochemistry, the theory of ion-exchange and phase equilibria of multi-component systems, for a total of more than 500 scientific papers, including several monographs, and approximately 20 inventions

Glass electrode

His name had to do with the beginning of developing pH-metry and ionometry, the creation and organisation of measuring equipment production, widely used in medicine, chemical and nuclear industry, aerospace technology, agriculture and many other fields.
In 1951 M. Shultz strictly thermodynamically proved the sodium function of different glasses in various areas of pH, which anticipated many directions of further studies, and his work «Studies of sodium functions of glass electrodes» is regarded to be ones of the most considerable in relation to all those written on the glass electrode.
His achievements in solving the fundamental problems of chemical thermodynamics are noteworthy. Special mention should be made of the generalisation of the stability conditions for the Gibbs equilibrium to heterogeneous (multicomponent, multiphase) systems. M. Shultz developed a method for calculating changes in the thermodynamic properties of a heterogeneous system from data on the composition of the coexisting phases and on the change in the chemical potential of only one component. In the frame of the thermodynamic theory existing is the «Filippov-Shultz rule».
The first results of the study an Mössbauer effect in iron-containing glasses are mentioned in the thesis of Mikhail Shultz. Data from M. Schulz and staff of his laboratory are exceptional interest for interpretation of Mössbauer's spectra, where the range assessment all of possible states of iron atoms is extremely wide and difficult. M. Shultz demonstrated the possibility to get a glass electrode with redox function, which allowed to create a fundamentally new measuring technique, without the use of measuring precious metals, and that gave a huge economic impact. The industrial production of pH-meters was originated and connected with his name.
In the 1950—1960 on the basis of representative series of glasses M. Shultz with collaborators estimated the impact of the third component on electrode properties of alkaline-silicate glasses.
According to the concept of glass developed by M. Shultz, in analogy with pH for aqueous solutions he proposed an innovative idea to establish for glasses and melts—the degree of acidity pO and standards for methods of measurement: pO is inversely proportional to the degree of basicity and concentration of the oxide.

Silicon chemistry

The Under the guidance of M. Shultz developed the heat resistant silicone and carbon-fiber based coatings for the protection of structural materials of various spacecrafts and thin-film coatings used for semiconductor wafers, organo-silicate corrosion-resistant, anti-icing, dielectric, thermally insulating, radiation-proof coatings for construction, electrical engineering and shipbuilding materials. Large enough the contribution of the scientist is in the sphere of developing new construction materials. In 1981 Shultz published paper on the optical fiber made out of pure cristobalite and silicone shell.
M. Shultz is a founder one of Russian scientific schools. Under his leadership 45 people maintained candidate theses, 8 people of his school became Doctors of Sciences, members of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
In July 1989 M. Shultz was the president of the 15th International Congress on Glass held in Leningrad. It is his merit that in 1979 Russia was admitted to the most authoritative organisation of that profile—International Commission on Glass, founded in 1933.
He was a president of the Russian Ceramic Society.

Awards and academic recognition

Member of numerous scientific state and international commissions and committees, scientific societies.
Member of editor's boards of several Russian and foreign scientific journals.